Spirit Hunter
China, AD 665: The T’ang Dynasty and the Horse Tribes are at war. Asena is a young girl from the Horse Tribe, but she is also a shaman with a wolf spirit guide. She sees the souls of others as a horse galloping beside them, giving away their secret thoughts and feelings. Swiftarrow is half T’ang, half Horse Tribe, raised amongst the T’ang and trained as a Shaolin spy. The Empress tasks him with finding a ‘barbarian’ from the Horse Tribe to train as a Shaolin. Amongst the bloodshed of the battlefield he captures Asena.
Asena finds herself in Chang’an, starting a new life and without her spirit guide. Her powers have deserted her since she failed to alert her people to the warnings she received in a dream. Now she is training to be a swift and silent warrior, alongside the man she holds responsible for the deaths of her family. Swiftarrow is sorry for what he has done. Asena wants to hate him, but instead finds herself falling in love. Around them political intrigue and battle still rage, but can they influence the outcome? Asena has to decide how to take control of her future and whether she can trust a spy.
This is a fast-moving and gripping action adventure story that boys and girls of 10+ would enjoy. The Silk Road is vividly brought to life and the fantasy elements of the shamans and the Shaolin add an extra dimension. Although the story involves battle and warriors, the Shaolin strive to follow the Buddhist Middle Way. This is at odds with their work for the Empress, which is explored within the story. The emphasis in the novel is always that revenge does not change what has already happened.
