I am already a fan of Milani’s, and I’ve always had a soft spot for werewolves who are not teen/angst/love characters, so I started off with high hopes, and I was overjoyed that the potential for a fun read was not only met, but exceeded. This was a good story that caught and transported me into a taut and well-paced story.

OK, so the protagonist was not a werewolf of lore but rather a Lupan, a genetically modified being with genes of 20-some predators that had been crafted to make a race of super-warriors. Stuck running a bar on an independent station without extradition treaties with the worlds where he has a price on his head, Rick is safe from their reach as long as he stays to the station. But is he safe even there with station security breathing down his neck and searching for an excuse to take him down?

With the obvious nod to Casablanca, Milani takes the story further, exploring subjects such as slavery and how people react to it. This was a fun ride, but it also had an underlying current of serious philosophy that lent the story more than a bit of gravitas.

I totally enjoyed this story, and I wholeheartedly recommend it to others.

About the reviewer:

Jonathan Brazee is a retired Marine infantry colonel who after years of writing non-fiction, wrote his first novel while serving in Iraq. He independently published it, hoping to sell a few copies to friends and family, and was pleasantly surprised when the book gained traction among the general reading public. Twenty-three novels later, he is now winding down his post-military career overseas to become a full-time writer. A majority of his books have a military bent in science fiction, paranormal, historical fiction, and general fiction, but he has also written non-military scifi and paranormal. He writes three to four hours each day with the help (or despite) the attention of two rescue cats who insist on sitting on his lap or keyboard.
Jonathan is a member of the Science Fiction Writers of America, the US Naval Academy Alumni Association, the Disabled Veterans of America, and is an officer in the VFW’s Department of the Pacific.

Learn more about Jonathan and his work at http://www.jonathanbrazee.com