A Business Of Ferrets [Paperback]

Ms. Hilgartner deftly weaves the lives of her vivid and delightful cast into a tale of high adventure. When a plot to kill the scholar king is uncovered by a plucky young thief named Ferret, she and her young friends soon find themselves unwittingly embroiled in a dangerous world of court politics, with enemies and suspicion at every turn. Each character has their part to play; their move to make in the intricate game that means their very survival. The author maintains a brisk pace, keeping the action moving and all of her characters vivid in the reader's minds. This is a pleasant, if not completely original, romp through an adventure fantasy and perfect for YA readers who enjoy a good story. Those looking for something breathtakingly new may find the plot and story elements all too familiar. Street thieves, beggar children and kings in danger are all fairly traditional elements, but they in no way make for a dull story, as Ms. Hilgartner does an exceptional job whisking us up into her world and her characters' adventure.

Perhaps my main complaint with the book was that the central villain of the book was a little overdone, so that the result was more of a caricature than I think the author was aiming for. The villainy and cruelty is so over the top in a story where most of the characters have more complex motivations that I wished for a little more subtlety. The author's technique of maintaining a large cast of characters and jumping from character to character has its drawbacks in that the story never gives readers enough time or text to touch on the inner lives and emotions of cast. The reader is ever kept at one remove, and the emotional impact of the events is not as powerful as it otherwise could be. One last concern was the dizzying number of names to keep track of; most of them containing the letters y, z, or h in some combination and making it hard to remember who was who at times.

Ms. Hilgartner's writing has only improved with time, and this book is one of her best to date. She is a fine storyteller with a real sense of pacing and energy as well as a skill of weaving her plot threads together into a satisfying whole. While epic fantasy fans may find A BUSINESS OF FERRETS a bit lightweight, it is an excellent, engaging tale and will likely appeal to those readers who enjoy Tamora Pierce and Mercedes Lackey. Don't miss the next book in this series; A PARLIAMENT OF OWLS.

Happy Reading! ^_^ shanshad

The book describes a group of children from the slums, when they become embroiled in noble schemes. It's written mostly for young adults; there are some intense scenes in the book, though.

The most prominent character, Ferret, is interesting, but the viewpoints shifts constantly between different characters, leaving little room for engagement. Most of the action is streamlined, almost oversimplified; and the magic is fairly superficial.

On the whole, a pleasant fantasy, but not gripping, original or intricate enought to stand out.
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