Doubletake

The latest from Rob Thurman, Doubletake, is another fantastic read.  Cal and Niko are great examples of brotherhood and I always love that Niko doesn't look at his little brother and see a half-human, half-auphe being...he sees the kid brother whom he will defend against the world and die to protect.  Cal struggles with his heritage and the monster that he is capable of becoming but he stretches to be a better person because of his faith in his older brother and the unconditional love that he receives.  Ms Thurman effortlessly captures the roughhousing and vicious repartee between the two that would be almost disturbing to witness as an outsider but which covers the deep emotion that bonds the two who see their share of evil and disturbing creatures yet continue to adhere to their code of conduct.  This book gives a sobering look at the extremes of absentee fatherhood as it depicts an example of the hellish childhood experienced by the young boys even as yet another character displays his frightening version of parenting.  The virtually infallible opponent provides a nice counterpoint to the fighting techniques demonstrated by the brothers as they work their way through their arsenal of defense.  There are many disturbing creatures described and the fight scenes are impressive but this is primarily a tale of the ultimate in dysfunctional families and a wonderful story about the unique brothers named Niko and Cal.  The book is to be released March 6, 2012, well worth the wait.

I received an ARC of this title at no charge for an honest review.