In Jeremy Koehn’s middle grade fantasy, a young coyote is called to lead a dangerous mission and fulfill a prophecy.

In the world of Toaz, Etoah, King of the Sky, has bestowed a thriving land upon its animals, the most powerful being bears, coyotes, and cougars. He has given them “consciousness of good and evil…except fish, small lizards, worms, and bugs” and a common language. Etoah has imbued the minds of conscious animals with the idea that they should eat only animals without consciousness and plants. While the bears and coyotes have followed these laws, the cougars prefer to hunt, kill, and dominate.

Cody lives with his family in Yotetown. One day, Cody’s father is called away to investigate rumors that the coyotes’ allies, the bears, will soon be invaded. The next day, a cougar army led by the cruel King Rugar, invades Yotetown. Cody’s family flees while Cody is carried off by an eagle who drops him at the door of Otto, Lord of the Owls.

Otto informs him that King Rugar plans to enslave all life in Toaz. Cody also learns he’s the one destined to defeat Rugar. Joined by a bird named Ren, Cody faces great peril in his mission and an ultimate showdown with Rugar.

Koehn delivers wonderfully rounded characters and strikes a nice balance between descriptive language, action, dialogue, and exposition. The animals engage in funny, snappy dialogue. Other touches of humor delight, as well: e.g., when Rudy the roadrunner orders a meal of “an earthworm gumbo sprinkled with dung beetle shells with a side of gecko eggs…” Koehn also offers original accompanying songs on his website.

While the cover is colorful and detailed, the interior illustrations are black and white with a digital sensibility and are less-engaging. Additionally, the author’s use of the word “retarded” is shocking and has no place in a youngster’s fantasy book.

That aside, this is an imaginative, thoughtful story that will captivate young readers.

Also available in hardcover and ebook.