Publication Date: Available now from Cargo Publishing.
Thank you to the author and publisher for the review copy.
It’s 1910 and 12-year-old Myko and his family have fled the Czarist occupation of their native Lithuania for the freedom of America—only to discover their ship has arrived in Tasmania, the once notorious prison island of the British Empire, known as Van Diemen’s Land. Myko wonders what will become of them as he watches his father, Petras, and mother, Daina, become anxious about how they will survive in this new land where tigers roam. Myko has never seen a tiger before, except in his picture books, and is filled with fear as stories of the tigers’ vicious attacks upon the island’s settlers are retold to him. He wishes his brother Jurgis was with him, but knows his sibling’s disappearance is something he should force out of his mind. But when Petras takes work as a tiger trapper and Myko discovers the den of the last tigers, the family are thrust into a fight over the last of these beautiful, wild beasts that will force dark secrets to the surface, and pit son against father.
This is the second time Mr Black has made me cry – the first time with the wonderful family saga “His Fathers Son” and now with “The Last Tiger”. I am going to have to have words…
What an absolutely amazing and fascinating tale this was – beautifully written, absolutely captivating and with an emotional resonance that will stick with me forever, I was completely and utterly caught up in the story of Myko and his family – and the alluring and graceful wild animals that come between them.
With a beautifully realistic sense of place and time, a truly addictive and heartfelt storyline and characters that pop off the page and straight into your heart, this is at times heart stopping, tear inducing and evocative reading. It is very difficult to put into words – but as the rift develops and deepens between Myko and his Father and the truth begins to emerge about his brother, you will not be able to look away. And right at the heart of it is the “Last Tiger” – an animal that Myko is determined to protect but at what cost?
This was one of those novels that leaves you reeling. Another book that reminded me why I read in the first place, Mr Black is an enchanting and spellbinding storyteller – and with his family drama’s very old school in a way that I adore. “The Last Tiger” has just confirmed for me that it doesnt much matter whether what he writes in the future I’m going to be reading it. Absolute wizardry with words. Every time.
Find out more here: http://www.tonyblack.net/
Follow Tony on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/TonyblackUk
Purchase Information: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Last-Tiger-Tony-Black/dp/1908885556/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1405151091&sr=1-1&keywords=the+last+tiger+tony+black
Happy Reading Folks!
