lilybelle 

Tiger Wars by Steve Backshall – review

'Saker and Sinter are a pair joined by their identical ambition: to save the most beautiful, majestic animal there is – the tiger'
  
  


This book was originally bought for my younger brother, aged nine. As a 9-year-old boy, he found his new bike and computer games much more interesting. Tiger Wars merely being something that my mum will read to him as a bedtime story. He's usually unwilling to share his presents, so when I saw my chance I seized it. I read it quite quickly and I found this thriller very gripping. After informing my mum that I thought Tiger Wars would be too old for my brother, he genuinely forgot about it, but I'm looking forward to seeing his reaction toward Saker and Sinter's terrifying tale, and what the tigers nowadays face.

The Saker falcon is a bird of prey: swift, sharp and merciless, keeping itself hidden from sight, never giving up on its task. Saker is also the name of a 16-year-old boy who loves his exciting, wild life with the Clan. They live in the Eastern European forests, far from modern civilization, a group of brothers living free under the guard and experienced guidance of the teachers and the almighty Prophet.

Sinter is daughter of a rich and successful tea plantation owner and is quite a spoilt young lady, and she has big dreams. When her father declares that she is to marry an older man, she despairs. Sinter is known for her beauty and generosity toward her dad's workers, chooses to confine herself to her secret place - oblivious to the fact that she is about to be swept away on a life-threatening journey.

Saker is running, running away from everything he is - everything he's been taught to be since birth. Saker and Sinter are a pair joined by their identical ambition: to save the most beautiful, majestic animal there is – the tiger.

Steve Backshall is certainly one of the most talented novelists I know: his experience with animals plays a very important part in this thriller. I found the Clan incredibly interesting, if not slightly scary; Backshall made the Clan members and their characteristics come to life, and they sounded realistic in a way that if he'd written about actual animals, they wouldn't have.

At first when I read the back of the book, I thought it sounded a bit cheesy, two teenagers wanting to save the animals. But it's more about Saker's regret, Sinter's determination, and of course the natural beauty of wildlife than the whole "save the planet" idea. The Clan added even more reality to it, even though they are the one thing in this story that is definitely completely made up.

I'm not a particularly big fan of action books, but Tiger Wars was clever and quick-paced, and there are quite a few strong messages behind the thrilling story. Saker and Sinter's tale tells you about loyalty, strong friendships, doing the right thing… and most importantly that we can't let the horrors that endangered species now face go on.

• Buy this book at the Guardian Bookshop

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