Matt is something of a loner, sticking close to home and his mother. He never really knew his father, who he and his mother were told died when Matt was very little. But now at his mother's insistence, Matt is leaving for a year as a foreign exchange student in Denmark, his father's country. He'll be staying with close friend's of his mother and father. One day, while checking out a political demonstration as part of a school project, Matt is drawn to one of the speakers. Following the man and his friends leads Matt to a discovery about who, and what, he is that will change his life.
“Slumbering Ember” is set in the same contemporary world as the Cubi series, where fantasy creatures such as incubus are real. Only, in this new series, the setting is Denmark and the focus is on the Vargr, an ancient race of wolf shifters. This first book of a new series is focused mainly on introducing us, and Matt, to the world of the Vargr, who live in packs with an established pecking order. Matt's pack is the one his father belonged to, and what happened to his father is the first of many life-changing revelations of the story.
This book is mainly about introducing the characters and the world of the Vargr, so while the story moves along at a good pace, I think it's fair to say that not a lot of significance happens. There are very few clues as to how it will all unfold in future volumes or what the main driver will be. Based on the scant clues, and the arc of the previous series, I've got a guess at what might be the significant event that propels the rest of the books, but we'll have to wait for the next book, at least, to know if I'm right.
Matt is a very likeable character. At times he seems a little too mature for someone still a couple years short of twenty, but then there are other times that he acts just like the teenager he is. It seems that the other significant character in this series will be Steffen, the pack alpha. It seem like Steffen will be more of a father figure to Matt, guiding him through his new world towards fulfilling his potential.
“Slumbering Ember” is available from Amazon.