What about 'There and Back Again' - = is that any=20 good?            =20             =    =20             =    =20             =    =20             =    =20             =    =20             =    =20             =    =20             =    =20 Haven't read 'There and Back Again' yet but give 'The Wild Angel' a = try. =20 Here is my review which is also posted where I contribute regularly at = = rambles.net.          &= nbsp;           =20             =    =20             =    =20        =20 =             &= nbsp;           &n= bsp;           &nb= sp;           &nbs= p;            = ;            =             &= nbsp;           &n= bsp;           &nb= sp;           &nbs= p;            = ;            =             &= nbsp;           &n= bsp;          The Wild = Angel by=20 Pat Murphy (Tor Books, NY, Aug. 2000, $23.95, hardcover,
ISBN#:=20 0-312-86626-7).        =    =20             =    =20             =    =20             =    =20             =    =20
Pat Murphy's latest novel = The Wild=20 Angel, (also credited as by Mary Maxwell
by Max Meriwell in a = playful=20 authorial pseudonymous experiment), is the
second in a trio of = tales paying=20 homage to great classics of imaginative
fiction. The first, = 'There=20 and Back Again', was a loving pastiche of
Tolkien's The Hobbit = re-worked as=20 a space opera. This one is faithful to
the spirit of Edgar = Rice=20 Burrough's Tarzan tales and Rudyard Kipling's
Jungle Book Mowgli = stories=20 with a hefty nod to Mark Twain who is quoted in
every epigraph for = each=20 chapter. The resulting yarn, a delightful
cross-genre mix = with=20 elements of mystery, western and fantasy/adventure
infused with a = feminist=20 sensibility, is also a wolf-girl saga that nicely
complements the = entirely=20 independent Nadya: The Wolf Chronicles (1996).   =20             =    =20             =    =20             =    =20             =    =20             =    =20             =    =20
In Gold = Rush=20 California (1850), hopeful settlers Rachel and William = McKenzie
have their=20 dreams cut short when they are murdered by the ruthless = robber
Jasper Davis=20 in their camp not far from the boomtown of Selby. Their 3 = year
old=20 daughter Sarah, by hiding in a cave, avoids death, finding her=20 survival
depends upon the wolf pack led by the she-wolf Wauna that = adopts=20 her. Like
her special wolf-companion Beka, one of Wauna's = offspring,=20 Sarah grows wild,
strong, healthy and wary of humans for many years = until a=20 chance encounter
and resulting friendship with Malila, a young = Miwok Indian=20 woman and shaman
who shows her that not all people are to be=20 feared.

Meanwhile, evidence of the crime is discovered by = writer/artist=20 Max Philips,
but the perpetrator remains unknown. Max, loving = to camp=20 and sketch in this
wilderness area, as the years pass, = occassionally=20 glimpses Sarah, who is
becoming known as the Wild Angel for her = beauty,=20 spectacular red hair and
kindness to distressed travelers. = Gradually=20 Max gains Sarah's trust and
friendship for he has been haunted by = her ever=20 since the day he discovered
her parent's bodies but couldn't find = their=20 little girl. He also keeps this
odd friend of his secret, = fearing=20 that the murderer of Sarah's parents is
still nearby which indeed = he is,=20 for Jasper Davis has been buying
respectability with the proceeds = of his=20 crimes, but never forgetting that
Sarah witnessed his foul = deed. In=20 the outlandish tradition of the pulpy
adventure novels on which = this book=20 draws inspiration, Sarah eventually
joins a circus, meets her = long-lost=20 aunt from back east and confronts Jasper
Davis in a predictable but = undeniably exciting and suspenseful climax.
Pat Murphy's crisp, = concise=20 prose style and authorial skill in assembling
the elements of her = mythical=20 novel evokes such an appropriate atmosphere
that suspension of = disbelief=20 comes effortlessly and the swift-paced
narrative sucks the reader = right=20 in. The Wild Angel also features vivid
depictions of Gold = Rush=20 California that ring true and contains graphic
descriptions of the = 'nature=20 red in tooth and claw' struggle for survival
that is life in a pack = of=20 wolves as well as of the loving companionship of
which these noble = animals=20 are capable. A thoughtful subtext contrasting the
wilderness = and=20 Native American lifestyles in balance with the forces of
nature = with the=20 exploitation of and damage to the land caused by the
Anglo-Americam = settlers and miners adds depth to the story = without
preachiness--not=20 spoiling the sheer fun of this yarn with its lovable
protagonists = and=20 compelling, fanciful and ultimately heartwarming plot.
In the = Afterword,=20 Murphy discusses how the layers of pseudonyms influenced
her = writing and=20 how they will help to tie together 'There and Back Again',
this = book, and=20 the next one. Meanwhile, allow Sarah, the Wild = Angel---a
woman who=20 truly runs with the wolves in every sense of those words, to = run
away with=20 your heart and have a ripsnorting romp of a read while doing=20 so!