Loni is terrified. Her very, very worst fears have come to Life. Her Eyon Hatchling, her "Little" is about to be taken from her. Ok, perhaps not actually taken away...but once he is connected to his work machine, Loni knows exactly what will happen to him. He will be gone. Changed. Different. And she can't let that happen.Not now, not EVER!Not that Little is prepared to let that happen either! Different to other Eyons, he loves his Pet Human, Loni, with every feather on his body. And if that means leaving his egg-mother and his home and all he has ever known behind, then that is exactly what he will have to do. And if it means protecting Loni from the brutal never-ending wars, which rage in the distant villages of Humans, well then, he will do that too.Far across the land, San knows that things aren't quite as they ought to be. Comfortable and secure as his life as a Human Pet is, he is convinced that there is something else, some truth that he doesn't yet know... something... darker.And he isn't alone in thinking that either. Only a chance meeting with another Pet, sets him thinking that perhaps Humans had some other history, that they were not always Pets, kept in comfort but denied freedom of will. And if Humans had a different history to what was communally believed, could they also have a different destiny?When the dreaded appearance of a work machine forces the 14 year old Human, Loni and her Eyon Owner, Little, to leave their home, they have no idea that far away, someone else, haunted by nightmares and enthralled by the mystery of an old medallion, has simultaneously been compelled to embark on a quest, which will inexorably draw all three together and thrust them into a world of danger where nothing is quite as it seems.The Owners Volume 1, is the first in a series of books, specifically aimed at Teenagers and Young Adults. It is a beautifully simple tale of the necessity of human identity, woven intricately into a struggle between what is right and what is more right, between one kind of love and another. Set in what appears to be an alien landscape, on an alien planet, at an unknown point in time, it centres on the concept of what it means to be Human, with all the emotional and physical frailties this entails and subtly examines how humanity can so easily be lost and at what cost to the soul.But its real beauty lies in the fact that it is so much more than the sum of its parts. It is full of laughter and light, despondency and soul-searching, in equal measure and in all shades of light and dark.All of this is conveyed with subtlety in the text of this novel,allowing the reader to gain a sense of foreboding and an inkling of how things really are not as they seem. The suspense builds right up to the final chapter as the reader pieces the information together bit by bit, culminating in a pinnacle of revelations.It is these qualities, together with its strong yet deeply vulnerable characters, which give this story an edge, making it enjoyable for teenagers and adults alike.
