Caitlin R. Kiernan, Daughter of Hounds

Daughter of Hounds

Caitlin R. Kiernan

Roc, January 2007, $14.00

ISBN: 0451461254

The children of the Cuckoo or changelings are taken from their cribs by hell-hounds and given to ghouls to train as obedient slaves. They learn to hate everything and everyone Above ground, and to serve their masters Below ground. Soldier, a changeling, is given assignments by the ghouls' minion the Bailiff to kill beings living Above ground who threaten their exposure, and to assassinate changelings who break the rules. Soldier believes her superiors plan to exterminate her, as her usefulness has ended.

Eight year old Emily Silvey of the yellow eyes is warned by Saben White to avoid horses when she visits her stepmother in New York, or she, her stepmom and her friend will be dead. When a woman in a dream also warns her that she is in danger and to leave her father, she complies, even though she has doubts about the veracity of her vision. When she meets Soldier, both realize they are linked, and try to save one another from the ghouls who are coming to kill Soldier and abduct Emily, as she serves a special purpose in their master plan.

Caitlin R. Kiernan pays homage to Lovecraft in the scary DAUGHTER OF HOUNDS. There is a sense of the foreboding Gothic that creeps out the audience and the antagonists who set much of the pace seem freaky and deadly. Reminiscent of Poppy Z. Brite's darkest thrillers, Ms. Kiernan provides Goth horror fans with a suspense laden tale that keeps readers' attention, because they want to learn why Emily is so important throughout this one sitting tense tale.