The first in the Echoes of the Fall series, The Tiger and the Wolf is an epic fantasy novel by Adrian Tchaikovsky, winner of the Arthur C. Clarke Award and British Fantasy Award for Best Novel. ‘One of the most interesting and accomplished writers in speculative fiction’ – Christopher Paolini In the bleak northern crown of the world, war is coming . . . Maniye’s father is the Wolf clan’s chieftain, but she’s an outcast. Her mother was queen of the Tiger and these tribes have been enemies for generations. Maniye also hides a deadly secret. All can shift into their clan’s animal form, but Maniye can take on tiger and wolf shapes. She refuses to disown half her soul so escapes, rescuing a prisoner of the Wolf clan in the process. The killer Broken Axe is set on their trail to drag them back for retribution. The Wolf chieftain plots to rule the north, and controlling his daughter is crucial to his schemes. However, other tribes also prepare for strife. Strangers from the far south appear too, seeking allies in their own conflict. It’s a season for omens as priests foresee danger and a darkness falling across the land. Some say a great war is coming, overshadowing even Wolf ambitions. A time of testing and broken laws is near – but what spark will set the world ablaze? Continue this sweeping coming-of-age fantasy with The Bear and the Serpent . “ It's addictively brilliant! The protagonist is vivid and sympathetic – and I love both the story and the world Adrian has created” ―John Gwynne “A classically brilliant fantasy writer, a pusher of boundaries, a great storyteller ” ―Paul Cornell “A brilliantly conceived and executed shape-changer Bronze Age saga featuring a heartbreaking heroine . . . Readers will be captivated by the well-realized characters, splendid action, and a satisfying conclusion that promises more wonders to come ” ― Publishers Weekly , starred review “This is a satisfying read, a story you can really lose yourself in ” ― SFX “One of the most interesting and accomplished writers in speculative fiction” ―Christopher Paolini Adrian Tchaikovsky was born in Woodhall Spa, Lincolnshire, has practised law and now writes full time. He's also studied stage-fighting, perpetrated amateur dramatics and has a keen interest in entomology and table-top games. Adrian is the author of the critically acclaimed Shadows of the Apt series, the Echoes of the Fall series and other novels, novellas and short stories. Children of Time won the prestigious Arthur C. Clarke Award, and Children of Ruin and Shards of Earth both won the British Science Fiction Award for Best Novel. The Tiger and the Wolf won the British Fantasy Award for Best Fantasy Novel, while And Put Away Childish Things won the BSFA Award for Best Shorter Fiction. Chapter 1 The sound of the chase confirmed he’d been right: they were heading his way. No doubt the quarry was flagging by now, but still keeping ahead of the pack. Akrit was not as young or swift as he once had been, but strength came in many forms, and raw speed did not decide success in a hunt like this. A big, broad-shouldered man was Akrit Stone River: weather-beaten skin like old tanned leather and his hair starting to grey. He had led the Winter Runner tribe of the Wolf for twenty years, and each one of those years had made his people stronger, extended their reach, brought more hearths into the Wolf’s Shadow. If he showed weakness though, some challenger would step from the pack to face him. On days like this, he knew they were all waiting for it. Akrit was sure that he could beat any of them if ever that day came. But he was not as sure as he had been five years ago. If I had a son . . . and that was a weakness of his body, even if it was not one that slowed him in either the chase or the fight. If he had a son, then he would be unassailable. But just a daughter . . . Am I less of a man? A daughter’s better than nothing, isn’t it? He scowled, thinking of that. A daughter, maybe. His daughter? He recognized little enough of himself in her. The fear that had grown in him, as the girl had grown, was that she was too much her dead mother’s child. There is still time. Aside from the girl’s mother he had taken three wives, but none of them had borne him anything but excuses. This year, perhaps, he would find a fourth. There must be a woman born within the Jaws of the Wolf who is strong enough to take my seed. As he crouched there, listening to the music of the chase, he thought of his daughter’s dead mother, the one woman who had been that strong. I should have kept her. I shouldn’t have had her killed like that. But, once she had given him what he wanted, she had become too dangerous. A daughter had seemed ideal: from her a girl would serve his purposes better than a boy, and he had been young then, with plenty of time to sire a few sons to be true heirs. Who could have known that he would get no other issue in all those years since? Just that