If you relish writing which pushes the envelope with the unconventional, Snowcub is for you. Graham Fulbright has struck gold with his quintet of soft animal toys and their shared dreamstate metamorphoses into sharp-minded, flesh-and-blood creatures. Whereas Moby Dick's creator thought domesticated dogs and horses Man's cleverest mind readers, Graham looks to the wild side for nature's shrewdest judges of human nature. But he also rings the changes, putting words into the mouths and beaks of creatures unable to think straight because of unwittingly parodying humankind. And, as is often the case with Graham, language comes under the microscope.


There's no shying away from the fact that the main thrust of this novel will sit uneasily on some readers' consciences. An intrepid teenager has thrown down the gauntlet: face up to the inconvenient truth that most of us think animals exist to do with as we see fit.


Last but not least, let's not forget the creature after whom this novel is named. You will be hard put not to warm to the furry protagonist and his quest for self-realisation as he grapples with doubts, fears and aspirations mirroring your own. Under this heroic creature's leadership and armed with lessons learnt from their encounters with animal life across the globe the novel's five goodwill ambassadors become a young girl's mental support agents in defence of the planet's threatened fauna.