Josette Monier has been living alone, in self-imposed exile for many years, in order to keep her immensely strong psychic abilities under control. To most of her fellow shapeshifters, those known as the Sazi, she’s both a legend and a hermit by choice, one of the oldest and most powerful of her kind. Unfortunately, what she’s just become is a target. As weresnake assassins attack her home, Josette’s forced to go on the run, to give up her solitude and rejoin those she tried to leave behind. Little does she know that what she’s experiencing is part of a much larger plan, the tip of an attack against all the Sazi psychics, an attack which could kill or cripple them all before it’s over.

Rick Johnson, a were-bobcat like Josette, was once her lover and mate, before he chose to fake his death and retreat from civilization altogether, his continued existence known only to a tiny handful of people — Josette is not one of them. Unfortunately, as a former member of the Sazi law enforcement agency called Wolven, retirement is only an option as long as those in charge say it is. And when his boss drops by to personally reactivate him in response to the crisis affecting the Sazi psychics, Rick has no choice but to get back to business, a task which will bring him back into contact with Josette. Rick has five days to find his ex-wife, before every seer in the world is dead.

Things get even more complicated as assassins and bounty hunters continue to crop up, and a teenage wereraptor on the verge of her first change stumbles into Josette’s care. Rick and Josette will have to work together and work through their complicated past and tattered relationship, if they want to foil the plot that could destroy them all. Werewolves, werecats, weresnakes, werespiders, wereraptors, they’re all tied together in a complicated web of intrigue and power, one which will strangle the unwary and slaughter the innocent. As visions of doom strike Josette, she and her one-time mate are in for the fight of their lives.

Timeless Moon continues the ever-more-intriguing, ever-more-complex saga of the Sazi, further exploring the world of near-immortal shapeshifters who live and work among normal humans. As always, I really enjoyed this look at their society and natures. C.T. Adams and Cathy Clamp have done an excellent job of world building as they flesh out the various factions of the Sazi, as well as those who exist outside the Sazi’s auspices. I certainly appreciate the existence and focus on the less-familiar breeds, like the snakes and birds, as you just don’t see enough of those sorts of werecreatures normally.

I’ll admit that by this point, it’s hard to read the Sazi series out of order, as there are enough overlapping characters between one book and the next that a sense of continuity is in place. Also, an overarching plot has been established, its threads running through the various books with more being revealed with each new release. Clearly, Adams and Clamp are building towards something larger and epic in scale, with small skirmishes and minor victories and losses along the way. It’ll be interesting to see just how this all plays out in the end, once all the pieces are in place.

Naturally, the main focus is on Rick and Josette and their relationship and rekindled romance, and I must say, there’s some significant, believable chemistry between the two as they argue and relearn one another’s boundaries, and relearn to accept each other. And when the two get physical, it’s sizzling. These are characters you definitely want to get together and find happiness.

All in all, I really enjoyed Timeless Moon, like I have the rest of the Sazi series, and I’ll definitely be looking forward to the next installment.

Originally reviewed for SF Site, 2008