Anderson, Jarod K: Strange Animals

An ordinary man discovers a hidden world of supernatural creatures-and an unexpected home-in this enchanting contemporary fantasy debut.One of the most fun and original books I've read in years. Excellent storytelling. See for yourself.-Jim Butcher, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Dresden FilesA haunting and atmospheric urban fantasy populated by quirky human characters and fabulously weird mythical creatures . . . a wholly captivating tale of magic and nature.-Publishers WeeklyGreen trips on the curb, falls flat into the street, and sees the city bus speeding toward him. And then . . . blink. He's back on the curb, miraculously still alive. A five-foot-tall crow watches him from atop a nearby sign, somehow unseen by the rushing crowd of morning commuters.Desperate for answers and beset by more visions of impossible creatures, Green finds his way to a remote campsite in the Appalachian Mountains, where he meets a centuries-old teacher and begins an apprenticeship unlike anything he could imagine.Under his new mentor's grouchy tutelage, Green studies the time-bending rag moth, the glass fawn, and the menacing horned wolf. He begins to see past hidden nature's terrors and glimpse its beauty, all while befriending fellow misfits-and finding connection and community.Along the way come clues about the forces that set him on this path-and, most incredibly, a sense of purpose and fulfillment like nothing he's felt before.But Green's new happiness promises to be short-lived, because alongside these marvels lurks a deadly threat to this place he's already come to love.Creepy, cozy, and beautiful, Strange Animals is a fantasy about home, belonging, and the fearfully wonderous nature all around us.