I really, really loved the first half of this book. We follow Koffi and and Ekon. Koffi is indentured at the Night Zoo and her and her mother are just about to pay off their debts and able to buy their freedom. Ekon is on track to inducted into the Sons of Six, an elite warrior brotherhood. Just outside the city there is a foreboding jungle, filled with creatures and magic. The imagery and creatures of the Night Zoo and the jungle captivated me. Sure, I would have like more of it, but the story during the first half of the book kept me interested enough. Koffi and Ekon set off into the jungle with wishes of finding a dark, sinister creature, the Shetani, that has been terrorizing the city for century. Once they finally encounter the Shetani, the novel takes a turn in a different direction. By the end of the book, I did not like Ekon at all and was rather mad and annoyed with him. If there was a spin off that focused more on the jungle, I would pick that up in a heartbeat.