25 replies to this topic

[BigWigRah]

Glad you liked it. It's been over a year since I made this post here, and it still sticks with me. I've read the book twice in the past year, and will likely read it again after university lets up. I've taken to enjoying morning walks before dawn, and always get a unique joy when I observe rabbits at silflay.

Over the past few months, I've had a chance to read almost all of Richard Adams' books. Highly recommend "Shardik"

oh, and I found this hilarious sign http://failblog.org/...otos-label-win/

makes me wonder if General Woundwort was tasty.

[Bakuda]

I'll have to add that to my list of books to check out. What's it about?

Yes, that sign is rather humorous. Somehow I get the feeling that Woundwort wouldn't be very tasty.

[BigWigRah]

"Shardik" was Richard Adams second novel, published in 1974 (2 years after "Watership Down"). Following the publication, Mr. Adams quit his job in the Civil Service and became a full time writer. Probably a good decision to make after having already written a book that made you world famous on accident. Mr. Adams considers it to be his best work.

The novel takes place in a fictitious fantasy setting called "The Beklan Empire." It's best to think of it as "Middle Earth" without magical elves and trolls. Just like in "Watership Down," Adams fills the world up with a strong culture and history that gets told along with the main story. The humans all have their own mythology and vocabulary that fits within their daily lives. The story itself follows the arrival of a great and powerful bear onto the island of "Ortelga" after a natural forest fire drives it out of its home. The Ortelgans on the island believe the bear to represent the fulfilling of an ancient prophecy that will herald their rise to power in the great city of Bekla (think Hyrule Castle Town). To say much more will only spoil the story. Adams also wrote a prequel 10 years later called "Maia," which expands much further into the world of the Beklans.

Both novels are pretty enormous. With "Shardik" running at 600, and "Maia" running at 1200, they'll keep you busy for a good long while. I should note that if you thought Richard Adams wrote only about sweet little rabbits, these two novels take a pretty sharp turn from this. "Maia" in particular, has some pretty disturbing sex scenes, which quite honestly make Mr. Adams look like a dirty old man. Either way, these are excellent reads for those wanting to see more of what Richard Adams has done. Well worth a look.

[Bakuda]

Oooh...sounds nice. I'm definitely going to take a look at Shardik. I'm nut much for smut so I may skim Maia, but the world that he created sounds awesome. I'll definitely check it out.

[BigWigRah]

the funny thing is, Maia does a lot more to expand upon the world that Shardik creates, but you very well might have a boner the whole way through.

[JakeSully]

Awesome book and a great movie that i grew up with as a kid as it was one of my first exposures to adult animation with Fire and Ice, Wizards, Twice Upon a Time, Warriors of the Wind (Nausicaa) and more in the 80's.