- Hardcover: 360 pages
- Publisher: Sierra Club Books; 1 edition (May 6 2003)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1578050944
- ISBN-13: 978-1578050949
- Product Dimensions: 23.1 x 15.2 x 2.8 cm
- Shipping Weight: 635 g
- Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #289,840 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
Product Description
This extraordinary book takes us into the complex world of ravens. Over the course of four seasons in the Rocky Mountains, we follow the adventures of Colin, a young raven who arrives unexpectedly--with no memory of his past--to join the Raven's End flock at Yamnuska, east of Banff. He learns about the beautiful and dangerous landscape that is their home and participates in the daily ritual of morning "Flaps," when the flock exchanges news about food sources, weather, births, and deaths. Colin's new flockmates include Greta, the wise elder; nestmates and parents Molly and Zack, who are raising hungry (and hilarious) nestlings; spunky adolescents Sarah and Brendan; and two scoundrels named Dolus and Garth.
As the seasons pass, Colin encounters a wide range of animals--ground squirrels, bears, ducks, lynx, pikas. He learns what it takes to survive: how to fight cold, evade hunters' guns, fly in blizzards, and scavenge from wolf kills (the flock's primary source of food in winter).
Ravens live to fly, and every day after supper the members of the flock all join in the evening "Flight," honing their skills with daredevil spins and dives, and reveling in the sheer joy of performing their graceful aerial ballet--feats at which Colin excels. He is also a bird of exceptional bravery and intelligence--and one who has the gift of second sight. But can these help him learn the truth about his origins?
Written in graceful prose that whirls the reader aloft, Raven's End offers an unforgettable story of adventure that soars over the Rockies and beyond, to the mountains of the imagination.
As the seasons pass, Colin encounters a wide range of animals--ground squirrels, bears, ducks, lynx, pikas. He learns what it takes to survive: how to fight cold, evade hunters' guns, fly in blizzards, and scavenge from wolf kills (the flock's primary source of food in winter).
Ravens live to fly, and every day after supper the members of the flock all join in the evening "Flight," honing their skills with daredevil spins and dives, and reveling in the sheer joy of performing their graceful aerial ballet--feats at which Colin excels. He is also a bird of exceptional bravery and intelligence--and one who has the gift of second sight. But can these help him learn the truth about his origins?
Written in graceful prose that whirls the reader aloft, Raven's End offers an unforgettable story of adventure that soars over the Rockies and beyond, to the mountains of the imagination.
From the Inside Flap
"I found Raven's End riveting--I couldn't put it down, and risked serious sleep deprivation to finish it. It's a great book for kids as well as for grown-ups, and like Watership Down, reminds us that we are animals, too."--Elizabeth Marshall Thomas, author of The Hidden Life of Dogs
"A delightful story in the same vein as Watership Down."--Calgary Herald
"It is beyond a doubt a fascinating story--a real classic."--Andy Russel, author of Memoirs of a Mountain Man
"I liked and believed Ben Gadd's ravens and his extraordinarily perceptive novel about about them and and their mountain terrain...Raven's End will tell you much you will enjoy about mountain wildlife, raven nature, and through raven's eyes a lot about human nature, too." --Fred Bosworth, naturalist and author of The Last of the Curlews
"A completely absorbing tale. If you love the front ranges of the Rockies, and from your chair want to glimpse the high country from a raven's perspective, this is the book for you." --J. Cam Finlay, author of A Bird-Finding Guide to Canada
"I recommend this book for all mountain lovers. A delightful read." --Chic Scott, climber and author of Pushing the Limit
"A delightful story in the same vein as Watership Down."--Calgary Herald
"It is beyond a doubt a fascinating story--a real classic."--Andy Russel, author of Memoirs of a Mountain Man
"I liked and believed Ben Gadd's ravens and his extraordinarily perceptive novel about about them and and their mountain terrain...Raven's End will tell you much you will enjoy about mountain wildlife, raven nature, and through raven's eyes a lot about human nature, too." --Fred Bosworth, naturalist and author of The Last of the Curlews
"A completely absorbing tale. If you love the front ranges of the Rockies, and from your chair want to glimpse the high country from a raven's perspective, this is the book for you." --J. Cam Finlay, author of A Bird-Finding Guide to Canada
"I recommend this book for all mountain lovers. A delightful read." --Chic Scott, climber and author of Pushing the Limit
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Customer Reviews
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Most helpful customer reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
I wanted to love Raven's End.,
By
This review is from: Raven's End: A Novel (Hardcover)
Maybe my expectations were too high--I read the reviews and thought the book was going to be fantastic, especially since I love corvidae (the crow/raven family) so much. The story strikes me as being oddly undeveloped, though--like it's an early draft and the editor has not made suggestions yet.For a book about ravens, Raven's End is surprisingly humancentric. The author wants us to stop and think about humanity so badly that he falls into heavy-handedness. I find it hard to believe that ravens would give as much thought to humans as these ravens clearly do--they ponder the causes of roadkill, garbage disposal, differences in the treatment of birds in and out of protected areas, and other results of human life. The ravens themselves show an unlikely number of similarities to humans--they have mayors (Main Ravens), drugs (Magic Meat), murder/cannibalism, bullying, religion/a sort of cult, and any number of other human afflictions. I will admit that the cannibalism and bullying could occur in raven societies, but the other societal problems strike me as being purely human. Even the non-human aspects of the ravens frequently seem far-fetched. Why would all ravens use their genus/species name/initials for a last name? Humans don't call themselves "Steve H. S." or "Jenny Homo sapiens." For that matter, would ravens give themselves species names? My last problem with the book is that it starts off so slowly. I was riveted by the end--possibly because it took so long for me to work through the first part of the book that I just had to see that it really did reach a conclusion. All that said, there are some good aspects of Raven's End. Character development occurs; there is a plot; we do see many aspects of life away from humans. In some ways, the book reminds me of Felix Salten's Bambi. The author clearly knows and cares about the geographical area where the story occurs. I could stand a little more description of the landscape--sometimes it seems like Ben Gadd thinks the location is a given. There was one part where a location was kept from the reader, and it reminded me of how authors used to give the first letter only of a town they featured in a novel; I was a little amused by that, and it made me think that the author had a specific location in mind but wanted to protect it from all of us. I admire his loyalty to the land. I really liked what Gadd did with the lynx storyline in the book--that was one of the highlights. A lot of the minor characters were neither ravens nor humans, and they were interesting and entertaining. Not many authors these days publish novels of this type, and it's refreshing to see something written from a different point of view once in a while. Kudos to the author for wanting us to see through the eyes of a raven. Overall, I'm glad I read the book; I have kept thinking about it since I finished it. I'm not sure whether or not I will read it again, though.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
3.7 out of 5 stars (3 customer reviews) 1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Raven's End,
By The Reader - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Raven's End: A Novel (Hardcover)
I thought Raven's End was an excellent animal fantasy book. You could really tell that he spent time researching ravens and thier habits. The writing style was excellent, the plot was fast paced, and the characters well developed. I think Ravens would have been hard to write about beacause they aren't the the normal animal fantasy focus: wolves. You have to remember while reading this book, that it is a fantasy, so the animal characters will be more human like than in reality. Otherwise, it wouldn't be a fantasy, but a guide about ravens. Enjoy this book for what it is, a great animal fantasy. I highly reccomend it.
5 of 7 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
I wanted to love Raven's End.,
By Karen K. Hart - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Raven's End: A Novel (Hardcover)
Maybe my expectations were too high--I read the reviews and thought the book was going to be fantastic, especially since I love corvidae (the crow/raven family) so much. The story strikes me as being oddly undeveloped, though--like it's an early draft and the editor has not made suggestions yet.For a book about ravens, Raven's End is surprisingly humancentric. The author wants us to stop and think about humanity so badly that he falls into heavy-handedness. I find it hard to believe that ravens would give as much thought to humans as these ravens clearly do--they ponder the causes of roadkill, garbage disposal, differences in the treatment of birds in and out of protected areas, and other results of human life. The ravens themselves show an unlikely number of similarities to humans--they have mayors (Main Ravens), drugs (Magic Meat), murder/cannibalism, bullying, religion/a sort of cult, and any number of other human afflictions. I will admit that the cannibalism and bullying could occur in raven societies, but the other societal problems strike me as being purely human. Even the non-human aspects of the ravens frequently seem far-fetched. Why would all ravens use their genus/species name/initials for a last name? Humans don't call themselves "Steve H. S." or "Jenny Homo sapiens." For that matter, would ravens give themselves species names? My last problem with the book is that it starts off so slowly. I was riveted by the end--possibly because it took so long for me to work through the first part of the book that I just had to see that it really did reach a conclusion. All that said, there are some good aspects of Raven's End. Character development occurs; there is a plot; we do see many aspects of life away from humans. In some ways, the book reminds me of Felix Salten's Bambi. The author clearly knows and cares about the geographical area where the story occurs. I could stand a little more description of the landscape--sometimes it seems like Ben Gadd thinks the location is a given. There was one part where a location was kept from the reader, and it reminded me of how authors used to give the first letter only of a town they featured in a novel; I was a little amused by that, and it made me think that the author had a specific location in mind but wanted to protect it from all of us. I admire his loyalty to the land. I really liked what Gadd did with the lynx storyline in the book--that was one of the highlights. A lot of the minor characters were neither ravens nor humans, and they were interesting and entertaining. Not many authors these days publish novels of this type, and it's refreshing to see something written from a different point of view once in a while. Kudos to the author for wanting us to see through the eyes of a raven. Overall, I'm glad I read the book; I have kept thinking about it since I finished it. I'm not sure whether or not I will read it again, though.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Nature tale should appeal to all ages,
By John S. Geary - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Raven's End: A Novel (Hardcover)
In penning his first novel, author Ben Gadd has combined elements of nature, mystery, ecology, humor and spirituality to produce a volume that holds appeal for both adults and youngsters.A climbing fatality inspired Gadd, a long-time mountain climber and author of "Handbook of the Canadian Rockies" to craft this tale of Colin, a young raven searching for his past. Just as climbing a mountain is often a quest, so is this tale, which is told from the perspective of Colin. He has no memory prior to being rescued from a near-fatal fall by Zack, a member of the Raven's End flock that lives in the shadow of Yamnuska. Zack introduces him to the flock, and they adopt Colin. As the young raven journeys through the seasons, the book takes the reader on a journey through the Rockies. We witness Colin's growing maturity and wisdom, as he becomes an apprentice to Greta, an old, wise raven in the flock. She teaches him about the ways of ravens that he had apparently forgotten as a result of shock from his "fall." Through Colin, we learn about the important role that Trees play in the lives of ravens, an importance that stands out in the raven's mythology Gadd has created for the story. Colin learns how to tap into his intuitive power of second sight, provided by his dreams and a voice he keeps hearing, a talent not shared by all ravens. It is because of this talent that he is chosen to apprentice under the watchful eye of Greta. He also learns of the power of evil, and nearly loses his life in a struggle with a dark raven named Zygadena. When Colin is ready - or perhaps a little before he is ready - he flies off on a journey through the mountains that is both physical and spiritual in nature. At journey's end, on the Mountain of Feathers, he meets the Great Raven and finds the answers to all his questions. Gadd himself says he did not set out to write a spiritual story, but there are some definite spiritual elements throughout the book, including the aspect of reincarnation. Reincarnation itself can be seen as one part of nature's recycling process, or a form of deep ecology. As part of his apprenticeship, Colin learns that nothing really dies, because that which dies helps something else live. Although individual ravens may perish, ravenhood continues. The book may remind readers of Thornton Burgess' animal stories or Rudyard Kipling's Jungle Book. When they do sit down to read Raven's End, though, they should make sure to set aside a good chunk of free time. It is not an easy book to put down. |
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