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Shardik
 
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Shardik (Paperback)

by Richard Adams (Author)
4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
List Price: CDN$ 24.00
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Product Description

From Library Journal

Shardik was Adams's 1974 follow-up to his phenomenally popular debut, Watership Down. The title character is a gigantic bear who is the god of the primitive Ortelgan people. The hunter Kelderek becomes Shardik's greatest disciple and, eventually, ruler when the bear finally does make its return. On the surface, the book works as a fantasy adventure; on a deeper level, it explores our relationship with the divine. No matter what you want to see in it, Shardik is a good read.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.


Book Description

"Shardik is a powerful work, dipping deep into old forms-allegory, epic, myth-resonating in the caverns of the readers' unconscious . . . It is an exciting story, the adventures compelling." (Los Angeles Times)

"Grips with suspense, haunts with mystery . . . a memorable work, not to be read once only but to be reread as loved books are . . . a human saga." (The Wall Street Journal)

Richard Adams's Watership Down was a number one bestseller, a stunning work of the imagination, and an acknowledged modern classic. In Shardik Adams sets a different yet equally compelling tale in a far-off fantasy world.

Shardik is a fantasy of tragic character, centered on the long-awaited reincarnation of the gigantic bear Shardik and his appearance among the half-barbaric Ortelgan people. Mighty, ferocious, and unpredictable, Shardik changes the life of every person in the story. His advent commences a momentous chain of events. Kelderek the hunter, who loves and trusts the great bear, is swept on by destiny to become first devotee and then prophet, then victorious soldier, then ruler of an empire and priest-king of Lord Shardik-Messenger of God-only to discover ever-deeper layers of meaning implicit in his passionate belief in the bear's divinity.

A gripping tale of war, adventure, horror and romance, Shardik, on a deeper level, is a remarkable exploration of mankind's universal desire for divine incarnation.

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Customer Reviews

8 Reviews
5 star:
 (3)
4 star:
 (4)
3 star:
 (1)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.2 out of 5 stars (8 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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4.0 out of 5 stars A moving, strange, fantasy unlike anything you've read, April 20 2004
By Ryan Harvey "Wolf Shadow" (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   
Richard Adams followed up the success of his animal fable, "Watership Down," with this epic fantasy novel. However, you couldn't have imagined a more different novel from "Watership Down." This is a very stark, mature, and philosophical fantasy work that explores the nature of religion, human interpretations of god, and the sacrifices and compromises of a war fought for supposedly idealistic causes. With the exception of a disappointingly tepid finale, this is an astonishing, absorbing novel that deserves rediscovery. I promise, you haven't read fantasy like it before. Without magic, fantastic monsters, or any overt supernatural occurrences, Adams sweeps the reader into a world of brilliant imagination -- the mark of a great fantasy.

"Shardik" occurs in a hidden world with a hint of the ancient Middle East. A great bear appears to the hunter Kelderek of the simple Ortelgan people. Kelderek declares that the bear is Shardik, a messenger of God, and soon the Ortelgan people rise to "follow" Shardik (who must often be coerced or drugged into fulfilling prophecies) to wage war against the mighty city of Bekla. Kelderek finds himself as the high priest of the great bear, but also learns the heavy responsibilities, and eventually, the doubts and fears.

The novel is filled with war, a strange romance, bizarre and frightening new lands, and violent shifts in the story that rise from the heights of spiritual victory to the depths of slavery. Adams's prose is beautiful and inspiring. Unfortunately, after many excitement moments throughout the book, the lengthy last chapter sputters to a conclusion and probably should have been left out. Regardless, "Shardik" is a fantasy of great scope that leaves the reader with much to ponder.

This new edition comes with a thoughtful introduction by author Robert Silverberg.

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5.0 out of 5 stars very good reading..., Jan 28 2004
Being in Iraq for so long now I picked up one of Richard Adams books. This was the second one that I read. I have quickly become one of his biggest fans. This book, deals with faith, power and evils that fall upon man. The hero, what you may can one, rises to become a great man but his heart begins to stray. He loses what made his such a pure being. There are many acts of faith that Mr. Adams brings to live with makes it all the more beliveible. A very wonderful book.
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4.0 out of 5 stars Iniciation, Sep 6 2003
By Laszlo Varga (Sao Paulo, SP Brazil) - See all my reviews
I read Shardik when I was 14 years old (now I am 40). It was the first book that introduce me to the mistery of live. Of violence, acceptation, divinity in a new way than I did not knew etc. In those times, I choose book by the history, not by the author. And hopely I did the good choice. The book is still with me. I suppose that any teenager (more male) will like it.
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Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars An Epic Tale
Richard Adams knows how to create worlds of originality and complexity with ease. Shardik is another one of his tales that thrusts the reader head first into a world of savagery... Read more
Published on Jul 17 2003 by J. M. Hannam

4.0 out of 5 stars Brace yourself.
In the tradition of "Watership Down," Adams has created a gripping story that, while seemingly detached from our usual sphere of experience, manages to address a number of... Read more
Published on April 23 2003 by Michael Sprengeler

5.0 out of 5 stars Compelling
I loved this book. Richard Adams is widely acknowledged for 'Watership down', though I feel that he is not properly recognized for the rest of his works which are all equally as... Read more
Published on April 15 2003 by A. McClellan

3.0 out of 5 stars Bear or agent of God?
Richard Adams next effort, after the wonderful 'Watership Down', attempts to transfer the sweep and mythos of that book to a human arena with mixed results. Read more
Published on Oct 3 2002 by Michael Dea

4.0 out of 5 stars An unappreciated masterpiece
Richard Adams's _Shardik_ is set in an imaginary world, though Adams, like Tolkien, hints that in fact it is simply the remote past of our own world. Read more
Published on Mar 22 2002 by Edwin Tait

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