By: David Clement-Davies Publisher: Dutton Juvenile Average Rating: Binding: Hardcover Label: Dutton Juvenile Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 480 Publication Date: October 02, 2000 Reading Level: Ages 9-12
Book Description: In a Scotland beset by Norse invaders, the deer--the Herla--are fighting their own war. A tyrannical new lord of the herd has ended the old way, the yearly play of antlers that ensured a change of leadership. At his command is a corps of young stags, scars on their brows and antlers sharpened for the kill, whose mission is complete dominion over the animal world. But Herla lore promises a hero--a fawn with a strange birthmark whose unique bond with all creatures, including man, will ignite an epic battle and free the Herla forever.
In this grand and gripping book, with its echoes of myth, legend, and gospel, David Clement-Davies has created a classic hero tale set in a society that is at once convincingly animal and a sharp reflection of our own.
Amazon.com: Young buck Rannoch was born on the night his father was murdered and into a herd of deer where hunger for power has gradually whittled away at all that is true and good. He knows he must escape to survive. Chased by stags, with their fearsome antlers sharpened for the kill, he begins a treacherous journey into the unknown, and ahead of him lies a shocking and formidable search for truth and goodwill in the shadow of the Great Mountain.
One day he will have to return to his home and face his destiny among the deer to fulfill the prophecy that has persistently given them hope: that one day a fawn will be born with the mark of an oak leaf on his forehead and that fawn's courage will lead all the deer to freedom. Filled with passion and a darkness that gradually, through Rannoch's courage in the face of adversity, lifts to reveal an overwhelming feeling of light, Fire Bringer is a tremendous, spirited story that takes the reader deep into the hearts and minds of its characters as they fight for their right to live in peace.
Well-written and brimming with a gutsy excitement that leaps off the page and straight into the imagination, David Clement-Davies's debut novel for young readers is an exceptional, dynamic, complex, and utterly absorbing piece of work that anyone with a true love of animals and adventure will find impossible to put down. (Ages 10 and older) --Susan Harrison, Amazon.co.uk
Loved This book I bought this book as a book after reading Watership Down and I could not put it down. It does get a little boring in the middle but comes back in the end. The plot is similar to Watership Down (as are most animal fantasy books) but you should not be put off by that because it is a great book. I thought it was very orginial to write a prophecy and follow it in the book. I think that this is one of David Clement-Davies best books next to the Sight.
excellent and shocking As a fan of Watership Down and all tales of animals, this book naturally appealed to me. I was pleasantly surprised at how gripping it is from the first chapter. The story goes down paths so horrible and dark I found myself caught up in the terror felt by the characters. Excellent read, and can't wait for more!
Simultaniously captivating and DISTRESSINGLY unoriginal. Leaping at the idea of a mature fantasy about deer, I was disgusted and actually quite saddened at the manner in which this story shamelessly copies ideas and scenarios from Richard Adams far-superior Watership Down.
A group of intrepid animals set out to find a new home, driven by a prophecy. Along the way, they encounter others of their kind - in one place, the animals encourage the travelers to stay with them, eating food set out by humans. While it seems at first to be too good to be true, the travelers are horrified to find that these animals are actually being harvested by the humans that feed them.
Still others of their kind have formed dangerous 'police' units, displaying savagery and tyrrany previously unheard of by their species.
They have other adventures, of course. They come to a river, which is too strong to cross, but a particularly clever member of their band finds a way to cross using human ingenuity.
One rescues an injured, vicious, but helpful member of another species, and gains an ally.
Their adventures are interwound with the myths and stories of their folk-hero, a Trickster who cons the predators and even frustrates the gods.
In the end, the travelers, beset by the aforementioned police forces, are saved in part by savage canines, which, led into the fray, terrify and rip apart the enemies.
And then, our hero dies of old age and joins the Trickster.
Did I just summarize Watership Down? Yes, my dears, yes I did. Unfortunately, I also just summarized Fire Bringer, which replaces the rabbits with deer and fills in some middle points with easily forgettable scenes and characters, including a small, stuttering deer who is this book's equivilant of Pipkin, the shy, small, stuttering rabbit of Watership Down.
David Clement-Davies certainly packages this story attractively, with decent writing and description, but fans of Richard Adams will be rightfully angered and resentful.
Inexplicably, Richard Adams is quoted on the back of the dust jacket, praising the book. Well, of course he liked it! It was his own story, afterall.
My Son and I agree This is a Super Novel My 14 year old son read this book first then I read it a few weeks later. We both agreed that this was a super novel. It's my understanding that Fire Bringer is the author's first novel and all I can report is that he did and excellent job of telling a wonderful story. It is original and different from many of the animal stories on the market. Although the story is about a deer the level of writing makes this story attractive to both young adults and mothers like me. We both agreed that this book rates right up there with Harry Potter and I would wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone. A great read.
A cover to cover rewriting of Watership Down For the teeniest details of the book, please bear with me--I haven't read Fire Bringer for a few years now, though I remember my feelings afterward as clearly as though it were yesterday.
The book itself is enjoyable enough, decently written and the characters are interesting enough to worry about in dangerous situations. The plot, however, is shamefully plagiarized directly out of Richard Adams' Watership Down, a fact made all the worse by Adams' support of the novel in the excerpt plastered ostentatiously on the hardcover copy I borrowed.
The beginning, deer chased away from their home just as Hazel and co. leave theirs. In the middle of Watership Down, the rabbits come across a warren of "tamed" rabbits that eat the food left by man and are willing to sacrifice their own to his traps in return. In the middle of Fire Bringer, Rannoch comes across a herd of deer who do exactly the same thing. They are even described to have the same weird aura of being tame about them. Rabbits are captured by man and put in hutches until broken out. Rannoch is caught and lives in a pen until he breaks out. There is an oppressive leader who uses force to suppress his people in Watership Down, just as there is in Fire Bringer.
It is a direct copy. David Clement-Davies had no story writing talent whatsoever when he sat down to type up Fire Bringer. If you've read Watership Down, don't bother to pick this up. You won't be impressed.
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