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mozzribo's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Simply flawless yet sombre storytelling with an enthralling way of words in a mystical land.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Murder, Child abuse, Classism, Violence, War, Sexual content, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Confinement, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, and Torture
Not for everyone. If anyone below 16 wants to read it, consider that decision very well. This book is difficult in more ways than one.deimosremus's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I’ve been a fan of Richard Adams for a while now— Watership Down and The Plague Dogs are among my favorite books ever written, as Adams has a genius propensity for excellently nuanced character relationships and themes centering on the darker and more challenging sides of the psyche (animal or not). Shardik, Adam's second novel, is a book I’ve tried to read multiple times— first couple times were as a young teenager, and I hadn’t quite read anything as long as Shardik prior and it was before I took a more avid effort to read often.
Shardik may well have one of the best opening scenes of any book I’ve read, captured with Adams’ penchant for vivid and lush descriptions that paint a full and detailed picture of the setting. The themes that resonate through the book are quite compelling, often delving into the nature of religious fanaticism and zealotry, crises of faith, idolatry, slavery, and how others can co-opt and hijack your goals to fulfill their own, as well as some exceptionally violent, brutal, and (pardon the pun) grizzly subject matter, even for Adams’ standards. The characters are complex and over the course of 600 pages, go through a lot of change and growth. It’s a very different kind of fantasy novel, one that doesn’t share the pitfalls of most high-fantasy stories, even if it has a comparable sense of scale and scope. It’s also refreshingly not some amalgamation/analog of Euro-centric, quasi-medieval fantasy either, instead having more in common with indigenous folklore and cultures. By focusing mostly on characters rather than spectacle, action-sequences really have a punch to them, and as I said, with the violence on display, they make for some rather intense moments.
Shardik’s main problem isn’t with its characters or plot, but with its repetition— too many chunks of the story revolve around following Shardik, and perhaps one of Adams’ less enviable traits is more apparent in a longer-form book like this; his overuse of long similes to describe character’s emotions can get tiresome. It makes sections of the book have a fairly meandering pace that dive in and out of being exciting, with some sequences being excellent, and others being rather dull and plodding. However, the final stretch of the book offers some of its best and most powerful moments that more than make up for most pacing issues.
At the end of the day, while I will admit there were times when the book was trying my patience, it’s Richard Adams, so the writing quality is generally excellent and its high-points are incredible.
Shardik may well have one of the best opening scenes of any book I’ve read, captured with Adams’ penchant for vivid and lush descriptions that paint a full and detailed picture of the setting. The themes that resonate through the book are quite compelling, often delving into the nature of religious fanaticism and zealotry, crises of faith, idolatry, slavery, and how others can co-opt and hijack your goals to fulfill their own, as well as some exceptionally violent, brutal, and (pardon the pun) grizzly subject matter, even for Adams’ standards. The characters are complex and over the course of 600 pages, go through a lot of change and growth. It’s a very different kind of fantasy novel, one that doesn’t share the pitfalls of most high-fantasy stories, even if it has a comparable sense of scale and scope. It’s also refreshingly not some amalgamation/analog of Euro-centric, quasi-medieval fantasy either, instead having more in common with indigenous folklore and cultures. By focusing mostly on characters rather than spectacle, action-sequences really have a punch to them, and as I said, with the violence on display, they make for some rather intense moments.
Shardik’s main problem isn’t with its characters or plot, but with its repetition— too many chunks of the story revolve around following Shardik, and perhaps one of Adams’ less enviable traits is more apparent in a longer-form book like this; his overuse of long similes to describe character’s emotions can get tiresome. It makes sections of the book have a fairly meandering pace that dive in and out of being exciting, with some sequences being excellent, and others being rather dull and plodding. However, the final stretch of the book offers some of its best and most powerful moments that more than make up for most pacing issues.
At the end of the day, while I will admit there were times when the book was trying my patience, it’s Richard Adams, so the writing quality is generally excellent and its high-points are incredible.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Death, Gore, Kidnapping, Murder, Slavery, and Trafficking
Moderate: Violence
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