The Ancient One [Mass Market Paperback]

T. A. Barron (Author)

Book Description

When Kate travels to Blade, Oregon, to spend a quiet vacation with her Aunt Melanie, she has no idea of the adventures that lie ahead. Blade, Oregon is home of the magical Lost Crater, in which a grove of giant readwood trees has remained untouched for thousands of years. Now the ancient grove has become the center of a major dispute between those who wish to save this rare sanctuary and the local loggers who see Lost Crater as their last hope to rejuvenate their dying mill town. Caught up in the struggle, Kate feels compelled to learn more and decides to follow a trail into the crater, which, as legend has it, was made by the ancient Halami people believed to have once lived in the region. But for Kate, what starts out as a day's discovery soon turns intor a life's journey. With the help of an ancient walking stick, Kate is thrust back in time five hundred years. Quickly befriended by a young Halami girl, Laioni, Kate learns that not much as changed in five centuries as she is caught in the middle of a battle for the same wilderness. Confronted by a myrid of strange and frightening creatures, including the trickster Kandeldandel and the evil Gashra, who is bend on destroying everything he cannot control, Kate must complete her quest and return to her own time. But to do so, she must not only discover the truth behind her own beliefs, but also unravel an ancient and wondrous riddle bearing the knowledge of life's intricate and fragile balance.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

When an untouched forest of ancient redwoods is discovered on Native American holy grounds in the Oregon wilderness, a band of unemployed loggers sees only an opportunity to earn a living, not thinking of either the ecological or the spiritual consequences of felling the trees. Anxious to preserve the wilderness, Kate (the heroine of Barron's debut novel, Heartlight ) and her great-aunt Melanie set off to stop the loggers. Once in the forest, Kate is catapulted 500 years into the past, where she is caught in a fatal struggle over the very same wilderness. Kate's quest--to help the forces of light and love prevail over Gashra, the Wicked One, and his forces of greed and death--resonates through time, influencing events set in the past as well as those set in the present. This fantasy adventure offers well-realized characters, imaginative situations, high-minded theme and purpose, complex emotion, a smattering of really good fight scenes and a healthy dose of slapstick humor. Working with elements inspired by American Indian lore, the Lost World stories by Edgar Rice Burroughs and A. Merrit, and the works of C. S. Lewis and Madeleine L'Engle, Barron has woven a boldly original novel that is as thought-provoking as it is fun to read. Ages 12-up.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-9-- Kate, who journeyed to a distant star in Heartlight (Philomel, 1990), now finds herself transported into the past. While visiting Blade, a town in southeastern Oregon, she is immediately embroiled in a battle between local loggers and her great-aunt Melanie, a retired teacher whose hobby is preserving the lore of a lost Native American tribe. At stake is a newly discovered crater containing several species of ancient trees. Events move swiftly as Kate accompanies her aunt to the crater to confront the loggers, who are determined to cut the trees down. Within the hollow of ``The Ancient One,'' the forest's oldest redwood, Kate slips back 500 years. Persevering on her mission, she encounters friends and enemies. While the story, with its rapid pace, inventive surprises, and feisty heroine, is entertaining, readers are left with unanswered questions. (How can a walking stick destroyed in the past exist in a present that is clearly a product of that past? Why does Barron undercut his repeated avowal of the interconnectedness of all life by casting reptilians in their cliched role as bad guys?) Also, by personalizing the conflict, the author chooses to ignore the complexities of international trade and corporate profit. Two deeply philosophical books, Ursula LeGuin's A Wizard of Earthsea (Bantam, 1984) and Patricia Wrightson's The Ice Is Coming (Atheneum, 1977; o.p.) serve the cause of environmentalism better. Purchase where fantasy adventures are popular.
-Margaret A. Chang, North Adams State College, MA
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Tor Books (August 15, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812536541
• ISBN-13: 978-0812536546
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 4.1 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (50 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,453,088 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

T.A. Barron is the award-winning author of fantasy novels such as The Lost Years of Merlin epic--soon to be a major motion picture. He serves on a variety of environmental and educational boards including The Nature Conservancy and The Land and Water Fund of the Rockies, and is the founder of a national award for heroic children. Following a life-changing decision to leave a successful business career to write full-time in 1990, Barron has written seventeen books, but is happiest when on the mountain trails with his wife, Currie, and their five children.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Our class group LOVED it!, April 5, 2000

By 

Mrs J's 4-5-6 (Seattle, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Ancient One (Mass Market Paperback)

Kate and her aunt Melanie try to save the `Lost Crater' from loggers who want to cut the ancient redwood trees. By a magic walking stick, Kate travels back in time. She makes friends and enemies on her trip. She will need a broken touchstone to control the stick that will take her back to her own time. Can Kate save the Halamis from Gashra, save the Ancient One, and make it back to our time?

Everyone in our class reading group loved the book - except for the ending. :( The authors style was imaginative and very expressive. The sentences flowed for a good `read'. We would recommend this book because it was suspenseful, interesting, and educational. It's a learning experience book for children. You always wanted to know what was going to happen next.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Very Interesting Book, October 16, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Ancient One (Mass Market Paperback)

Kate is a girl who is visiting her aunt during summer vacation. While she is there she finds out what her aunt is up to: trying to save the ancient redwood trees from the loggers that are trying to cut them down. Aunt Melanie takes Kate and they both go to the lost crater which is only "lost" because it hasn't been seen since the end of the Hameli tribe (a group of Indians that lived there 500 years ago.) Aunt Melanie has been handed down a walking stick that belonged to the Hamelis' many years ago. An unforseen mistake with the walking stick sends Kate back in time (500 years). Will Kate get back to her own time? Will she survive her adventure? If you are a person that likes magic or adventure books then this is a good book for you to read. I like the Ancient One because of the adventure,action, and exciting parts in the story that made me keep reading and reading until I knew what happened. The Ancient One is probably one of my favorite books and is worthy of an award!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Solid as a redwood, March 5, 2004

By 

E. A Solinas "ea_solinas" (MD USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Ancient One (Kate Gordon) (Mass Market Paperback)

T.A. Barron expanded his fantasy writing career after the critically acclaimed "Heartlight," with the follow-up novel "The Ancient One." His intense love of nature is melded together with modern concerns, time travel, legends and myths, and a cast of quirky supporting characters.

Kate is spending time with her Great-Aunt Melanie in the dying Oregon logging town of Blade. The people there are angry and afraid for their about-to-be-ditched jobs, and are threatening something Melanie is struggling to protect. Recently a giant volcanic crater was found to harbor a strange, "lost" land where the Halami Indians once dwelled. It's a mysterious, dangerous and beautiful place: There's a lake with a strange living island, a cursed spring that mesmerizes anyone who sees it -- and giant redwood trees that could keep the loggers employed for a year or two more.

When some of the loggers try to cut down the redwoods, Kate and Melanie set out to stop them. But when Kate takes Melanie's walking stick, she finds herself and logger's grandson Jody transported five hundred years into the past. After getting the help of a Halami girl, Kate struggles to find a way back to her own time. But to master the staff that took her back in time, she will have to battle the evil Gashra, an evil volcanic creature that threatens to destroy them all.

Showing concern for the natural world is nothing new in fantasy; it dates back to the Ents of J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-Earth. And it's pretty clear that Barron loves nature. At times "Ancient One" borders on preaching, but always manages to veer back; even the loggers aren't evil, just desperate and misguided. His story's simplicity and lack of twists would be a downside in most books, but it fails to slow down the pace or lose reader interest. His enthusiasm is what keeps "Ancient One" moving forward and interesting, along with his unusual fantasy creations.

His lush descriptions of Oregon wildlife (both past and present) are loaded with detail, giving a you-are-there feel to it. Barron's writing is detailed all the time, and he's at his peak when he describes the natural surroundings. A comic vibe is added with the owl-like Tinnanis, especially their delicacy-addicted king (who is promised ten thousand peppermint drops by Kate). The scene where Kate confronts Gashra is rather too short, but is quite vivid nevertheless.

Kate is stronger in this outing than in "Heartlight." Here she is more in control, more sure of herself, and less dependent on others; she's a heroine that boys and girls alike can relate to. Laioni is a bit flatter, but a good sidekick. Jody and Kandeldandel are both outstanding, a hardened logger boy and a flittery Tinnani.

Nature-lovers unite under "The Ancient One." T.A. Barron's love of nature elevates what might have been an ordinary fantasy tale into a beautiful, beautiful thing. Highly recommended.