Dawn Land [Hardcover]

Joseph Bruchac (Author)

Book Description

Just after the last glaciation, the People of the Dawn Land sense a coming threat to their village, and Young Hunter, their finest son, journeys out to meet the threat.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Bruchac ( Native American Stories ) draws on an imaginative mix of Native American tradition and historical facts to craft this lyrical first novel, set about 10,000 years ago in the area now known as New England and the maritime provinces of Canada. As the Ice Age recedes, the People of the Dawn Land (the Abenaki) enjoy an idyllic existence, with people in 13 villages living in harmony with one another and with all creation. Their loyal dogs have an almost telepathic link to their human keepers. Then a mysterious threat darkens the horizon. Have the Cannibal Giants returned? The heroic Young Hunter is dispatched on a desperate, dangerous journey to meet the enemy, and takes with him a new technology, the bow. Fluidly and to poetic effect, Bruchac incorporates tales from the oral traditions of the Abenaki and other Northeastern tribes. His determinedly simple yet seemingly spontaneous prose complements his subject matter, imparting to it the deceptive weight of legend. Major ad/promo; author tour.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

With his first novel, Abenaki storyteller Bruchac has joined the multitude who spin out prehistoric coming-of-age stories, but he's done so with a difference and with great skill. While most (Elizabeth Marshall Thomas's Reindeer Moon , LJ 1//87; Linda Lay Shuler's She Who Remembers , LJ 2/15/88) tell the story of a young girl, Bruchac focuses on the male rite of passage. On a quest to bring meat to his people, Young Hunter is bitten by a snake. Returning to his village, he relates his experiences to the oldest Talker, who sees that Young Hunter was chosen by the snake to protect the Only People from approaching danger. Bruchac seamlessly weaves ancient myths into his compelling tale of the young boy and his encounters with an earlier form of being, thought to be extinct, that threatens the survival of the human race. An outstanding work in its genre, Dawn Land should be popular with both general and young adult readers.
- Debbie Bogenschutz, Cincinnati Technical Coll.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 332 pages
• Publisher: Fulcrum Publishing; 1ST edition (April 21, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 155591134X
• ISBN-13: 978-1555911348
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,085,642 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Joseph Bruchac is a highly acclaimed Abenaki children's book author, poet, novelist and storyteller, as well as a scholar of Native American culture. Coauthor with Michael Caduto of the bestselling Keepers of the Earth series, Bruchac's poems, articles and stories have appeared in over 500 publications, from Akwesasne Notes and American Poetry Review to National Geographic and Parabola. He has authored more than 50 books for adults and children. For more information about Joseph, please visit his website www.josephbruchac.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dawn Land: A tale of extreme mythic power., April 30, 1999

By 

Carlo D'Anna "Mortimersnerd" (Seattle, Washington USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dawn Land (Paperback)

I picked up Dawn Land when I browsed through my local library, bringing it home to read because the cover looked interesting. However, after the first few pages I found myself transformed into Bruchac's world. I experienced the rare feeling one gets with too few books, where you can vividly experience the authors world with your five senses. I believe this occurs because Bruchac avoids the pitfall of some fantasy authors by not treating their characters as real human, day to day people.
Even though the setting is hundreds, maybe thousands of years ago in North America, one can easily slide into the landscape. This along with an incredibly rich adventure story eloquently described with archaic prose make this novel an incredible good read!
I have also thought some movie producer should put this Native American tale to film. It would be cool to see a high quality cinematic reproduction of this book. It certainly has all the elements of an epic adventure film.