Fire Bringer [Hardcover]

David Clement-Davies (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 5 and up

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.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

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

From Publishers Weekly

Clement-Davies's suspenseful debut novel centers on a cast of deer, who, like the rabbits in Watership Down, often use their own special vocabulary (deer, for instance, are "Herla"; an insult to a Herla would be to call him a "brailah," or hedgehog). Soon after the novel opens, the deer are fleeing from the power-hungry Lord of the Herd, Sgorr, a buck with a mysterious past who is slowly building a militaristic following. An ancient prophecy states that a fawn with an oak leaf-shaped mark on his forehead is destined to free his kind from the "lord of lies." When Rannoch is born with such a mark, the elders know to protect him from Sgorr and arrange his escape with a pack of friends. Rannoch discovers as they travel that he can talk toAand even healAother animals. Meanwhile, Sgorr conquers herd after herd and uses other wildlife as fodder for his militia's training. Rannoch doesn't want to fight, but when an assassin murders the hind who raised him, he knows he must confront SgorrAand fulfill the rest of the prophecy. The struggle between good and evil builds right up to the final face-off. Some chapters drag a bit, and the narration occasionally breaks out of the deer's point of view to fill in scientific facts about mating or herd behavior, but for the most part the adventures are likely to captivate readers. Ages 10-up. (Oct.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Hardcover: 498 pages
• Publisher: Dutton Books; 1st edition (October 2, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0525464921
• ISBN-13: 978-0525464921
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (137 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #261,403 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Exceptional And Powerful Story!, November 3, 2000

By 

bobbewig (New Jersey, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Fire Bringer (Hardcover)

David Clement-Davies's first novel is a truly excellent book for readers young and old alike. Fire Bringer is a gripping saga that draws you into an animal world that is at once incredibly convincing yet also a sharp reflection of our own. Epic but suspenseful and swiftly paced, Fire Bringer follows closely in the tradition of another beloved fantasy and one of my all-time favorite books, Watership Down. It is a story of war and healing, cast with unforgettable characters -- particularly Rannoch -- and told with the resonance of legend. Fire Bringer has the ability to be a classic fantasy and is perhaps the best book I've read this year. I don't give 5 star ratings often but Fire Starter is definitely worthy of it. Do yourself a favor and get a copy as soon as you can.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great book by a great author, November 30, 2001

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Fire Bringer (Hardcover)

David Cement-Davies does a great job, in creating an amazing story. This book, is filled with fantasy, danger, adventure, and love; every ingredient to a knock-out book.
The book is about a deer named Rannoch, who is born with a mark shaped like an oak leaf on his forehead. There is a prophecy among the deer, that says a fawn with the mark of an oak leaf on his forehead will bring freedom to all the deer. So when Rannoch was born, the other deer who knew about his birth where scaried, worried, and amazed all at the same time. Rannoch is forced to flee, or lose his life. The whole story is about how he has to survive, and his life.
This book, is very good, because it not only is different from most books, because the characters are animals, but, it has a great plot. I would recommend this book to all adults, and teenagers, because I feel that smaller children, would not understand what the book is talking about, nor would have the patcience to read 498 pages of fiction.
David Clement-Davies, I commened you for your great writing.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best Book Ever, December 18, 2001

By 

Jake Takiff (Bedford Hills, New York USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fire Bringer (Hardcover)

Have you ever wondered about what it's like to be a deer? Well in Fire Bringer you find out that being a deer is not so easy. "In a dark and troubled time, a prophecy is about to come true..." This is a book about the life of a young deer named Rannoch. He is born with a fawn mark shaped as an oak leaf, which can only mean the prophecy... Are the gods awakened? Now evil forces of deer are gathering for war and there can't be any good ahead.
Fire Bringer is a story of war, friendship, survival, and a young deer's adventure to escape death. During the whole book, I could not wait to flip to the last page and find out the mystery behind all the war, Sgorr's terrible secret, and especially the forbidden prophecy. This is a book of suspense and action.
I recommend this book to anyone who likes action and personification. Fire Bringer is the kind of book you will read under the covers late at night and you won't be able put it down. Fire Bringer is the best book that I've ever read, and the most suspenseful book too. It has touched me deep inside, and will definitely do the same for others.