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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Raven's End, August 17, 2007
This review is from: Raven's End: A Novel (Hardcover)
I thought Raven's End was an excellent animal fantasy book. You could really tell that he spent time researching ravens and thier habits. The writing style was excellent, the plot was fast paced, and the characters well developed. I think Ravens would have been hard to write about beacause they aren't the the normal animal fantasy focus: wolves. You have to remember while reading this book, that it is a fantasy, so the animal characters will be more human like than in reality. Otherwise, it wouldn't be a fantasy, but a guide about ravens. Enjoy this book for what it is, a great animal fantasy. I highly reccomend it.
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5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
I wanted to love Raven's End., April 23, 2004
This review is from: Raven's End: A Novel (Hardcover)
Maybe my expectations were too high--I read the reviews and thought the book was going to be fantastic, especially since I love corvidae (the crow/raven family) so much. The story strikes me as being oddly undeveloped, though--like it's an early draft and the editor has not made suggestions yet. For a book about ravens, Raven's End is surprisingly humancentric. The author wants us to stop and think about humanity so badly that he falls into heavy-handedness. I find it hard to believe that ravens would give as much thought to humans as these ravens clearly do--they ponder the causes of roadkill, garbage disposal, differences in the treatment of birds in and out of protected areas, and other results of human life. The ravens themselves show an unlikely number of similarities to humans--they have mayors (Main Ravens), drugs (Magic Meat), murder/cannibalism, bullying, religion/a sort of cult, and any number of other human afflictions. I will admit that the cannibalism and bullying could occur in raven societies, but the other societal problems strike me as being purely human. Even the non-human aspects of the ravens frequently seem far-fetched. Why would all ravens use their genus/species name/initials for a last name? Humans don't call themselves "Steve H. S." or "Jenny Homo sapiens." For that matter, would ravens give themselves species names? My last problem with the book is that it starts off so slowly. I was riveted by the end--possibly because it took so long for me to work through the first part of the book that I just had to see that it really did reach a conclusion. All that said, there are some good aspects of Raven's End. Character development occurs; there is a plot; we do see many aspects of life away from humans. In some ways, the book reminds me of Felix Salten's Bambi. The author clearly knows and cares about the geographical area where the story occurs. I could stand a little more description of the landscape--sometimes it seems like Ben Gadd thinks the location is a given. There was one part where a location was kept from the reader, and it reminded me of how authors used to give the first letter only of a town they featured in a novel; I was a little amused by that, and it made me think that the author had a specific location in mind but wanted to protect it from all of us. I admire his loyalty to the land. I really liked what Gadd did with the lynx storyline in the book--that was one of the highlights. A lot of the minor characters were neither ravens nor humans, and they were interesting and entertaining. Not many authors these days publish novels of this type, and it's refreshing to see something written from a different point of view once in a while. Kudos to the author for wanting us to see through the eyes of a raven. Overall, I'm glad I read the book; I have kept thinking about it since I finished it. I'm not sure whether or not I will read it again, though.
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4.0 out of 5 stars
Nature tale should appeal to all ages, August 13, 2008
This review is from: Raven's End: A Novel (Hardcover)
In penning his first novel, author Ben Gadd has combined elements of nature, mystery, ecology, humor and spirituality to produce a volume that holds appeal for both adults and youngsters. A climbing fatality inspired Gadd, a long-time mountain climber and author of "Handbook of the Canadian Rockies" to craft this tale of Colin, a young raven searching for his past. Just as climbing a mountain is often a quest, so is this tale, which is told from the perspective of Colin. He has no memory prior to being rescued from a near-fatal fall by Zack, a member of the Raven's End flock that lives in the shadow of Yamnuska. Zack introduces him to the flock, and they adopt Colin. As the young raven journeys through the seasons, the book takes the reader on a journey through the Rockies. We witness Colin's growing maturity and wisdom, as he becomes an apprentice to Greta, an old, wise raven in the flock. She teaches him about the ways of ravens that he had apparently forgotten as a result of shock from his "fall." Through Colin, we learn about the important role that Trees play in the lives of ravens, an importance that stands out in the raven's mythology Gadd has created for the story. Colin learns how to tap into his intuitive power of second sight, provided by his dreams and a voice he keeps hearing, a talent not shared by all ravens. It is because of this talent that he is chosen to apprentice under the watchful eye of Greta. He also learns of the power of evil, and nearly loses his life in a struggle with a dark raven named Zygadena. When Colin is ready - or perhaps a little before he is ready - he flies off on a journey through the mountains that is both physical and spiritual in nature. At journey's end, on the Mountain of Feathers, he meets the Great Raven and finds the answers to all his questions. Gadd himself says he did not set out to write a spiritual story, but there are some definite spiritual elements throughout the book, including the aspect of reincarnation. Reincarnation itself can be seen as one part of nature's recycling process, or a form of deep ecology. As part of his apprenticeship, Colin learns that nothing really dies, because that which dies helps something else live. Although individual ravens may perish, ravenhood continues. The book may remind readers of Thornton Burgess' animal stories or Rudyard Kipling's Jungle Book. When they do sit down to read Raven's End, though, they should make sure to set aside a good chunk of free time. It is not an easy book to put down.
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