Shikar [Hardcover]

Jack Warner (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2003

Shikar marks the spectacular debut of Jack Warner. Totally absorbing, it is a thriller of verve, accomplishment, tension, and imaginative power. This is the kind of story that keeps us awake and reading into the early morning hours, makes us miss our stop, forces us to be late for appointments.

Shikar pits Grady Brickhouse, sheriff of Harte County, Georgia, against an unlikely but fearsome opponent-a full-grown Bengal tiger that has somehow found its way into his jurisdiction. Brickhouse happens to be very good at his job: keeping the peace in his sleepy corner of the huge forested wilderness at the southern terminus of the Appalachian Trail. A former high-school principal, Brickhouse is known as a gentle and fair man, people like him. But he's no match for the tiger, one of the most powerful and cunning predators on the planet-few humans are, and every hunter who goes into the woods after the beast is taken out in pieces. Grady is going to have to find someone or something that can do something damn quick-the death toll mounts every day, the media and the politicians are clamoring for something to be done . . . and something strange is going on that Grady just can't put his finger on, something that doesn't add up. . . .

Shikar is fresh and inventive. Jack Warner performs storytelling magic in the clear, resonant style of the classic adventures of Jack London, Rudyard Kipling, and Michael Crichton.

It is a novel you will never forget.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

With blurbs from Janet Dailey, David Morrell, Dan Simmons and Stephen Coonts, among others, this sharp action thriller from a retired journalist looks to get some well-deserved media attention. Readers shouldn't be dismayed by the opening chapters, which follow classic monster-movie template as a huge Bengal tiger escapes an itinerant zoo in rural Georgia. It then proceeds to eat a few inhabitants, to the consternation of many including local sheriff Grady Brickhouse, the novel's protagonist, but not its most interesting character. That distinction belongs to Col. Jim Graham, a legendary hunter of man-eating tigers who leaves retirement in England to slay the Bengal beast even as a media frenzy develops over the story. Based-according to the author-on the equally legendary but entirely real tiger hunter Col. Jim Corbett, Graham dominates every page he's on with his quiet, cool yet compassionate demeanor, his superb hunting skills and his deep respect for nature and animals-the latter theme pushed by Warner throughout. The novel takes off when Graham arrives, and gains emotional and even spiritual resonance as Warner develops a curious subplot about a young mountain boy, nearly feral, who forges a bond with the tiger but joins forces with Graham in the novel's very exciting climax to confront the man-eater head-on. With lots of fascinating tiger lore, some terrific stalk-and-slash sequences and the charismatic Graham at its center, this novel will please all who enjoy swift tales of courage and derring-do.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"Jack Warner's wonderful first novel has fascinating echoes of Jack London and Rudyard Kipling but is his own unique blend of strong characters and a page-turning, moving plot about two noble adversaries, one human, one animal, in rural America."-David Morrell, New York Times bestselling author of First Blood

"Pure, perfect suspense. Jack Warner has crafted a riveting tale of man and beast."-Stephen Coonts, bestselling author of America

"One of the best damn books I've ever read."-William W. Johnstone, author of the Ashes Series

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: Forge Books; 1st edition (June 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0765303434
• ISBN-13: 978-0765303431
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.9 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,626,643 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars There are few "can't put down" books. This is one of them., July 6, 2003

By 

J.R. Wilson "SPS1x - Shine-Protect-Seal Once-... (Las Vegas, NV USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Shikar (Hardcover)

My copy of Shikar arrived a few days ago and I planned to spend the weekend reading it. I was wrong. I read it straight through. I don't know if Jack Warner has another novel in him, but he already has accomplished more with this one than most who make their living at it.

I only hope Hollywood doesn't ruin it when they make the movie, which I find inconceivable will not be made. Especially since it would seem to be the right role at the right time for Sean Connery as Jim Graham.

One can only suppose it was all those years writing with such skill about reality that enabled him to craft a novel with as much horror as any Stephen King could write, along with a full spectrum of humanity's various specimens, without taking the easy route of creating either monsters or caricatures. Both people and tiger are astoundingly real.

This is not "Jaws" in the Georgia woods. It is the intriguing tale of both animal and man, out of their elements yet still driven to do what they do naturally. Warner's tiger is not some mindless evil, but an almost sympathetic character in his own right. Almost, because you can never break away from what he is doing, must do, to survive.

Here's hoping Shikar becomes the runaway bestseller of the summer, as it should. Then I can tell people it was written by the man who, by example during our years together in United Press International's Atlanta newscenter, taught me far more than I ever learned.

Helluva job.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful characters, July 4, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Shikar (Hardcover)

On my own, I never would have read this book. However, my husband insisted, and I'm glad he did. To my surprise, I loved it. Hard to put down, which I haven't experienced in years with a book. Highly recommended.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Page-turner/Nail-biter!, June 25, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Shikar (Hardcover)

When I read this book, I couldn't put it down. When I was able to break away, I spent the whole time thinking about the story and characters. It made me afraid to go hiking in the woods behind my house! Well written, action-filled, great story. I want more! I'm calling friends and recommending it - something I rarely do, but this book is worth it. If you want an exciting book to read, this is it.