The Wild Road [Import] [Hardcover]

Gabriel King (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 480 pages
• Publisher: Century (November 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0712678700
• ISBN-13: 978-0712678704
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (76 customer reviews)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Much better than I expected!, December 10, 1999

By 

K. Freeman (Apple Valley, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Wild Road (Mass Market Paperback)

I picked up this book expecting it to be sentimental and silly. I was very pleasantly surprised. Firstly, the author uses language beautifully, and has a keen eye for animal behavior. Secondly, the plot and characters are refreshingly original -- while reminiscent of Adams' excellent The Plague Dogs, the book resembles Tailchaser's Song (which I didn't like) rather little, and I'm not sure what the reviewer was thinking who made the connection with Gallico's book. If I have a criticism, it's that the villain ( so far -- I'm not quite done with the book) has a nebulous, confusing quality which makes him less than purely terrifying. Overall, this is an excellent fantasy, very much intended for intelligent adults.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best!, January 16, 2000

By 

Tanya - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Wild Road (Hardcover)

Wonderful, amazing, fantasitic... Right away, this book became one of my favorites. It was adventurous and fun, and I couldn't put it down. I guess one of The Wild Road's secrets is that you fall in love with the characters from the first chapter and from then on you're eager to see what's going to happen next. The plot is very exciting and isn't like anything I read ever before. Being a cat lover, I cannot wish for a better book, because not only is it a very interesting story, it also present the reader with a problem of the cruel treatment of animals in labs. I recomment The Wild Road to all cat lovers! I have re-read it a couple of times, and each time it gets my interest from the first word, and keeps it to the last. Purrrs!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A personal favorite, but not for everyone., January 27, 2007

By 

Ren (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Wild Road (Mass Market Paperback)

After reading some of the reviews on this page, I felt compelled to write one myself. I own the Wild Road as well as the Golden Cat, and read both when I was still a young student in highschool. I enjoyed the Wild Road especially but found the plot a tad convoluted and confusing, both due to the author's writing style, and the puzzling and fantastical qualities of the subject matter in general. Upon reading it at a later date a second time, I was able to appreciate it much more thoroughly, picking up on subtle nuances in the writing that made it a much more understandable read; it has since become among my favorite books.

However, it is not to be mistaken as kin to Tailchaser's Song, Watership Down, The Sight, or other animal epics; if you expect to read a book of those sorts, you will probably be dissapointed. The Wild Road and The Golden Cat alike are first fantasty, and secondly animal epic; you must be open to some extremely outlandish concepts traditionally only found in the realm of fantasy and sci-fi novels to enjoy this book. It deviates vastly from the very natural, organic approach most animal epics take, delving deep into the mysticism and allegory that are usually only found as small underlying currents in the genre.

Furthermore, the author of this book was clearly an animal welfarist (or even animal rights activist), as evinced be re-occuring motif of man's cruelty. Starving strays, tortured victims of vivisection, and similar themes dominate both books. This may be difficult for sensitive animal lovers and irritating to those who will percieve this as "PETA propoganda." I personally think that the element of graphic violence brutality gave the book more weight, but many found it gratuitous or offensive.

In short, this book is a fantastic read if you can keep an open mind and enjoy it for the writing and particularly the fantastic characters, but if any of the above comments have made you think twice, trust you SECOND instinct and pass it by. It is certainly not a book for everyone.