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Title: Tales from Watership Down by Richard Adams ISBN: 0380729342 Publisher: Avon Pub. Date: March, 1998 Format: Mass Market Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.48
Rating: 5
Summary: Sure, it's not Watership Down, but still an excellent read.
Comment: I have just been reading some reviews of this, which go from excellent to awful in terms of how it is. I first would say that I have never encountered an author with the imagination of Mr. Adams. He is brilliant. Read WD. Read "Shardik". Read "The Plague Dogs". Read "Maia". I found the stories here wonderful and fascinating. El-ahrairah does not come off as a begger as some reviewers have said, but more of an epic hero than in WD. His journeys after the encounter with the Black Rabbit of Inle are indeed epic in scope and content. The "Rabbit's Ghost Story" was chilling and the tale of El-ahrairah's journey to the Kingdom of Yesterday, where a bison rules over all the animals and plants that were ever extinct is true genius. Enchanting writing. I found part III of the book a welcome return to much loved characters. Yes, this is not "Watership Down". Mr. Adams could never write something like that again. No one could. Trying to write a sequel to it is like someone writing a sequel to Victor Hugo's "Les Miserables" (which someone did a few years back: it was awful!) or writing a sequel to Tolstoy's "War And Peace". It just can't be done. What this book is is a wonderful companion and extension to the original story. I am further enriched by it and shall continue to look at those rabbits in the grassy meadow near my house with perpetual wonder and respect.
Rating: 2
Summary: Disappointing
Comment: WARNING: Since these stories take place after Watership Down, you should read the novel first. The background information in some of these stories might spoil the book for you otherwise. Let me be the first to say that I will not be surprised if it is eventually discovered that Mr. Adams did not write these stories himself. I have read Watership Down and a few of his short stories, and all I can say is, he is better than this. El-ahrairah goes from being a trickster to a beggar. The stories either lack subtlety or they lack purpose. I would like to say, however, that it would be difficult to be confused over the timing of the stories. In the Introduction, it states quite clearly that the stories are set after the main action of Watership Down, but before the Epilogue of that book. The second line of the first story clearly states the time relative to the end of Watership Down. I don't regret having read "Tales..."; I had to know for myself.! But I cannot recommend it. Having read it, I now feel compelled to read some of Richard Adams' other books, in order to restore my confidence in him.
Rating: 3
Summary: disappointing!!!!!!!!
Comment: the original watership down has been for years one of my favorite books in the world. when i discovered that there was a sequel i was so happy and rushed to buy it. i knew of course that sequels are always less good than the original, so i lowered my expections. but alas it was worse then i have expected. the first 2 sections were about el-ahrairah and only the last and short sec. was about the watership rabbits. the stories about el-hrairah in the original book were sophisticated and original but in here most of the stories were ridiculous, boring and rather stupid! i hoped that at least the stories about the watership rabbits will be better but as people have allready written they were not! the stories lack the magic that was in the first book, the characters whom i missed so didnt behave at all like the first book and it seems like someone took all the spirit out of them. most who are mentioned are hazel, fiver,bigwig and hyzenthlay. what happend to blackberry? one of the most important characters? and holly, dandelion, pipkin and the others? they are hardly mentioned. i was also disappointed to find out(and i'm sure everybody was) that hyzenthlay turns out to be hazel's doe instead of bigwig's. and what's the stupid idea of making her a chief rabbit as well?!
so why did i rate it 3 stars?
well, there were a few stories i liked like el-ahrairah and the hole in the sky,king fur-rocious and the fox in the water(by the way, the storry about the terrible hay making was hard and terrible indeed). i also liked the story about campion, and the story about stonecrop and of course even if they were not charming as before, i enjoyed meeting hazel and his friends again. as someone had mentioned before and with reason, i would'nt be surprised at all if it finds out that adams didnt write this book himself because i know he can do much better than this! even the writing style felt different, for ex. when the rabbits talked to each other in the original book, they never called places in their human names(which was logical indeed!) but named it in their own way. they said:'the home warrn' or 'the farm' or the 'honeycomb' and so on. in this book though, they suddenly say:'watership, 'sandlaford' and even mention the words:'english' 'new ziland' and also in a story dadelion tells he mentions many exotic animals like gazzlle,gray wolf,macaws and so on(mind you,in the first book the rabbits knew only animals they used to see or live among like mice,birds,cats,dogs,horses and so on, and when dandelion mentioned a camel once, no one had the slightest idea what is a camel nor did dandelion). sure these are little things, but they annoyed me because it sounds silly that all of a sudden the rabbits seems as if they've been taking lessons in geography and science.in the original book, adams was very strict and professional about these little things and that made his book not just good but genius. so now you may understand why while i was reading the book, i could'nt help feeling that adams wrote it rather lazily(or maybe it wasnt him after all...?) this view may look a bit harsh but adams should take it as a compliment to his original masterpiece! i can only hope that maybe someday another book of the watership down will be published and that it would be a compensation for this one.
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Title: Watership Down by Richard Adams ISBN: 0380002930 Publisher: Avon Pub. Date: August, 1989 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title:Watership Down ASIN: B00005UF84 Publisher: Warner Studios Pub. Date: 26 March, 2002 List Price(USD): $19.98 Comparison N/A, buy it from Amazon for $16.99 |
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Title: The Plague Dogs by Richard Adams ISBN: 0449211827 Publisher: Fawcett Books Pub. Date: May, 1991 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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Title: Shardik by Richard Adams ISBN: 1585671827 Publisher: Overlook Press Pub. Date: January, 2002 List Price(USD): $21.95 |
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Title:Watership Down ASIN: B00005UF9O Publisher: Warner Studios Pub. Date: 26 March, 2002 List Price(USD): $14.95 Comparison N/A, buy it from Amazon for $14.95 |
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