Shardik Paperback – October 30, 2001

Richard Adams certainly embarked on a long journey with Shardik. He discusses all the effects of religious faith and loyalty and the endurance of the human spirit as well as the awesome power in the spirit of all living things, bears included. It is a long read, chock full of pensive, engaging descriptive narrative. It can be a bit hard to keep yourself glued to the page, but if you stick with it, you'll gain in understanding and begin to feel the connection with life that the book describes. This edition is full of typos and really needs editing. It sometimes almost feels like an unedited translation, but in most cases, you get used to the misspellings and can muddle through. It's a sad, but joyful read with honest characters you will come to love or fear.

Let me begin by saying that Richard Adams is my absolute favorite author, so this review may trend on the biased side. My top favorite book is "Watership Down", but this novel may actually be better than that. At the heart of the book is the main character, Kelderek, who while hunting sees a gigantic bear and perceives him to be the embodiment of the power of God manifested, Shardik. Thus begins a long odyssey for Kelderek in which he rises to the heights of power as priest/king of Bekla (the world where the story takes place) and falls to the lowest of lows as he learns exactly what his reign has wrought (mainly child slavery) and in how he begins to feel that he has betrayed his God, Shardik. Many powerful and thrilling moments occur throughout the story, and more so the descriptive writing is absolutely exquisite. Mr. Adams truly builds this world and the reader is without fail able to envision all that is part of this kingdom, from the marshes, deserts, and rivers to the wonderful Kynat bird that is a symbol of luck and prosperity. Not just a great, mythic, epic adventure, "Shardik" approaches the reader with much larger, deeper ideas and concepts as well, primarily religion and humankind's perception of it. Is nature to be perceived as the manifestation of the power and presence of God, or is it simply immune to any perceptions concerning it and is non-responsive to man's thoughts, ideas, or even prayers? Once having discovered the presence and/or manifestation of God, how should one proceed? Does one take that presence and abuse it to exert power over others, or does one simply allow God or it's manifestation to mold and move the enlightened, even shattering and remaking he/her as it sees fit? Is religion simply a path of redemption for the faithful? This is certainly an exciting, extremely well written book with many overarching concepts and ideas to make the reader think long after finishing the book. I can not recommend enough reading it at least once, or as I have, four times!

The book is great but probably not for everyone. Keep in mind that it was written when it was fashionable to really 'get into' things....coming out of the hippie era. So you may feel that he rambles on sometimes about little things. But if you're looking for a epic tale for the sake of reading through it...not in a hurry to find out what happens next...then you'll be fine with that. As far as that goes, I would compare his writing style to Herman Mellvile and other 19th century authors who wrote for the sake of a story rather than selling books.Now for the warning: do not expect a delicate, light-hearted tale. This book is full of tragedy with some very graphic, realistic cruelty that may leave you scarred. If you're worried about that at all but want to read something by this author, you may want to start with Watership Down. If you're ok with that, mulitplied by 100 on the cruelty scale...then read shardik. I have to say that it was long and sometimes a little boring, but no more than Moby Dick...and like Moby Dick, it left permanent impressions on my mind...some I wish I hadn't read actually. But overall, I'm very glad I read the book and plan to read it again.

I've loved this novel for decades; like any really good story I discover something new each time I read it. Shardik is far more than an animal story. It's a poignant examination of the human condition in all it's beauty and ugliness, depravity and glory. The Kindle version has better editing than most of the Kindle books I've read recently did, including the author's prequel to Shardik, titled Maia. A number of characters appear in both novels though either stand alone and not just in relation to each other.

This is by no means his best book. It has an interesting premise, but I suggest that his other books are much better and readers should save this for reading after you have read one or more of his other books first.

True detail and a tale spun like only Mr. Adams could have done! Engrossing, fantasy, thriller.But I only got through the first 150 pages....this adventure just could not keep me interested?!! Honestly, I don't believe I would be able to properly even explain what I read because it's so strange?!Oh, well....give it a try. I would like to know if you make it through and in the end think you would even recommend it because I could not suggest this title to anyone? Sad, because it's not like the man doesn't write well because he does....it's just too odd for me!

I bought this book and it's falling to peices, the sticker on the back of the book fused with the artwork and upon removing the shipping sticker removed some of the artwork as well. The print is very small, and the cover looks nothing like the product image, but i've heard nothing but good reviews about this book. My co-worker turned me on to this book because i revealed my interest in Stephen King's The Dark Tower series, and the title character from this book actually makes an appearance in the 3rd book in the series. My detour from reading The Dark Tower was well worth it, but my only complaint is how fragile the book actually is.

Superb. Superb. A quasi-sequel to Adams' "Maia", but either will stand alone. Richard Adams is more well known for the famous, "Watership Down". But this one may be even better. Or maybe "Maia" is. Masterpieces all. For the serious reader, no disappointments here

In the foreword, Richard Adams declares this to be his best book. That is a matter of opinion.He clearly intended it to be a saga, vaguely along the lines of some other quest sagas. I hesitate to compare it with Lord Of The Rings but I expect Richard had that in mind as he wrote. The fairly long saga is sub-divided into separate 'books' in a similar way.I won't give away the story but it is largely a study of human nature, hierarchy, deism and myth centred around a bear & hunter and how their lives interact. It is well worth reading but it isn't a 'page turner'. It is almost the opposite of a 'thriller' but I was often left wondering where on earth the story would go next. Some of the twists do stretch credibility but not QUITE far enough to call it a fantasy.Some early stages of the saga were a little pretentious with Richard Adams trying too hard to impress but slightly missing the mark. Later parts of the saga were more straightforward story-telling and, to me, more enjoyable. The last 'book' was the best with the most interesting observations on civilisations and on management style. I felt that it needed two or three more chapters to develop the ideas of the last book but I can't give any more away.

I read this wonderful story years ago and wanted to own it. Very disappointed in the publishing format. A very long book in very small print. Would not recommend.

This is a book by a good man whose writing shows that, unfortunately, he does not really understand why the rest of the world does not choose to be good. No one can explain to a good person why someone else is wicked. No one can explain to an evil person why someone else is naturally inclined to goodness. Richard Adams explores this with obvious puzzlement in this very deep and thoughtful story. Obviously he sees a little further through the mists than do the rest of us.

I have had 2 paperback copies of Shardik for many years. The Kindle copy is more convenient. It is one of those books that I can read again and again!

One fo my favourite books, so pleased to re-read it online.