Daniel Landes (2)

A unique look not only at how animals relate to the world and each other, but also how good relates to evil. This is an interesting short story based on a rabbit raised by the sun and the moon to live up to his destiny... But the twist in this comes near the end, when we realize what it is that he is truly fighting. I enjoyed this short story not only for the plot, but for the wrapping of the action with the science of what animals are in their very nature.

This is an illustrated book and the illustrations are very well done. It's clear that the art behind them was well thought out and the humanization of the animals almost blends so that it seems natural. My only issue was that some of the illustrations were used more than once in the early review copy that I have.

Note: Though this book was a free gift from the author, the content of my review was in no way influenced by the gifting. The book speaks for itself and my review would have been worded just this way even if I'd gone out and bought it. I also give bonus points for Text To Speech enabling on Kindle format.... but that also wasn't a factor in the above review.… (mais)

This book was confusing, and difficult for me to invest time into. I felt that the writing style was entirely too adult (or at least young adult) for it to be categorized as a children's book. Also, the violence is something I would not read to a child.

The story, and the mythical nature of the plot, is very intriguing - but the poetic sentence structure and lack of identification in some points was simply confusing.

It seemed the author was less about the whole of the story, more about the beauty of the sentence. Not sure how other feel about that, but I didn't care for it.

I was not the target audience for this novel.… (mais)

Joonie is a rabbit and the Runner, tasked with saving the earth from the Iam. Mother Moon and Father Sun set him on his path, where he will encounter friends, face predators, and discover his own abilities before meeting the greater enemy.

I enjoyed this story. It does have some violent parts, and I found the descriptions of some of the Iam to be very off-putting (which was probably the intended reaction). However, this philosophical folktale was a compelling read, and it will make you think, regardless of whether or not you agree with its conclusions. I also adored the charming illustrations found at the beginning of each chapter and scattered throughout the book.… (mais)

The only bit of logic I applied to this fantasy was; if animals had to pass down a history, it would be an oral history passed through the generations. At first this heroic fantasy novel, reminded me of Watership Down, by Richard Adams. The beginning was sad, charming, and felt like the start of a legend, which got me excited. From the moment Joonie woke up I felt empathy for him and wanted to stay with him till the end. I cheered for Pencilthin, and was glad to see Bedbug again. Daniel Landes did a wonderful job of mixing folklore in the with personification of animals and their instincts. The story stays with you when it ends, not sure if the world was changed or set to repeat its timeline over again.

I enjoyed this story, even when the visualizations were sad and hard to take. Being in Colorado to picture that devastation in the Front Range, was heart breaking. It seems the theme to point out it wasn't a book made for children. I don't recall it being described as such.… (mais)