Zan-Gah and the Beautiful Country by Allan Richard Shickman

Title: Zan-Gah and the Beautiful Country

Author: Allan Richard Shickman

Published: 2009

Pages: 151
Rating: 4/5

Synopsis: The prehistoric saga continues in Zan-Gah and the Beautiful Country, the sequel to the award winning Zan-Gah: A Prehistoric Adventure. In this story, Zan s troubled twin brother, Dael, having suffered greatly during his earlier captivity, receives a ruinous new shock when his wife suddenly dies. Disturbed and traumatized, all of his manic energies explode into acts of hostility and bloodshed. His obsession is the destruction of the wasp men, his first captors, who dwell in the Beautiful Country. When he, Zan-Gah, and a band of adventurers trek to their bountiful home, they find that all of the wasp people have died in war or of disease. The Beautiful Country is empty for the taking, and Zan s people, the Ba-Coro, decide to migrate and resettle there. But the Noi, Dael s cruelest enemies and former tormentors, make the same migration from their desert home, and the possibility develops of contention and war over this rich and lovely new land.

Review: After reading the first book I kind of had an idea of how the writing and how things would be different.

The book starts off some time after the first book ended. Their lives have changed and things aren't the way they were before. Zan has a wife and Dael has changed. He's not himself anymore and many fear what things he may do to himself and others. When the go the land of the wasp people they find that that land can now be theirs.

I enjoyed reading through the perspective of Zan. During that time the men didn't think very highly of the women but he's not like most of them and actually respects them. Like always, he doesn't want his people to suffer so he tries to guide the elders to take decisions that won't harm them. Even though Dael had changed he always tried to get near him and help.

Dael wasn't the person that was described at the beginning of the first book. He doesn't the men should ask the opinion of the women and thinks that Zan is weak for respecting them. He only wants to fight those who caused him so much damage and this leads him to make some dangerous actions, both for himself and his people.

When I first started reading this book I didn't think that I would be so eager to finish and know how everything ended. I liked how everything wrapped up and how Dael changed at the end. This is a book that everyone should read! It's so different from the things that I read that I enjoyed how it was so different!

Zan-Gah: A Prehistoric Adventure by Allan Richard Shickman

Title: Zan-Gah: A Prehistoric Adventure
Author: Allan Richard Shickman
Published: July 2007
Pages: 148
Rating: 4/5
Summary: The hero, Zan-Gah seeks his lost twin in a savage prehistoric world, encountering suffering, captivity, conflict, love, and triumph. In three years, Zan-Gah passes from an uncertain boyhood to a tried and proven manhood and a position of leadership among his people. Themes: survival, cultures, gender roles, psychological trauma, nature's wonders and terrors.

Review: When they first offered me the opportunity to review this book,I had no idea what to expect. Thankfully it was a good book!
 
At the beginning of the book Zan lives the live that one would expect during these times. Zan is now old enough to help his elders to kill a lion. After this event, Zan is given the name of Zan-Gah and goes on a journey to find his twin brother who disappeared a few years back.
 
Zan was a different but interesting character to see the story from. He lives in a time where there is no technology and live in caves. Zan described the things he saw throughout his journey, which I thought was nice since it gave you a view of how the Earth would have been during that time.
 
Many years go by when Zan finally returns home. I liked how the others accepted him back into his home. He changed as the years went by and at the end, when he returns, he sees things differently and helps his tribe so that they don't have to keep fighting with other tribes.
 
This book was something different to read but at the same time it was a good book. I'm glad that I gave this book a chance, because I came out of what I normally read and gave me chance to read something different!
 
This book was given to me by the publisher for an honest review.