3. Richard Adams Discussion

[Philip Overby]

It's hard to believe that Watership Down is considered a children's book, but it's won children's book awards including the Carnegie Medal and the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize . I owned the book years ago, but never got around to reading it. Richard Adams is probably best known for Watership Down but he went on to write many other novels and stories.

I watched the movie version a long time ago and I remember it being ranked up there with some of my favorite animations of that time and reminded me of a similar children's movie with violent animalsSecret of NIMH Talking animal movies aren't quite up to par nowadays in my opinion.

Anyone a fan of Richard Adams or care to share some recommended reading?

 

[Feo Takahari]

All I know about Watership Down:

 

[Ophiucha]

I looked him up to see what else he's written besides Watership Down, and I've never heard of any of them, but one of his stories is called The Plague Dogs, which I'm sure is just as cheery as it sounds. I did read the book when I was a kid, since I liked the movie. I wouldn't call him one of the best in the genre, but I thought it was a good book. I have to be in the right sort of mood to read talking animal fantasy stories, though.

 

[Feo Takahari]

I looked him up to see what else he's written besides Watership Down, and I've never heard of any of them, but one of his stories is called The Plague Dogs, which I'm sure is just as cheery as it sounds. I did read the book when I was a kid, since I liked the movie. I wouldn't call him one of the best in the genre, but I thought it was a good book. I have to be in the right sort of mood to read talking animal fantasy stories, though.

Come to think of it, I remember reading about The Plague Dogs on TV Tropes. I remember that towards the end, the dogs are about to die pointlessly, and the author breaks the fourth wall to introduce himself and the reader as characters, with the reader begging him to please give this story some kind of happy ending. (He does, but it's out of nowhere, so they cut it out of the movie and just had the dogs die.)

 

[Ophiucha]

I'm not sure how to respond to that. I'd probably put the book down at that point and leave the last ten pages unread.

 

[kayd_mon]

@Feo

Please use spoiler tags for that sort of thing.

 

[Graylorne]

Next to Watership Down I have his second book, Shardik. It's about a giant bear thought to be a returned God of a barbarian nation. I don't remember having read it.