Canadian Poetry; Wet Ink Books; Canada; Canadian Literature; publishing; www.WetInkBooks.com; Devour; Devour: Art & Lit Canada; Find all of our mags; “Devour” and “The Ambassador” –www.issuu.com/richardgrove1/stacks/bc11ecdd1e7646c4b1fac2bb7aef11ef
 

 

Don Gutteridge

 

 
Canadian Poetry; Hidden Brook Press; Wet Ink Books; Canada; Canadian; Canadian Literature; publishing; www.hiddenbrookpress.com; www.WetInkBooks.com; Devour; Devour: Art & Lit Canada; Find all of our mags; “Devour” and “The Ambassador” –www.issuu.com/richardgrove1/stacks/bc11ecdd1e7646c4b1fac2bb7aef11ef

 

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55 Words:

The Perilous Journey of Gavin the Great is a YA novel for all ages. Like, Watership Down, by Richard Adams , Don Gutteridge presents a fable about a heroic raccoon who tries to guide his animal brethren home after disaster strikes. Evoking epic motifs this engaging novel mirrors the timeless struggles of life and death.

 

120 Words:

Don Gutteridge’s  novel, The Perilous Journey of Gavin the Great, a fabulous fable is fantasy-fiction for all ages. It is a story set in an animal world where courageous and irrepressible racoons reside at the centre of the adventure.  A flood has swept a family of racoons toward the strange and foreign land of “Everdark”. The intrepid raccoon, Gavin, assumes the heroic role of leader and somehow guides his brothers and a host of others on the desperate quest to return to their beloved home. Gavin’s rag tag troupe of racoons, rabbits, beavers, a porcupine, a few mice, a mole, a fox-snake and a wily fox are a true Tolkienesque ‘Fellowship,’ in this case a ‘Fellowship of the Ring(tail)s’.

(a paraphrase from the afterword by Brian T. W. Way)

 

A Kirkus Book Review

A middle-grade novel, a fable about a raccoon who tries to guide his animal brethren home after disaster strikes. When Gavin awakens on a fallen tree trunk, the raccoon is certain the catastrophic flood that hit Earthwood was only a nightmare. But it really happened, and that trunk has likely been floating aimlessly for some time. Luckily, he soon finds his brothers, Trisbert and Cuyler, as well as other “woods-creatures,” including rabbits, mice, and a snake. When they finally get an inkling as to where they are, they realize getting back to Earthwood will be an arduous trek—through the predator-filled Forest of Everdark. Gavin, the oldest grandson of Earthwood’s “clan coon” head, becomes the flood survivors’ leader. They’re in danger of terrifying foes, from wolves and coyotes to “universally evil” Tallwalkers who wield lethal “firesticks.” Courage is a must, but they’ll need brains as well to safely cross bodies of water and outwit predators that would otherwise devour them. All the while, they can only hope their missing friends and families are waiting for them.

Gutteridge’s gripping novel is often dark; threats against the woods-creatures are constant, and not everyone makes it to the end. It’s nevertheless exciting as Gavin and the rest overcome obstacles in their path and enemies (like a fox) form alliances. What little humor there is comes courtesy of the woods-creatures’ interpretations of humans, who speak “Gibberlish” and drive “doomsmobiles.” These animals constitute a huge, appealing cast, including Gavin, a great commander in the making, and the porcupine Quiver, who either uses words incorrectly (a noble sediment) or simply makes them up (temcrestuous). Along with charming nods to Scripture and literature, from the biblical story of Noah and the flood to the Knights of the Round Table, this journey delivers a handful of surprises, particularly an effective final-act twist.

A riveting morality tale with a marvelous forest-dwelling cast.

 

 
Canadian Poetry; Wet Ink Books; Canada; Canadian Literature; publishing; www.WetInkBooks.com; Devour; Devour: Art & Lit Canada; Find all of our mags; “Devour” and “The Ambassador” –www.issuu.com/richardgrove1/stacks/bc11ecdd1e7646c4b1fac2bb7aef11ef