Brian's Hunt (Brian's Saga Series)

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The multitudes of Gary Paulsen fans (or more accurately, Brian fans) will be thrilled to find that the author has penned yet another story about Brian Robeson. Although Paulsen once claimed that he would "write no more about Brian," he seems to have been softened by the "staggering amounts of mail from readers" begging for more about the teen who is more at home alone in the wilderness than in the hustle and bustle of city life. In Brian’s Hunt, the 16-year-old returns to the remote woods and lakes of Canada, where he encounters a mysteriously injured dog. His experiences two years earlier, after surviving a plane crash and months alone with only a hatchet to protect and provide for himself (Hatchet, Brian’s Winter, etc.), have prepared him well to survive now. But can anything prime him for the horror that awaits him on an island campsite where he intends to meet his Cree friends?

This short episode is rife with the kind of gritty--even gruesome--details readers have come to expect from the Newbery Honor author. In an afterword, Paulsen reminds readers that he bases his stories on personal experiences and his extensive knowledge of the wild side of nature.

FROM OUR EDITORS

Brian's back! Gary Paulsen's nature-loving hero -- a hit with readers in bestsellers like Hatchet and Brian's River -- becomes a hunter with a mission in this suspenseful, adventurous novel that will keep you alert until the very end. With storytelling prowess that shoots as straight as an arrow, Paulsen takes his character back to the Canadian woods, where Brian lives off the land in the hope of connecting with nature. Brian keeps busy taking in his surroundings and hunting northern pike, but when a stray, battered dog suddenly appears, the curious boy patches up its wounds and decides to learn where it comes from. At first -- with the aid of senses sharpened by the wilderness -- Brian finds it easy enough to uncover the dog's past, but after he makes a gruesome discovery, the boy quickly becomes the hunter in a matter of life and death. Paulsen's newest Brian book hits the mark dead-on with powerful themes, pitting the hero against nature while exploring the bond between humans and dogs. The author thoughtfully includes an afterword, and with plenty of action and descriptive hunting scenes in this quick-moving novel, Paulsen's fans will surely be thirsty for more.

ANNOTATION

Two years after having survived a plane crash into the Canadian wilderness, a sixteen-year-old returns to the wild to befriend a wounded dog and hunt a rogue bear.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Millions of readers of Hatchet, The River, Brian's Winter, and Brian's Return know that Brian Robeson is at home in the Canadian wilderness. He has stood up to the challenge of surviving alone in the woods. He prefers being on his own in the natural world to civilization.

When Brian finds a dog one night, a dog that is wounded and whimpering, he senses danger. The dog is badly hurt, and as Brian cares for it, he worries about his Cree friends who live north of his camp. His instincts tell him to head north, quickly. With his new companion at his side, and with a terrible, growing sense of unease, he sets out to learn what happened. He sets out on the hunt.

FROM THE CRITICS

The Washington Post

As always, Paulsen spins a fast-paced tale, characterized by a refusal either to soften the often gruesome details of life in the bush (here, partially eaten bodies, wounds riddled with fly eggs and worms) or to romanticize wildlife (in this case, bears). — Elizabeth Ward

Publishers Weekly

In Gary Paulsen's latest, Brian's Hunt, Brian has traveled back to his beloved Canadian wilderness. Although Brian's Return (2001) was to be the last in the series, here the acclaimed hero hunts for a bear that has attacked his friends. With an ever-reverent view toward the power of nature, the author delivers another suspenseful adventure. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Children's Literature - Karen Leggett

Brian is back, even though Gary Paulsen acknowledges that he had said there would be no more Brian books. Brian is back in the wilderness because he just could not fit into civilization, even though he has a new appreciation for learning and even for schooling. Now he is homeschooling himself in the wilderness, with books but also with the natural world around him. The story is rich with detail and demands the same patience of the reader that the natural world demands of Brian as he goes from "looking at a northern pike under a lily pad to actually eating one." Brian finds an injured dog and gives himself some on-the-job training in stitching up the dog's wounds. The story becomes very grisly and quite graphic when Brian learns what caused the wounds. As always, Gary Paulsen gives his young readers a full plate of suspense, life in the wild, and thoughtful introspection. The story will keep Brian fans reading into the wee hours and eager for more. 2003, Wendy Lamb Books, Ages 10 to 15.

VOYA - Kathleen Beck

Paulsen must feel about Brian Robeson the way Arthur Conan Doyle did about Sherlock Holmes: Fans just will not let him go. The fifth book in the series finds Brian again in his canoe, headed into the Canadian wilderness. Brian's solitude is interrupted by the appearance of a badly wounded dog, plainly the victim of a bear. Succumbing to the charm of this canine companion, Brian deduces that she might belong to a Cree family, which had previously befriended him and which spends summers in the area. Hastening to the family's camp, he makes a grisly discovery. The evidence of a savage bear attack propels him into the deadliest hunt of his life. More an extended short story than a novel, this tale reflects Paulsen's love for the wilderness and for dogs as well as his easy familiarity with survival techniques. The story rings true because the author plainly knows whereof he speaks, and this authenticity is a big part of its appeal. Like Hemingway's Nick Adams stories, the Brian books reveal nature and humankind's place in it with spare prose that seems ideally suited to the setting and plot. Reluctant readers will find this book manageable, would-be outdoors types will enjoy the details of hunting and fishing, and educators will appreciate the plug for self-directed learning. Paulsen does not sanitize wilderness life: It is dirty and dangerous. But his lyrical descriptions of the woods and lakes will make frazzled city dwellers long to jump in a canoe and head north along with Brian. VOYA CODES: 4Q 5P M J (Better than most, marred only by occasional lapses; Every YA (who reads) was dying to read it yesterday; Middle School, defined as grades 6 to 8; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9).2003, Wendy Lamb Books/Random House, 112p., and PLB Ages 11 to 15.

KLIATT - Paula Rohrlick