Runt the Hunted (Volume 2)

Legends of Tira-Nor #2

by Daniel Schwabauer

JaRed is a Commoner in the underground mouse city of Tira-Nor. Nicknamed “Runt” for his diminutive size, he’s been a hero since he saved the city last summer. Unfortunately, a seer has anointed him to be the next king, when all JaRed wants is to protect his family and friends.

The reigning king, a jealous and unpredictable tyrant named SoSheth, is furious at this apparent threat to his dynasty. It doesn’t matter that JaRed isn’t seeking the crown. In the middle of the night, JaRed is dragged from his home and beaten. He is accused of treason and driven into exile. SoSheth plans to have him murdered on the border of the north meadows.

Before the king’s assassins can kill him, JaRed encounters a band of marauding rats led by a sinister, cunning villain called Kreeg. Kreeg is feared for a long poisoned claw he affectionately refers to as “War Claw” that can kill with just a scratch. When JaRed escapes the King’s assassins, SoSheth empties Tira- Nor of its defenders to pursue him though the Dark Forest. Trapped between two powerful enemies, JaRed unwittingly becomes the bait in a deadly game of escalating stakes.

Meanwhile, a bewildering question presents itself in the scorn and curiosity of those who get close to him: Who do you think you are? JaRed has no answer. He has always believed Right makes Might, but now he doesn’t know what to believe. Only one thought keeps him from descending to the moral level of Kreeg and SoSheth: Becoming evil is the worst thing that can happen to you.

With SoSheth and the kingsguard away hunting JaRed, Kreeg is able to invade Tira-Nor and unleash the full horror of his scheme. The promises JaRed has always believed in seem to vanish as the city he loves teeters on the brink of destruction. How can one mouse
make a difference against such terrible odds?

This sequel to the award--winning Runt the Brave is an epic adventure filled with memorable characters and fueled by a young mouse’s search for meaning in a hostile world.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction

320 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2006

About the author

Daniel Schwabauer, ThD, teaches English at MidAmerica Nazarene University and writes award-winning fantasy and science fiction novels. He earned an MA in creative writing under science fiction legend James Gunn and completed his doctoral work in semiotic theology with Leonard Sweet. He lives in Olathe, Kansas, with his wife and dogs.

Reviews

[Matthew Sampson]

…I had not realised in my first few reads of this book how dark it gets. JaRed's assertion of faith in ElShua from the opening chapters of Runt the Brave is challenged, torn down and stamped upon in this book. Death is a prominent theme; it is everywhere and it is terrible. The climactic confrontations at the end are the most memorable moments in this whole series, and it hurts to read them.

Runt the Hunted is a fitting second-half to Runt the Brave and ties off the JaRed episode of the Legends of Tira-Nor in a contextually appropriate way.

[Dan Andrew]

Just great.

[Janeen-san]

This book was absolutely astounding! This is the tale of HOW JaRed became king of the mouse-city, Tira-Nor, although I mentioned in my review of the first book that there was already an heir to the throne! How will that come about?
The answer to that and much more lays in the second book of Daniel Schwabauer's wonderful series!

Some time after the exciting legendary Battle of JaRed's Fang (Book 1), Jared gets exiled for treason against King SoSheth--He travels into the Dark Forest, for there is an ambush waiting for him at the Northern Meadows, where he originally planned to go.
As soon as JaRed set paw in the Dark Forest, trouble begins. Captured by the clever and ruthless rat Kreeg, he is thrust into a dungeon with another mouse from Tira-Nor--and uncovers a plot to capture the mouse city!
How will JaRed save the city THIS time?

At first I thought, when I read the back cover, that this book would be too much like the Redwall books--but I'm SO glad it wasn't! I got bored of the Redwall books, but THIS one had me hooked from the first sentence!!!! I simply cannot wait for the third book to come out!
Daniel Schwabauer is a magical wordsmith; in what otherwise would be a poorly-construed sentence, he rewrites it until it sounds just right! With his words I can get a crystal-clear picture of the whatever he is describing! He is a word master! I hope to be like him someday.
The only thing I REALLY DIDN'T LIKE about this book...
IS THAT HE MAKES SUCH GOOD CHARACTERS AND THEN GETS RID OF THEM!!!!!
I won't tell you WHO though! I guess that is just another sign of the amazing author he is--I got SO attached to all the characters! I LIVE IN ANTICIPATION OF READING THE THIRD BOOK!

[Collin]

First read: November 10, 2012

Runt the Hunted carries off... not quite where Runt the Brave left off. Whereas JaRed was a hero at the end of Brave, Hunted starts off with JaRed Ratbane being arrested. And it pretty much blazes on from there.

I don't like rodent stories. (Well, Time Stops for No Mouse was cute. And I'm an honorary Rescue Ranger. But I'm not a Redwall/Mistborn fan.) Neither do I usually like stories taken from the Bible. They're just not usually done well, especially big characters like David.

But... Runt.

Basically this book crushed my heart. It wasn't a teary sort of crushing, like my favorite books - Ptolemy's Gate or Deathly Hallows or, Heaven Forbid, the End of Time (Umber, not the Doctor) - but... still. At the end...

BAH. Emotional. It suffered from maybe one or two extra POV shifts, but it ultimately worked. It worked enough to turn me into a grimacing, almost-book-throwing little madwoman.

HaRed is best mouse warrior.

Second read: September 19, 2016

[Clare S-B]

Again a very good read and great sequel, just as good as the previous book. I really like the analogy of the David of the Bible. All of the characters seem so real, the only problem with that being that so many of them end up dying. Which is good in it being realistic, but.... the poor characters! Why do they have to live in a real world when they don't?

Even the first sentence in the book is fantastic "They waited until after sunset to arrest him." It begins with action and continues with it for the rest of the book.

[Jane Maree]

I could barely put this book down, the writing is excellent and the story gripping and fast paced. It begins at a run and keeps it up all the way through. It's a very interesting read and very insightful. The analogy is great, I'll never be able to think of King David again without a thought for JaRed. The book did a great job of continuing on the story from Runt the brave. Again I would recommend this to anyone.

I can hardly wait to read 'The Curse of the Seer'.