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In the Shadow of the Bear #4
Ursus: In the Shadow of the Bear
The final battle between Clovermead, a shape-shifting eighteen-year-old girl, and the demonic Lord Ursus.
318 pages, Paperback
First published August 11, 2010
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About the author
David Randall
13 books16 followersthe link above has some more information
While still a graduate student, David Randall wrote Clovermead: In the Shadow of the Bear, a fantasy adventure novel. The story tells of Clovermead Wickward, a twelve-year-old tomboy, as she attempts to assist the innkeeper Waxmelt, a man who has raised her as if she were his own daughter. Clovermead's journey leads her into a battle between good and evil that allows her to see past society's many deceptions and find her own place in the adult world.
Jennifer Mattson, in a review of Clovermead for Booklist, commented on Randall's decision to add a dark side to his young heroine's personality, noting that it "puts an intriguing spin on the otherwise archetypal fantasy plot." A Kirkus Reviews contributor called Clovermead "vivacious, loquacious, precocious," and "a delightful heroine," while in School Library Journal, Jane G. Conner deemed the novel "a challenging high fantasy for those who can keep straight many details and forces, and who don't mind a good bit of violence." Dubbing Randall "a writer to watch," a Publishers Weekly contributor concluded that Clovermead will attract "fantasy buffs" due to its "fast-paced plotting and the turn of events at the end."
In discussing his novel and its influences, Randall explained: "Clovermead looks with admiration to L.N. Montgomery, Lloyd Alexander, Ursula K. LeGuin, C.S. Lewis, and of course, J.R.R. Tolkien. Unlike my heroine, I am not twelve years old, blonde, or female, but I have been known to fence, and I am told we talk alike."
(an interview with David Randall http://mistysmess.blogspot.com/2010/0...)
While still a graduate student, David Randall wrote Clovermead: In the Shadow of the Bear, a fantasy adventure novel. The story tells of Clovermead Wickward, a twelve-year-old tomboy, as she attempts to assist the innkeeper Waxmelt, a man who has raised her as if she were his own daughter. Clovermead's journey leads her into a battle between good and evil that allows her to see past society's many deceptions and find her own place in the adult world.
Jennifer Mattson, in a review of Clovermead for Booklist, commented on Randall's decision to add a dark side to his young heroine's personality, noting that it "puts an intriguing spin on the otherwise archetypal fantasy plot." A Kirkus Reviews contributor called Clovermead "vivacious, loquacious, precocious," and "a delightful heroine," while in School Library Journal, Jane G. Conner deemed the novel "a challenging high fantasy for those who can keep straight many details and forces, and who don't mind a good bit of violence." Dubbing Randall "a writer to watch," a Publishers Weekly contributor concluded that Clovermead will attract "fantasy buffs" due to its "fast-paced plotting and the turn of events at the end."
In discussing his novel and its influences, Randall explained: "Clovermead looks with admiration to L.N. Montgomery, Lloyd Alexander, Ursula K. LeGuin, C.S. Lewis, and of course, J.R.R. Tolkien. Unlike my heroine, I am not twelve years old, blonde, or female, but I have been known to fence, and I am told we talk alike."
(an interview with David Randall http://mistysmess.blogspot.com/2010/0...)
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
August 22, 2018
Warning: This review contains spoilers.
I really don’t know what was wrong with this one. Maybe it’s that I read it too fast to appreciate it. Maybe it just didn’t have the substance of the others. But if I was going to take a guess, I’d have to say that it was just so damn depressing. No, really. I mean, I still enjoyed it, but there was something about it that wasn’t right. Don’t get me wrong – the descriptions, dialogue and overall plot are still amazingly well done, but it just doesn’t deserve five stars. Sorry, Randall, it was a valiant effort.
The books in the Shadow of the Bear series have always been serious. Randall doesn’t shy away from giving you the gory details, reminding you how many have suffered and died in this struggle, and letting you feel the pain and grief his characters are going through. I have actually found that to be oddly refreshing throughout the series, sometimes. But the difference between Ursus and the other three is that, in Clovermead, Chandlefort, and Sorrel, we could still see the light shining through the darkness. It was never utterly bleak. There was still light, and love, and laughter, and things that made the stories in the book worth fighting for, rather than wanting to give up because everything was helpless and hopeless. Ursus wasn’t entirely hopeless, but it was JUST. SO. BLEAK!!! I did still enjoy parts of it, because, let's face it, Randall wrote it and it’s still part of the series, with the same loveable characters and a few quirky new ones. But this time you could really feel the Shadow of the Bear.
This darkness that I’ve been talking about started pretty much right from square one. Clovermead has been waiting for Sorrel to come back for three years, and now that he’s almost here she starts to feel that she doesn’t miss him so much..... WTF? She’s angry at him because he didn’t turn up on day one, the day after the period ended that he’d specified. Grow up, girl. But then I thought; "Hey, maybe give her a bit of a break. He’s been gone a long time, she’s sure to miss him really badly."
...Then what does she go and do? Have this little flirtation with a guy called Lacebark. My reaction? Oh, HELL, NO. NOT. F***ING. COOL. Three years? Three whole years? You've so nearly got what you want, after waiting so long for the man you love, and then you have to start agonizing over this incredibly handsome yet insufferably insolent and flirtatious guy. Who, by the way, stole your purse. Yeah, he’s a real catch.
That being said, I am happy that Lacebark was in the book, since he ended up with Saraband. He was a good choice for her... handsome and rakish and a good-dancer. More than anything, I'm just glad that Saraband found someone who cared about her for more than her looks. I mean, Lacebark had seen pretty women before, and only flirted with them. What made Saraband stand out for him was her love of healing people, her wish to save lives, and her kindness. So that I was happy about. I was also happy that Meadowlark was finally re-united with her daughter. I almost felt that Meadowlark deserved to lose her daughter, because of her anger and her cruelty. But it was one of the most touching parts of he book, and Saraband definitely deserved her mother back, so I won't complain.
Anyway; the story goes on, there's a lot of fighting, and worst of all Clovermead and Sorrel were uneasy together, which simply broke my heart. They used to be the heart and soul of the story. Even when they were really and truly fighting, even when they nearly hated each other, there was a fire in their relationship, something to let you know it still meant something. For a while in Ursus the fire went out, and all Clovermead could think about was kissing that other dude, and how angry she was at Sorrel for leaving her.
It took me a while to realize that every third or fourth chapter (can't remember exactly) was a dream about Boulderbash. That was a nice touch, because in the third book it was like “Shut up, Boulderbash, I’m getting sick of your whining.” (That was me, by the way, not anyone else thinking that… I think). This time you get to see how much she loved her little Ursus, and how he managed to turn into something so horrible... and yet she couldn't stop loving him, in her way, and so suffered the cruelest fate of all.
The ending of the book was good, aside from one thing. I really, really, REALLY have a problem with prophecies in books that (rather than being interpreted in a interesting way to make them a plot twist) are followed through bleakly and depressingly through to the bitter end, without any hope for the characters or the readers.
Now, the end of the book;
So yeah. That’s my little rant ended. Ursus was a worthy end to a great series, with wonderfully familiar characters and an interesting plot... everything was good. But it wasn't brilliant. It just didn't measure up to it’s predecessors – it’s predecessor’s didn’t have any inherent flaws, and unfortunately, at least for me, Ursus did. In the end, it was just a bit too sad for me.
I really don’t know what was wrong with this one. Maybe it’s that I read it too fast to appreciate it. Maybe it just didn’t have the substance of the others. But if I was going to take a guess, I’d have to say that it was just so damn depressing. No, really. I mean, I still enjoyed it, but there was something about it that wasn’t right. Don’t get me wrong – the descriptions, dialogue and overall plot are still amazingly well done, but it just doesn’t deserve five stars. Sorry, Randall, it was a valiant effort.
The books in the Shadow of the Bear series have always been serious. Randall doesn’t shy away from giving you the gory details, reminding you how many have suffered and died in this struggle, and letting you feel the pain and grief his characters are going through. I have actually found that to be oddly refreshing throughout the series, sometimes. But the difference between Ursus and the other three is that, in Clovermead, Chandlefort, and Sorrel, we could still see the light shining through the darkness. It was never utterly bleak. There was still light, and love, and laughter, and things that made the stories in the book worth fighting for, rather than wanting to give up because everything was helpless and hopeless. Ursus wasn’t entirely hopeless, but it was JUST. SO. BLEAK!!! I did still enjoy parts of it, because, let's face it, Randall wrote it and it’s still part of the series, with the same loveable characters and a few quirky new ones. But this time you could really feel the Shadow of the Bear.
This darkness that I’ve been talking about started pretty much right from square one. Clovermead has been waiting for Sorrel to come back for three years, and now that he’s almost here she starts to feel that she doesn’t miss him so much..... WTF? She’s angry at him because he didn’t turn up on day one, the day after the period ended that he’d specified. Grow up, girl. But then I thought; "Hey, maybe give her a bit of a break. He’s been gone a long time, she’s sure to miss him really badly."
...Then what does she go and do? Have this little flirtation with a guy called Lacebark. My reaction? Oh, HELL, NO. NOT. F***ING. COOL. Three years? Three whole years? You've so nearly got what you want, after waiting so long for the man you love, and then you have to start agonizing over this incredibly handsome yet insufferably insolent and flirtatious guy. Who, by the way, stole your purse. Yeah, he’s a real catch.
That being said, I am happy that Lacebark was in the book, since he ended up with Saraband. He was a good choice for her... handsome and rakish and a good-dancer. More than anything, I'm just glad that Saraband found someone who cared about her for more than her looks. I mean, Lacebark had seen pretty women before, and only flirted with them. What made Saraband stand out for him was her love of healing people, her wish to save lives, and her kindness. So that I was happy about. I was also happy that Meadowlark was finally re-united with her daughter. I almost felt that Meadowlark deserved to lose her daughter, because of her anger and her cruelty. But it was one of the most touching parts of he book, and Saraband definitely deserved her mother back, so I won't complain.
Anyway; the story goes on, there's a lot of fighting, and worst of all Clovermead and Sorrel were uneasy together, which simply broke my heart. They used to be the heart and soul of the story. Even when they were really and truly fighting, even when they nearly hated each other, there was a fire in their relationship, something to let you know it still meant something. For a while in Ursus the fire went out, and all Clovermead could think about was kissing that other dude, and how angry she was at Sorrel for leaving her.
It took me a while to realize that every third or fourth chapter (can't remember exactly) was a dream about Boulderbash. That was a nice touch, because in the third book it was like “Shut up, Boulderbash, I’m getting sick of your whining.” (That was me, by the way, not anyone else thinking that… I think). This time you get to see how much she loved her little Ursus, and how he managed to turn into something so horrible... and yet she couldn't stop loving him, in her way, and so suffered the cruelest fate of all.
The ending of the book was good, aside from one thing. I really, really, REALLY have a problem with prophecies in books that (rather than being interpreted in a interesting way to make them a plot twist) are followed through bleakly and depressingly through to the bitter end, without any hope for the characters or the readers.
Now, the end of the book;
So yeah. That’s my little rant ended. Ursus was a worthy end to a great series, with wonderfully familiar characters and an interesting plot... everything was good. But it wasn't brilliant. It just didn't measure up to it’s predecessors – it’s predecessor’s didn’t have any inherent flaws, and unfortunately, at least for me, Ursus did. In the end, it was just a bit too sad for me.
April 12, 2012
A nice finish to a very enjoyable YA series. Over the course of four novels I found myself becoming quite attached to the characters, Clovermead especially. And really, who wouldn't want the ability to turn into a bear haha. Looking back over the four novels, what I appreciate the most is not the main resolution to the chief conflict, though Ursus's story concludes in a very satisfying manner, intertwined as it is with other main characters like Lucifer Snuff (what a great name) and key bear characters, but it is the native religion that Randall creates. I love his creation of Lady Moon and the interesting mixture of nature religion and Catholic spirituality. Our Lady is like the Virgin Mary as Earth goddess, without any male gender influence in the spiritual tradition. Win. I hope David Randall writes more.
June 9, 2014
The intensity of these books was almost too much for me. David Randall has a strong way of weaving words and emotion. Certainly epic, I have no idea why this series hasn't been far more popular.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews