SHIVA: An Adventure of the Ice Age

by J.H. Brennan ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 15, 1990

A thought-provoking Ice Age adventure about a breakthrough in communication between two species. In prehistoric Europe, a gifted 12-year-old orphan, Shiva, faces certain death from an angry she-wolf but is saved by an ""ogre"" boy some years younger. Her people haven't seen an ogre for generations; the monsters had retreated to caves in the forest--and into legend or rumor. When her people cage the boy, Shiva frees him and leads him back to the frightening forest, where she in turn is endangered. Ogres and ""Weakling Strangers"" (as the ogres call Shiva's people) prepare for war; but because of the sympathy and new understanding between Shiva and the boy (and Shiva's psychic abilities), the two are able to prevent it. This is an imaginative exploration of the impact that Cro-Magnon people, with superior weaponry, might have made on the physically powerful Neanderthals--and of the ways in which any warring groups ""dehumanize"" each other. Brennan's sensitivity to different points of view--as well as his creation of sympathetic characters on both sides--is the source of much of the story's tension, with the cultural framework introduced naturally through thoughts and dialogue. Fluid writing, with action taking place in a brief, confrontational period, also makes this exciting story both accessible and discussible.

Pub Date: Oct. 15, 1990

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: 184

Publisher: Lippincott

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 1990

Categories: CHILDREN'S