Fiver may be small, but he has a powerful gift. Fiver, you see, is a seer. He is also a rabbit. And because of his powers, he has seen something that nobody else has; something that will change the course of history for his entire civilization. He has seen, to put it simply, a vision foretelling the complete destruction of the warren.
Along with his brother, Hazel, Fiver does his best to convince the chief rabbit that something evil is coming, and that they have to evacuate. But the chief turns a deaf ear to their warnings, refusing to listen, let alone act. Worried and dejected, Fiver and Hazel determine that their only course of action is to set out with a few of their friends in search of a new home.
The road is not without its perils, however. Their party has barely exited the warren before they face their first obstacle: The Owsla, a caste of military rabbits, are sent to stop them, and they barely escape with their lives. From there onward, it is a non-stop adventure. Fiver's visions lead the band to their final destination, and the various talents of the party members all come in handy as they face various obstacles on their journey to Watership Down. And even if they arrive safely, their adventure will have only just begun.
Richard Adams, born in 1920 is an English novelist, best known for writing Watership Down. He was a student of modern history before joining the British Army during World War II, and after the war he completed his studies and became a member of the British Civil Service. Watership Down, his first book, was published in 1972, and by 1974 he was a full-time author. Having written over 20 books in his decades long career, Adams is now semi-retired, and lives with his wife in Whitchurch, Hampshire.
"I must simply eco Rico Suave's words from his Goodreads review:
oh man, this book totally tricked me! I got a bad haircut one day so I needed to lay low for a few weeks ("Supercuts", my ass! Liars!). I called two of my hardest, most straight-up thug homies (Zachary and Dustin) to bring me some of their books and this was one of them. I had just watched a show on A&E about WWII naval battles so I couldn't WAIT to read Watership Down! I love sea stories, "man overboard!" and "off the port bow!" and "aye aye cap'n!" all that stuff so I pulled my hat down and started reading. This book totally tricked me! There weren't any torpedoes, no "anchors aweigh!", no old salts telling tales of sea serpents and sexy narwhals, no peg legs, no giant squid, nothing. It had rabbits! This book totally tricked me!
Crazy thing is, it was awesome! Bigwig is the man! The rabbit man. Before I was even done I took down one of my Rick Springfield posters, flipped it over, and drew Bigwig protecting the rest of the warren (my favorite part). It came out wrong, I can't draw, so I kind of have a fat dog standing in a hole hanging on my wall but I don't care and I still I give this book FIVE STARS! You should read it.
This book totally tricked me.
Love, Rico.
I will add, for myself, that this is like Tolkien for rabbits. A beautifully crafted world of rabbit lore and culture, full of cunning and lovable characters who will remain with you. Watership Down is a true Hero's Journey to inspire, frighten, and delight any reader. May Frith always shine on you, and may you never stop running. (And Peter Capaldi does an excellent job with the narration.)
~ sunrabbit"
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sunrabbit (5 out of 5 stars)