Tales from Watership Down

Rating:
Summary: Lacks the Magic of the First
Review: Twenty-four years ago, Richard Adams wrote WATERSHIP DOWN, an enduring fantasy about the lives and culture of rabbits. Now, many rabbit generations later, Adams has released TALES FROM WATERSHIP DOWN. Having thoroughly enjoying the first one I had to read this one.

The book begins with stories of El-ahrairah, the great rabbit hero of legend. From there we get a pair of modern tales and then it returns to El-ahrairah again and finally ends up with some more stories of Hazel, Fiver, Bigwig and the other rabbits of Watership Down.

The individual stories are entertaining. I always enjoyed the El-ahrairah stories. But when the book moves to the present it loses it. Sure, I was curious as to what happened to the Watership rabbits, but I had hoped for more. This reads more like details of what might happen happily ever after. After the drama of the first book, this reads like a happy couple arguing about decorating. There is no drama, no strife, no plot! I hate to say it but Adams might as well have replaced the Hazel stories with the phrase: The population on the Down grew so some of the rabbits spread to a new warren. Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to give the whole thing away.

I was quite disappointed in this book. Maybe it was that I loved the first book. Maybe I felt Adams was a better writer. Maybe many things. But in my opinion there is more substance and worth in the average Lin Carter novel than in this 300 plus pages book where possibly the most entertaining part is the glossary of Lapine Terms. I would not recommend this book. But if you are looking for the literary equivalent of Nutrisweet cotton candy, go ahead and pick it up.

Rating:
Summary: Lacks the Magic of the First
Review: Twenty-four years ago, Richard Adams wrote WATERSHIP DOWN, an enduring fantasy about the lives and culture of rabbits. Now, many rabbit generations later, Adams has released TALES FROM WATERSHIP DOWN. Having thoroughly enjoying the first one I had to read this one.

The book begins with stories of El-ahrairah, the great rabbit hero of legend. From there we get a pair of modern tales and then it returns to El-ahrairah again and finally ends up with some more stories of Hazel, Fiver, Bigwig and the other rabbits of Watership Down.

The individual stories are entertaining. I always enjoyed the El-ahrairah stories. But when the book moves to the present it loses it. Sure, I was curious as to what happened to the Watership rabbits, but I had hoped for more. This reads more like details of what might happen happily ever after. After the drama of the first book, this reads like a happy couple arguing about decorating. There is no drama, no strife, no plot! I hate to say it but Adams might as well have replaced the Hazel stories with the phrase: The population on the Down grew so some of the rabbits spread to a new warren. Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to give the whole thing away.

I was quite disappointed in this book. Maybe it was that I loved the first book. Maybe I felt Adams was a better writer. Maybe many things. But in my opinion there is more substance and worth in the average Lin Carter novel than in this 300 plus pages book where possibly the most entertaining part is the glossary of Lapine Terms. I would not recommend this book. But if you are looking for the literary equivalent of Nutrisweet cotton candy, go ahead and pick it up.

Rating:
Summary: Keep an open mind
Review: Watership Down is THE BEST BOOK IN THE WORLD! I would highly recomend it. The warmth, excitement, wittiness, and character developement were phenomenal. That's why this "Sequel" was a complete disapointment. In the original, the stories of El-ahrairah were smart, funny and entertaining. The rabbit folk hero was honestly about the cleverest protagonist I've ever encountered in a book. Two thirds of the second book are El-ahrairah stories. When I first realized this, I was excited. Then I read the first one of these. It was 35 pages long, and by the end, I was thinking I must have missed something. El-ahrairah hadn't done anything. There was no trick, no realism. In Watership Down, the stories had seemed like the kind of fables rabits might actually live by and relate to. But these stories were in poorly-defined, lame, sometimes downright depressing fantasy worlds. And El-ahrairah seemed, in some cases, just dumb. But I kept reading, thinking that maybe the next story would be better.

Then I came to the section containing stories about the regular Watership Down rabbits. What happened to the charming, wonderful characters in the original??? Like EL-ahrairah, they're shadows of what they used to be. Tons of new characters are introduced, and they are flat and two dimensional. And they have the stupidest, most unrealistic "Adventures". There is a rabbit Ghost Story, and an Underground river-both good ideas. If only they hadn't both been badly abused.

This is not great literature like Watership Down. Don't read it, especially if you've read the first one, and expect it to be the same sort of thing. It seems Mr. Adams wrote it as a moneymaker. The only thing it's successful as, really.

Rating:
Summary: Good...
Review: Well by all accounts Tales from Watership Down is a charming book. I am not going bore with stick to the original, I am a big fan of Mr Adams I have read seven of his works, with Tales he brings a different approach. The characters and pretty much the same.
The book is broken into three parts. All which on way or another deal with the Watership warren as well as two other warrens. I enjoyed the stories very much, if you are an open minded person I think you will enjoy it. Just give it a chance.