Bravelands

Bravelands is a children's novel series written by a team of authors under the pseudonym Erin Hunter, who also wrote the Warriors series. The series follows the adventures of three animals: Fearless, a lion who was cast out of his pride and starts living among baboons, Thorn, a baboon who tries to rebel against his destiny, and Sky, an elephant whose mother was killed by a lion, gifted with a special ability to read bones. The story is set in the Bravelands, ruled by the Great Mother. The first book in the series Broken Pride was released on 6 June 2017 with a sequel titled Code of Honor, released on 6 February 2018, and the 3rd book, Blood and bone, on the 2nd of October. Broken Pride shows the trio becoming close friends with each other in their attempt to answer the call of the wild. The series has been well received, with critics praising the realistic behavior of the characters, the excitement in the novels, and the description of the Bravelands, while at first criticizing it for its similarities to The Lion King.

Bravelands
The cover of Broken Pride, the first book in the series
  • Broken Pride
  • Code of Honor
  • Blood and Bone
  • Shifting Shadows
AuthorErin Hunter
Cover artistOwen Richardson
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
GenreTeen literature, fantasy
PublisherHarperCollins
Published2017-present
Media typePrint, e-book

Books

Broken Pride

Broken Pride is the first book in the series and was released on 6 June 2017. It begins with the white-backed vulture Windrider hearing a roar from the lion cub named Swiftcub of Gallantpride, which seems to make the sky shudder. Swiftcub earns his new name of Fearless. His father, Gallant, is challenged and killed by Titan and two of his fellow dishonorable lions, who take over his pride and rename it Titanpride. Fearless is carried away by a black eagle who drops him into a small forest called Tall Trees that is inhabited by an olive baboon troop called Brightforest Troop. They are convinced by their female prophet, called the Starleaf, that he is special and they adopt him and nickname him the Cub of the Stars. A year later, two of the young male baboons, Mud and Thorn, are trying to move up from their current ranks in a challenge known as the Three Feats. Mud (the son of the Starleaf) is a Deeproot, the lowest position in the troop and he is trying to get to Lowleaf. Thorn, is also a Deeproot intending to advance to Middleleaf and is also trying to advance to Highleaf, the highest position surpassed only by the troop's leader, the Crownleaf. Thorn is motivated by the fact that Berry, whom he loves, is a Highleaf, as he will not be able to become mates with her unless he reaches her position. Nut, his bully, tries unsuccessfully to stop him but ends up stopping Mud. Meanwhile, there is something else going on with the Great Mother's herd. The Great Mother is part of the African bush elephant herd called Strider and she channels the wisdom of the Great Spirit, a deity that rules all the animals of the Bravelands - lions, however, most do not believe in the Great Spirit though they still generally follow natural law (the Code); Nile crocodiles, meanwhile, both disbelieve in the Great Spirit and generally mock the Code. One of the elephants, Sky (the Great Mother's granddaughter), thinks that the local big waterhole is dangerous after she read her deceased mother's bones and got a vision of a sinister baboon riding a lion, while the area around them is on fire and the waterhole is stained red with blood. Bark Crownleaf, the leader of the Brightforest baboons, meanwhile, is murdered and evidence suggests that she died battling with a spotted hyena. The new Crownleaf Grub throws Fearless out of the troop. Thorn accompanies him till they arrive at the waterhole, where so many more animals are gathered, and Sky sees them and starts panicking, thinking they might be the ones from her vision. Fearless finds Loyal, who was a friend of his deceased father, but he ignores the older lion's advice and ventures close to his old pride, now Titan's. Titan, distracted by Fearless's presence, accidentally ignores the cheetahs who run off with his son, Ruthless. After being persuaded by Artful, his mate, Titan makes a pact with Fearless that if he can retrieve Ruthless, his mother Swift can continue to stay in the safety of the pride. Fearless, with the help of Thorn and Loyal, manages to retrieve Ruthless. At Tall Trees, Grub is poisoned, with the evidence pointing to Nut. Stinger, the father of Berry and baboon Fearless first met when he first joined Brightforest, is chosen as the new Crownleaf. Thorn later realizes that Stinger himself poisoned Grub with the venom from scorpion tails put into the dead dik-dik Grub ate, and he was also one who killed Bark, making it look like the hyena she fought killed her. The Great Mother is soon mysteriously murdered and found dead in the water hole. Around her corpse, the water is stained red with blood and Sky realizes with horror that her vision has come true.

Blood and Bone

The beginning of the book sets off with the point of view of Windrider the vulture who tries to convince the swallow birds to stay in Bravelands with no success. Sky, seeing Thorn about to be killed, saves him by throwing Fearless into a tree and carries him off. It becomes apparent that Sky can now read the memories of any animal she touches. After the Striders accuse Stinger of having a hand in Great Mother's death, the baboon paints them as crazed, particularly Sky. Thorn and his former enemy Nut flee to Leopard Forest, a dense woodland inhabited by no leopards, but a hostile baboon troop led by the deranged Tendril. Pear, Berry's mother, is discovered living with them, reported to have not spoken since her daughter, whose name was not known, kidnapped by her mate, Seed, who was banished for murdering the Crownleaf at the time. Seed is discovered to in fact be Stinger. Following Stinger's advice, Fearless and Valor leave Titanpride and seek out the young lions of Dauntlesspride who escaped imprisonment by Titanpride, making them into Fearlesspride. Fearless has trouble gaining the respect of a young male named Snarl, whom Stinger kills to smooth his path. Fearless eventually realizes that Stinger is a traitor. In the end, Thorn, Fearless, and Sky overthrow the fake Great Parent, and Sky passes the Great Spirit to Thorn, the true Great Father. During the aftermath Sky discovers that Loyal is in fact Fearless's Biological Father[1] and informs Fearless since he was unaware of his relationship to the now-deceased Lion (Loyal was killed during Stinger's Coup d'état).[2]

Shifting Shadows

The Book Begins with an Ostrich running for his life from unknown assailants.[3] Thorn foresees this event with his newfound powers as the new Great-father. Thorn decides to keep his status as Great-Father a secret from everybody because he doesn't think he's the right animal for the job. Meanwhile, at the Watering Hole, Sky and her herd are residing there for a drink. Sky is playing with one of her cousins when Thorn stops by for leadership advice. Eventually, Thorn steps down from the role of Crownleaf and Berry takes his place. A male lion named Mighty joins Fearlesspride, which results in Fearless leaving due to not getting enough respect. Titan, meanwhile, becomes so power-hungry that it drives him insane and causes him to believe that killing other animals will make him immortal. During an attack on a bull elephant herd, his mate, Artful, dies. Their daughter, Menace, is taken in by Sky and raised alongside two orphaned cheetah cubs, whose mother was killed by the Bloodheart Pack, a group of African golden wolves who eat their victims' hearts to gain their spirits. Once Titanpride disbands, the few surviving members are killed by the pack.

The Spirit-Eaters

The Great Spirit has returned, and the baboon Thorn hopes to guide Bravelands to peace as its Great Father. But when a pack of rogue wolves begins to target the Great Herd, every animal must unite to defend the code of the wild against those who would watch it burn. Fearless discovers the dead bodies of the Titanpride lions. Titan is alive and leads the pack after its previous leader is killed.

Oathkeeper

Oathkeeper is another book in the Bravelands series.

Critical reception

The first book in the Bravelands series Broken Pride appeared on the New York Times bestseller list.[4] School Library Journal criticizes the series for its similarities to the Lion King but writes, "Fans of Hunter's previous series will not be disappointed, and they will be anxious for the next installment in this new series."[5][6] Kirkus Reviews gave it a starred review and writes,"Deep characters, a complex plot, rich mythology, and a stunning setting all come together to prove once again that the Hunter collective are master storytellers. Fans of Warriors will thrill at the opportunity to travel from the forest to the savanna in this brand new series."[7][6]

References
  1. Hunter, Erin (2018). Bravelands: Blood and Bone. HarperCollins.
  2. Hunter, Erin (2018). Bravelands: Blood and Bone. HarperCollins.
  3. Hunter, Erin (2018). Bravelands: Shifting Shadows. Harpercollins. pp. Prologue pg. ???.
  4. "Warrior Cats Official Facebook Page". Archived from the original on 11 July 2017 – via Facebook.
  5. "Middle Grade: The Latest from Erin Hunter, Rachel Renée Russell, & More". School Library Journal. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
  6. "Broken Pride". BiblioCommons. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
  7. "BROKEN PRIDE". Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved 10 July 2017.

https://www.harpercollins.com/9780062642141/bravelands-4-shifting-shadows/

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