Allan Richard Shickman

Zan-Gah by Allan Richard Shickman
A pre-historic adventure

Genre: YA adventure
Pages: 160
Published: 2007


The hero, Zan-Gah seeks his lost twin in a savage prehistoric world, encountering suffering, captivity, conflict, love, and triumph. In three years, Zan-Gah passes from an uncertain boyhood to a tried and proven manhood and a position of leadership among his people. Themes: survival, cultures, gender roles, psychological trauma, nature's wonders and terrors.


I wanted to read this book in order to really read a book and think about those it was meant for. To try to look past me.

This is the story of Zan who in the beginning kills a lion, one the tribes are hunting because it had eaten a child. By this people have new respect for him, and this is the time he sets out to find his twin that was lost 1 year ago. The road there is filled with dangers from animals, nature and hostile strangers.

This is a book that I would recommend for young boys, yes sure girls could like it too but I do think boys would really fall for this one. First there is the danger of the hunt for young Zan, the hunt where he manages to bring down a might lion. Then there is his dangerous trip. He only has himself. He have to find his own food and kill it. He invents a new kind of weapon, the sling and with this he can catch rabbits, and more. He learns how to take care of himself, he gets taken captive by a hostile tribe and he does have one great adventure trying to find his long lost brother.

He is a strong character and even though it is never mentioned how young he is, I knwo he is pretty young. The author also explains things that people back then did grow up more quickly, and had children early. And also that they died earlier. That is a good part of this book, the subtle explanations of things that is good to learn. Without it being to, learn this and by that perhaps making it boring. Now it really a part of the story.

He also deals with some darker issues like a trauma someone gets, how Zan-s uncle got tired of was and killing, and how harsh reality was back then. If they did not find food, the tired got weak and soon the were too tired to even hunt.

For myself this was an interesting little adventure about a young boy coming of age in such a different time. It made me think that there is not much fiction out there about this era, ok I know some but it would be nice with more.

It says ages 11 and up, somewhat younger kids could read it too, and of course adults too,

Blodeuedd's Cover Corner: Come on, boys could pick that right.
Reason for Reading: The publisher sent it to me
Final thoughts: I do think young boys would enjoy this one

… (más)

Zan-Gah and the beautiful country by Allan Richard Shickman

Genre: Historic adventure YA
Pages: 2009
Published: 151

The prehistoric saga continues in Zan-Gah and the Beautiful Country, the sequel to the award winning Zan-Gah: A Prehistoric Adventure. In this story, Zan s troubled twin brother, Dael, having suffered greatly during his earlier captivity, receives a ruinous new shock when his wife suddenly dies. Disturbed and traumatized, all of his manic energies explode into acts of hostility and bloodshed. His obsession is the destruction of the wasp men, his first captors, who dwell in the Beautiful Country. When he, Zan-Gah, and a band of adventurers trek to their bountiful home, they find that all of the wasp people have died in war or of disease. The Beautiful Country is empty for the taking, and Zan s people, the Ba-Coro, decide to migrate and resettle there. But the Noi, Dael s cruelest enemies and former tormentors, make the same migration from their desert home, and the possibility develops of contention and war over this rich and lovely new land.


This is the second book about Zan-Gah and his adventures in a prehistoric environment. In the last book he saved his brother and invented the sling. In this book he is married and his brother has lost his wife and is only getting stranger and more violent. The torment he suffered while a slave has put deep wounds in his soul. Dael is a tortured soul. Zan-Gah only wants to help. He finds a bit of hope when the tribes move away to a new land.

Dael is really really far along in this book, Zan-Gah has my sympathizes and he dearly loves his brother and tries to protect them. But his brother is leading them to ruin because he is violent and hateful.

Zan is the same nice person who wants peace and to give the tribes a better future. He is also rather blind at times, when it comes to his wife and when it comes to his brother.

This book is darker and more violent than the previous. I think it said 11 and up and there I do agree because there is death and war and bloody murder in this one. Still he writes it in regard for the age group so nothing violent and such written. But it is there, and yes it was another time but still the age should be held here because since it was a different time they might wonder how everyone got married early and had kids and such.

This book is about the journey towards a new land, settling there, the rift between two brothers and how wrong things can be. it also has a strong woman in it, Zan's wife Pax, and it deals with a lot of emotion. Serious things among the rest. An interesting YA book about an era we do not get to read much about.

Blodeuedd's Cover Corner: That is Dael, the scary looking one
Reason for reading: From the publisher
Final thoughts: I do think teenage boys could like it, the action, the adventure… (más)

This story is about a teen in pre-historic times, and his quest to find his twin brother who disappeared over a year ago. Zan-gah is brave and proud, and sure that if he starts his adventure, he will be rewarded in finding his goal. He encounters a lot of dangers and obstacles along the way, but never gives up hope.

I wish that I could say that I loved this book as I really enjoy adventure stories, but unfortunately, I had quite a few issues that I could not ignore. Overall, I thought it was OK, but I thought the concept could have been great and I had hoped for more.

First, I felt that the writing seemed to talk down to the reader. I know that this is a children's/young adult book, but readers still want to be immersed in the story and see the events through the characters' eyes. This was a book full of events that were told rather than shown, and after just telling the reader what happened, we were then told, with italics or exclamation points, what the events or actions meant, as if the reader would not understand. Perhaps these little asides were intended to draw in the reader, but to me they felt a bit condescending and repetitive. I think that this was done more to clarify what was happening than to condescend, but I didn't feel that the reiteration was necessary. We should be able to gather from context what a particular action or scene signifies, and examine that scene in relation to our own experiences. If every event is explained, we have no need to look for any other meaning or significance to ourselves, and it's then harder to connect or identify with the character without that bond.

I felt that the characters were interesting and diverse, but I didn't really feel as though I understood any of them. I did root for everything to come out OK in the end, but I couldn't really identify with the characters regarding their lives or choices or actions. I kept being surprised by the decisions that Zan made, because they were different than the ones that I would have made in his place. In a way this is a good thing, because I do generally enjoy unpredictable characters, but I admit that it did make me feel as though I didn't know Zan at all.

The second issue I had was the language used. It felt modern and out of place with the setting. The character names are all seemingly appropriate, and certain words in the presumed language of the pre-historic people, but then we have a teenage main character using modern English words like "proficient" that obviously didn't exist then. It just stuck out and unfortunately didn't work for me. Again, I realize that this was probably done in an effort to make the story more accessible to younger readers, but it was distracting and took me out of the story.

The third issue that I had was that there was just too much I found unbelievable. There were close calls, sure, but every time there was the least amount of trouble, the characters would find an incredibly convenient way out of it with little or no effort at all. Yes, Zan-Gah is described as resourceful, but he didn't really show this quality - and when he did, it was not his resourcefulness that benefitted him, it was luck or someone else coming to his aid.

There is a theme of unity and working together and loyalty that appealed to me, however. Zan-Gah helps to facilitate between his clan and those of his neighbors. Although it was effected very easily, with little more effort than gathering the people and making a short speech, still, he enacted a change for the better, and I did like that. I also liked the fact that he did not give up hope of his brother, and went to try to save him, against all odds, and knowing that he may never return. I was proud of Zan-Gah for his bravery.

I think that this book is one that younger readers may enjoy.… (más)

Dael, Zan-Gah's twin brother, is tormented by his nightmares and memory of killing the old wasp woman, Hurnoa. He decides he needs to leave his people. Leaving his home and family he asks Sparrow, the mute heart broken female, to travel with him. As Dael travels he starts to feel differently on everything. Two broken souls traveling together not knowing where to go. But Dael remembers the connection he felt for the red people as they are as alien to him as he is to his people and wants to live with them. But where things go smoothly and Dael fits in, there is still trouble around the corner.

We start to see a new side to Dael here. He is far more than the broken destructive man we thought he was prior to this book. In Daels journey we visit old places and memories of Daels' from childhood to his living with the cruel people how took him through to the current time back with his family. Dael starts to reflect on his life and the terrible things he had done to others. We get a view of Dael from the inside as he heals, and as well from others who view him from a new and his changes.

Seeing Dael through fresh eyes helps us to see Dael as not being the violent man we remember giving him a fresh start in our minds as with the new people he is living with. This was a great way to take Dael from what we remember him as and place him in new surroundings to give us, the reader, a chance to feel for Dael. Even come to like him.

We see the evolution of man and their abilities to learn and do new things in the world. We learn of different life styles in which different people in different regions lived. Different surroundings, different believes, different living. We see the red people now and their way of life, which turns out to be the best thing for Dael, and Sparrow.

I liked seeing Dael with his own book with his growth and learning. This is his healing period. We are reminded in the beginning of the friends and family he left, and in the end we hear of them again. The world these cave people live in is quickly changing, and they are the ones evolving quickly to change it. I like the take on the evolution of caveman that is viewed in this book. Nice to see a view of the evolution of the times from the beginning when man had nothing but themselves and the land around them.… (más)