Book Review: Zan Gah and The Beautiful Country

Well past the middle of the night Zan felt a shaking of his shoulder as he slept, and then an impatient foot kicking at him. Instinctively grabbing for his spear, he looked up and saw the orange glow of a torch, and as his eyes adjusted to the invading light he recognized his brother's ghastly face. Dael's dangerous brow was furrowed, and the vein of his forehead bulged under the old scar. His teeth were clenched, and his eyes darted nervously back and forth. His every motion expressed a profound agitation, and Zan knew that what he had been dreading had come.

'It is time, Zan. Let us go!'

'Where? It's dark!'

'I want to find where the river comes from.'"

The volcanic turbulence that shakes Dael's mind carries him to vicious extremes. It is Zan's task to calm his brother and lead him away from thoughts both destructive and self-destructive. But even the paradise of the Beautiful Country will not erase them.

The sequel to Zan Gah: A Prehistoric Adventure (review here) was even more engrossing than the first. Whilst I read the first in many sittings, this one I read in just one. I knew after reading Zan Gah that I was not ready to let go of the story just yet - how convenient I had the sequel with me!

The beginning of the book picks up right after its predecessor. It flows thoroughly and provides sufficient background information for readers who might have missed the first book. Well-research and realistic, Zan Gah and The Beautiful Country only gets better from hence.

I feel that this book was more of Dael's progression (arguably deterioration) than of Zan's, who of course has taken most of the first book. Personally, it is the very unpredictability of Dael that dictates the flow and turns of this book. However - note that this book goes beyond that simplicity. It touches on psychological impairment that Shickman deliberately bares to its bones. The effect is an intriguing insight to prehistoric living conditions. The tension, uncertainty and danger was palpable in every page and was delightfully mersmerising. The quality of Shickman's written prose is in a league of its own. Its complexities are as equally stunning as its subtleties. Not many writers achieve this - but Allan Richard Shickman does.

This book has a lot more drama - romance, envy, greed, loyalty - you name it. The character developments are wide in breadth and are meticulously outlined. Also, the symbolisms in this book are profound. The use of nature - volcano, waterfalls, cliffs, dark and silver leaves - shows the complexity of the text in terms of its symbols and allegories.

My issue - the cover. This is self-explanatory. However, at times I felt that the storyline is fragmented, and then there's the parts which I felt that could have been given more careful attention. Other than those, none. My final note on this, ignore the cover. The text is absolutely wonderful.

Zan Gah and The Beautiful Country has the tendency to rip me out of the modern world and transport me back to a primitive way of life - really, it does. It is a powerful, complex novel, one that is beautiful in its own right. I most definitely want more!

Four stars!

*Thank you to Earthshaker Books for my review copy.

POSSIBLE SPOILERS below, please avert your eyes. Except if you're Mr. Shickman, in which case please do not avert your eyes!

PS. Dear author, if you're reading, I hope you don't mind me asking if there will be another book? Please consider writing a third - about Dael and Sparrow's journey, about Rydl (he's so adorable), or perhaps Zan and Pax's child? Frankly, even if you write about the Noi I'd still gladly pick it up. I'm looking forward to your future books!