Zan-Gah: A Prehistoric Adventure by Allan Richard Shickman

Title:  Zan-Gah: A Prehistoric Adventure

Author:  Allan Richard Shickman

Genre:  Young Adult

Publisher:  Earthshaker Books

Publication Date: 2009

ISBN:  978-0-9790357-0-8

Stand alone or series:  Series

Pages: 148 pages

Book Received from:  Earthshaker Books

First Lines: From a long distance, a traveler, or some wild thing, might see within the deep and absolute blackness of night an intense orange light which looked from afar like a glowing coal.

Synopsis:
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.

My Thoughts:

Zan-Gah had an unusual synopsis and I was curious about the world in which Zan-Gah lived. It was definitely an eye opener on the books that I've read in the past and how lazy I've gotten in imagining worlds in which are not based on today's society.

Like I said above, I did have trouble at the beginning trying to get into this book and it had nothing to do with the story or writing.  I think it also had to do with Zan-Gah being somewhat alone at the start.  but once I began meeting the other characters it was easy to imagine what life would have been like then.

Zan-Gah suffers the loss of his twin brother who has disappeared with no trace of whether he is alive or dead.  After helping to kill a lioness who had taken another tribesmans child he makes the decision to go look for his brother.  He endures alot in his travels and it is so realistic I couldn't help but silently cheer him on to keep going.

By the end of reading this, I was reaching for book 2 to find out what was going to happen with Zan-Gah and his friends.

This is a fresh perspective on the young adult market and I haven't seen anything like it at all.