Dancing Bears - Hardcover

Saberhagen, Fred

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0312857985 ISBN 13: 9780312857981

Publisher: Tor Books, 1996

Synopsis

John Sherwood, an American hunter, accompanies his friend Gregori Lohmatski to Lohmatski's family estate in pre-revolutionary Russia to hunt a man-eating bear, where Sherwood soon finds himself hunted by the political police and haunted by legends of shape-shifting men.

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Reviews

Fantasy and historical fiction blend well in this tale of were-bears in Russia on the brink of its 1917 Revolution. American John Sherwood goes with his friend Gregori Lohmatski to hunt a man-eating bear on Gregori's estate, only to find that the peasants' stories of men turning into bears are true. The heart of the book is an exploration of the savagery and abuses of power of both the czar's men and the revolutionaries, against which the ability to become a beast proves both helpful and, ironically, humane. When the manipulations of Gregori's power-hungry brother lead to Gregori's imprisonment, Sherwood and the incarcerated man's sister flee east across Russia to escape prison themselves and to free Gregori. Despite the panoramic scenery, the cultural and historical detail sometimes seems sparse. Still, the characters are very strong, and the suspense generated by their plight will engross most readers as Saberhagen (Merlin's Bones) weaves another satisfying story of the supernatural.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

In 1906, American big-game hunter John Sherwood travels to tsarist Russia to hunt a man-eating bear, not suspecting that his adventure will bring him face to face with a creature thought to exist only in the superstitions of peasants and fools. Veteran sf and fantasy author Saberhagen (Merlin's Bones, LJ 2/15/95) demonstrates his talent for creating unique twists on familiar themes in his variant on the legend of the shapechanger. The author's sense of place and his engaging protagonists lend an exotic flavor to a sometimes overly convoluted plot. Large libraries should consider this for their fantasy collections.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Saberhagen sets his imaginative historical fantasy in imperial Russia, about 1908^-1909. Gregori Lohmatski invites John Sherwood, a young American big game hunter, to hunt a man-eating bear on his estate. When they arrive, they discover Gregori's father dead, his brother Maxim missing, his sister Natalya wanted by the secret police, and the peasants frightened out of their wits. No sooner does Maxim return than Gregori is arrested, and John and Natalya must flee to an old Lohmatski estate in Siberia. The secret behind all the frenzy lies in the tradition that the Lohmatski men are werebears, and the pursuit of this secret leads to a dazzling climax in an ice palace in the Far North. Saberhagen's command of his chosen material is thoroughly competent, and although the story could be a bit livelier, few readers will turn it down on that basis. Roland Green

Edition details

• Publisher: Tor Books
• Publication date: 1996
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0312857985
• ISBN 13: 9780312857981
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 349