Joonie And The Great Harbinger Stampede

At first glance Joonie & the Great Harbinger Stampede may appear to be something you would read to your children at bedtime. The wonderful artwork by Ravi Zupa that graces the volume offers a view of whimsy and fairy tale that is reminiscent of Watership Down or similar works.

But, this is not a bedtime story.

The tale spun on those pages is a deeply philosophical one that examines the nature of good, evil, community, and the world we live in. And it often does it in an unflinchingly brutal manner.

This is not to say the tale is ever gratuitous. Quite the opposite, in fact. Daniel Landes assaults us with the moments of brutality to underscore the philosophical points that are being made.

But, beyond mere philosophy, Mr. Landes has crafted show more a charming and compelling story about a young rabbit who finds himself thrust into events that are far greater than himself. Events that he doesn’t entirely understand and isn’t sure he wants to be a part of.

Along the way we meet other animals, all with their own societies, their own ways. And as Joonie tries to make sense of all of the world around him as a lone bunny dark forces gather on the horizon that he will have to face.

Joonie & the Great Harbinger Stampede is a volume that will leave you thinking, considering all that you think you know about the world around you. But, it is also a tale that will take you down a road that will have you smiling one moment and gasping the next as you rise the roller coaster of Joonie’s journey. show less

A unique look not only at how animals relate to the world and each other, but also how good relates to evil. This is an interesting short story based on a rabbit raised by the sun and the moon to live up to his destiny... But the twist in this comes near the end, when we realize what it is that he is truly fighting. I enjoyed this short story not only for the plot, but for the wrapping of the action with the science of what animals are in their very nature.

This is an illustrated book and the illustrations are very well done. It's clear that the art behind them was well thought out and the humanization of the animals almost blends so that it seems natural. My only issue was that some of the illustrations were used more than once in the show more early review copy that I have.

Note: Though this book was a free gift from the author, the content of my review was in no way influenced by the gifting. The book speaks for itself and my review would have been worded just this way even if I'd gone out and bought it. I also give bonus points for Text To Speech enabling on Kindle format.... but that also wasn't a factor in the above review. show less

I had been looking forward to reading this book, so I was very happy when I got it.

I finished it a week or so ago and since then had been puzzling about what to write in the review...

The book tells a catching story about a rabbit named Joonie, who is raised by the Moon and the Sun. Joonie has to travel through the world, fighting the Iam and bringing peace to his world and fellow animals.
The story is really interesting and keeps you wondering about what happens next. Characters like Joonie and Pencilthin are likeable and give the story a nice touch. The drawings that come with the story are wonderful, reminding me of old Japanese drawings which I always loved.

Although I know that the book is meant as a philosophical one in ways, I still show more have to say that it confuses me. Animals like rabbits end up killing predators (why Joonie does that is explained, but in the end a whole rabbit "trace" shows up and that never made sense to me), the Iam, who are the most horrible threat in that world are defeated seemingly easily. The end just comes too fast I think and some ideas could have been worked out better.
The part or character that made most sense to me was Grey. Cause it's obvious, that you cannot only have black/bad and white/good, but you always must have something in between.

All in all I can say I still enjoyed reading Joonie and the Great Harbinger Stampede although there are things that didn't make sense to me. show less

The only bit of logic I applied to this fantasy was; if animals had to pass down a history, it would be an oral history passed through the generations. At first this heroic fantasy novel, reminded me of Watership Down, by Richard Adams. The beginning was sad, charming, and felt like the start of a legend, which got me excited. From the moment Joonie woke up I felt empathy for him and wanted to stay with him till the end. I cheered for Pencilthin, and was glad to see Bedbug again. Daniel Landes did a wonderful job of mixing folklore in the with personification of animals and their instincts. The story stays with you when it ends, not sure if the world was changed or set to repeat its timeline over again.

I enjoyed this story, even when show more the visualizations were sad and hard to take. Being in Colorado to picture that devastation in the Front Range, was heart breaking. It seems the theme to point out it wasn't a book made for children. I don't recall it being described as such. show less

The first part of this book was a retelling of the story of Adam and Eve, which worried me a little. I hadn't signed up for something overtly religious or preachy. Fortunately the rest of the story was more like a fable. There were some clumsy parts, such as when the main character chose to lie to the ravens for no apparent reason, but I enjoyed it overall. I disagree with the ultimate point of the story (that we need ugliness and evil in order for beauty and goodness to exist), but I found it engrossing and interesting.

Joonie is a rabbit and the Runner, tasked with saving the earth from the Iam. Mother Moon and Father Sun set him on his path, where he will encounter friends, face predators, and discover his own abilities before meeting the greater enemy.

I enjoyed this story. It does have some violent parts, and I found the descriptions of some of the Iam to be very off-putting (which was probably the intended reaction). However, this philosophical folktale was a compelling read, and it will make you think, regardless of whether or not you agree with its conclusions. I also adored the charming illustrations found at the beginning of each chapter and scattered throughout the book.

Like member LarraChersan, this book confused me greatly and I have been thinking for a while about how to describe my feelings in a review. Simply put: I really didn't like this book and it was extremely difficult for me to be invested and interested in it. I also grasp that this book raises philosophical questions. But I suppose the problem is that I did not like the way the questions are handled. For a story to work for me, the philosophical questions need to be less obvious. Nuance is powerful in writing, and I found this book was heavy-handed. Lastly the characters needed to have more substance and more personality and I need to care what happens to them. I really tried to get into this book, sincerely, but I don't think it was my show more cup of tea and getting through it was fairly trying.

Additionally, I don't think this book is for children. *spoiler alert* One animal-enemy has an eye gouged by porcupine needle and another enemy is killed by piercing the brain through the nose with an additional porcupine needle. That is serious violence and inappropriate for kids. show less