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Longtusk - Mammoth Trilogy 1
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Plot Summary of Longtusk - Mammoth Trilogy 1
"LONGTUSK

HarperCollins, Jun 2001, 15.00, 320 pp.
ISBN: 0380818981

    In 16,000 BC, the world is in flux as species struggle for supremacy while the ice retreats. Woolly mammoths remain gentle giants working together in clans. The mammoths share a language that enables them to communicate with one another. They understand who is friend and who is the enemy and work for a common cause as their environment changes making survival the ultimate goal.

   Like most males his age Longtusk believes he will do great things. He ignores his clan's leadership, both the matriarchal and male elders. He begins his quest for greatness, but barely survives a deadly fire. Separated from his mates, Longtusk, joins a tribe of Neanderthals, but they fall prey to the dangerously clever human Fireheads. Now a prisoner, Longtusk becomes a slave working next to other domesticated animals. As Longtusk laments his fate, his “people” are in deep trouble from a changing ecosystem and the cunning Fireheads.

    LONGTUSK, the second tale in the “Mammoth” trilogy, is an exciting prehistoric science fiction novel in which Stephen Baxter provides human traits to the mammoths. The story line never slows down as a different world comes to life even as the realization creeps into the minds of the mammoths and Neanderthals that the Fireheads are gaining control. Though some major subplots seem identical to the first novel (see SILVERHAIR), fans of the sub-genre will enjoy the novel and its Wooley hero.

Harriet Klausner
"

Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar

Review Analysis of Longtusk - Mammoth Trilogy 1
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Tone of book - depressing/sad
FANTASY or SCIENCE FICTION? - part earth & part fantasy world
Explore/1st contact/ enviro story Yes
Plotlets: - surviving a post environmental/nuclear disaster
Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book

Main Character
Identity: - animal
How sensitive is this character? - middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - average physique

Main Adversary
Identity: - an entire race
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - an above average amount

Setting
Earth setting: - dinosaur times
Takes place on Earth? Yes

Style
Person? - mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death? - generic/vague references to death/punishment
scientific jargon? (SF only) - some scientific explanation
How much dialogue? - significantly more descript than dialog
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The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly
The Spider Gem - Portal Chronicles 1 by Taff Lovesey


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Stephen Baxter Resident Scholar Profiles

TOP SCHOLAR:
  
Harriet Klausner  

SCHOLARS:
Barry F. Seidman  


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