About the Author

Gary Paulsen is the distinguished author of many critically acclaimed books for young people, His most recent books are "Lawn Boy Returns," "Woods Runner," "Notes from the Dog," "Mudshark," "Lawn Boy," "Molly McGinty Has a Really Good Day," "The Time Hackers," and "The Amazing Life of Birds (The Twenty Day Puberty Journal of Duane Homer Leech)."

Reviews

Gary Paulsen, bestselling author of "Brian's Winter", brings us a new dimension in adventure with "The Transall Saga".

* "[A] world of rare charm, a captivating, well-realized realm, where fantastical elements force the protagonist to discover and employ the greatest strengths of his humanity."
--"Booklist, " starred


"From the Hardcover edition."

Gary Paulsen, bestselling author of "Brian's Winter", brings us a new dimension in adventure with "The Transall Saga".

* "[A] world of rare charm, a captivating, well-realized realm, where fantastical elements force the protagonist to discover and employ the greatest strengths of his humanity."
--"Booklist, " starred


"From the Hardcover edition."

Paulsen (Brian's Winter) works his magic with another wilderness adventure yarn. But the wilderness this time isn't in this worldÄor is it? That's what 13-year-old Mark tries to discover. On his first solo backpacking trip, crossing an old missile range in a desert out west, a mysterious blue light transports him to a thick red jungle under a sulfurous sky. There the struggle for survival soon supersedes the quest for the route home. Paulsen draws on such Saturday-matinee staples as poisonous insects, deadly quicksand and murderous beasts; Mark even swings on vines with a friendly monkey-like creature (and this is just the first 30 pages). Yet the plot feels fresh, thanks to the author's taut, unsentimental storytelling (Mark's Tarzan-esque antics, for example, result in broken ribs). Mark grows to manhood in the four or so years of his sojourn; the narrative, meanwhile, continues at a hurtling pace. The teen saves a girl's life, then joins her tribe of forest-dwellers; later, he is captured with them and enslaved by the more technologically advanced Tsook people. There are raids, escapes and brushes with the Tsook overlord, the Merkon, who takes a frighteningly keen interest in Mark. Readers may figure out who the Merkon is long before the protagonist does, but no matterÄthe action along the way (including just the right dash of romance) is never less than enthralling. While the story is self-contained, the end points to a sequel, so, with any luck, another installment is on the way. Ages 12-up. (May)