From Amazon.com editorial review - Richard Adams's Watership Down was a number one bestseller, a stunning work of the imagination, and an acknowledged modern classic. In Shardik Adams sets a different yet equally compelling tale in a far-off fantasy world.
Shardik is a fantasy of tragic character, centered on the long-awaited reincarnation of the gigantic bear Shardik and his appearance among the half-barbaric Ortelgan people. Mighty, ferocious, and unpredictable, Shardik changes the life of every person in the story. His advent commences a momentous chain of events. Kelderek the hunter, who loves and trusts the great bear, is swept on by destiny to become first devotee and then prophet, then victorious soldier, then ruler of an empire and priest-king of Lord Shardik-Messenger of God-only to discover ever-deeper layers of meaning implicit in his passionate belief in the bear's divinity.
A gripping tale of war, adventure, horror and romance, Shardik, on a deeper level, is a remarkable exploration of mankind's universal desire for divine incarnation.

Me - Didn't enjoy this as much as Watership Down. Written with a great attention to detail, rich in background, but I found myself skimming it, looking for something interesting to happen.

Released on Tuesday, April 08, 2003 at Loeb - Convent Glen in Orleans, Ontario Canada.

Pet food aisle, by the dog chews. OK - a little gross, my initial target was the Wolly Mammoth statues at the museum downtown but I never seem to get down to that area with it.