Bravelands

Bravelands is a children's novel series written by a team of authors under the pseudonym Erin Hunter, who also wrote the Warriors series. The series follows the adventures of three animals: Fearless, a lion who was cast out of his pride and starts living among baboons, Thorn, a baboon who tries to rebel against his destiny, and Sky, an elephant whose mother was killed by a lion, gifted with a special ability to read bones. The story is set in the Bravelands, ruled by the Great Mother. The first book in the series Broken Pride was released on 6 June 2017 with a sequel titled Code of Honor, released on 6 February 2018, and the 3rd book, Blood and bone, on the 2nd of October. Broken Pride shows the trio becoming close friends with each other in their attempt to answer the call of the wild. The series has been well received, with critics praising the realistic behavior of the characters, the excitement in the novels, and the description of the Bravelands, while at first criticizing it for its similarities to The Lion King.

Bravelands
The cover of Broken Pride, the first book in the series
  • Broken Pride
  • Code of Honor
  • Blood and Bone
  • Shifting Shadows
AuthorErin Hunter
Cover artistOwen Richardson
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
GenreTeen literature, fantasy
PublisherHarperCollins
Published6 June 2017 – present
Media typePrint, e-book

Books

Broken Pride

Broken Pride is the first book in the series and was released on 6 June 2017. It begins with the white-backed vulture Windrider hearing a roar from the lion cub named Swiftcub of Gallantpride, which seems to make the sky shudder. Swiftcub earns his new name of Fearless. His father, Gallant, is challenged and killed by Titan and two of his fellow dishonorable lions, who take over his pride and rename it Titanpride. Fearless is carried away by a black eagle who drops him into a small forest called Tall Trees that is inhabited by an olive baboon troop called Brightforest Troop. They are convinced by their female prophet, called the Starleaf, that he is special and they adopt him and nickname him the Cub of the Stars. A year later, two of the young male baboons, Mud and Thorn, are trying to move up from their current ranks in a challenge known as the Three Feats. Mud (the son of the Starleaf) is a Deeproot, the lowest position in the troop and he is trying to get to Lowleaf. Thorn, is also a Deeproot intending to advance to Middleleaf and is also trying to advance to Highleaf, the highest position surpassed only by the troop's leader, the Crownleaf. Thorn is motivated by the fact that Berry, whom he loves, is a Highleaf, as he will not be able to become mates with her unless he reaches her position. Nut, his bully, tries unsuccessfully to stop him but ends up stopping Mud. Meanwhile, there is something else going on with the Great Mother's herd. The Great Mother is part of the African bush elephant herd called Strider and she channels the wisdom of the Great Spirit, a deity that rules all the animals of the Bravelands - lions, however, most do not believe in the Great Spirit though they still generally follow natural law (the Code); Nile crocodiles, meanwhile, both disbelieve in the Great Spirit and generally mock the Code. One of the elephants, Sky (the Great Mother's granddaughter), thinks that the local big waterhole is dangerous after she read her deceased mother's bones and got a vision of a sinister baboon riding a lion, while the area around them is on fire and the waterhole is stained red with blood. Bark Crownleaf, the leader of the Brightforest baboons, meanwhile, is murdered and evidence suggests that she died battling with a spotted hyena. The new Crownleaf Grub throws Fearless out of the troop. Thorn accompanies him till they arrive at the waterhole, where so many more animals are gathered, and Sky sees them and starts panicking, thinking they might be the ones from her vision. Fearless finds Loyal, who was a friend of his deceased father, but he ignores the older lion's advice and ventures close to his old pride, now Titan's. Titan, distracted by Fearless's presence, accidentally ignores the cheetahs who run off with his son, Ruthless. After being persuaded by Artful, his mate, Titan makes a pact with Fearless that if he can retrieve Ruthless, his mother Swift can continue to stay in the safety of the pride. Fearless, with the help of Thorn and Loyal, manages to retrieve Ruthless. At Tall Trees, Grub is poisoned, with the evidence pointing to Nut. Stinger, the father of Berry and baboon Fearless first met when he first joined Brightforest, is chosen as the new Crownleaf. Thorn later realizes that Stinger himself poisoned Grub with the venom from scorpion tails put into the dead dik-dik Grub ate, and he was also one who killed Bark, making it look like the hyena she fought killed her. The Great Mother is soon mysteriously murdered and found dead in the water hole. Around her corpse, the water is stained red with blood and Sky realizes with horror that her vision has come true.

Code of Honor

The elephant leader known as Great Mother has been murdered. Now a young baboon, elephant, and lion must come together to discover the truth—before the fragile balance of Bravelands is destroyed forever.

Blood and Bone

The beginning of the book sets off with the point of view of Windrider the vulture who tries to convince the swallow birds to stay in Bravelands with no success. Sky, seeing Thorn about to be killed, saves him by throwing Fearless into a tree and carries him off. It becomes apparent that Sky can now read the memories of any animal she touches. After the Striders accuse Stinger of having a hand in Great Mother's death, the baboon paints them as crazed, particularly Sky. Thorn and his former enemy Nut flee to Leopard Forest, a dense woodland inhabited by no leopards, but a hostile baboon troop led by the deranged Tendril. Pear, Berry's mother, is discovered living with them, reported to have not spoken since her daughter, whose name was not known, kidnapped by her mate, Seed, who was banished for murdering the Crownleaf at the time. Seed is discovered by Nut and Thorn to in fact be Stinger. Following Stinger's advice, Fearless and Valor leave Titanpride and seek out the young lions of Dauntlesspride who escaped imprisonment by Titanpride, making them into Fearlesspride. Fearless has trouble gaining the respect of a young male named Snarl, whom Stinger eventually kills to smooth his path after receiving complaints by Fearless. Fearless eventually realizes that Stinger is the traitor, not Thorn. In the end, Thorn, Fearless, and Sky overthrow the fake Great Parent, and Sky (Unknowingly) passes the Great Spirit to Thorn, the true Great Father. During the aftermath, Sky discovers that Loyal is in fact Fearless's Biological Father[1] and informs Fearless since he was unaware of his relationship to the now-deceased Lion (Loyal was killed during Stinger's Coup d'état).[1]

Shifting Shadows

The Book Begins with an Ostrich running for his life from unknown assailants.[2] Thorn foresees this event with his newfound powers as the new Great-father. Thorn decides to keep his status as Great-Father a secret from everybody because he doesn't think he's the right animal for the job. Meanwhile, at the Watering Hole, Sky and her herd are residing there for a drink. Sky is playing with one of her cousins when Thorn stops by for leadership advice. Eventually, Thorn steps down from the role of Crownleaf and Berry takes his place. A male lion named Mighty joins Fearlesspride, which results in Fearless leaving due to not getting enough respect. Titan, meanwhile, becomes so power-hungry that it drives him insane and causes him to believe that killing other animals will make him immortal. During an attack on a bull elephant herd, his mate, Artful, dies. Their daughter, Menace, is taken in by Sky and raised alongside two orphaned cheetah cubs, whose mother was killed by the Bloodheart Pack, a group of African golden wolves who eat their victims' hearts to gain their spirits. Once Titanpride disbands, the few surviving members are killed by the pack.

The Spirit-Eaters

The Great Spirit has returned, and the baboon Thorn hopes to guide Bravelands to peace as its Great Father. But when a pack of rogue wolves begins to target the Great Herd, every animal must unite to defend the code of the wild against those who would watch it burn. Fearless discovers the dead bodies of the Titanpride lions alongside Ruthless and Keen. Meanwhile, Sky reunites with Thorn and learns that he succeeded Sun Strider (Sky's grandmother) as the Great-Parent. The two discusses how the Gold Wolf pack had been causing chaos ever since they invaded the . She is then reunited with her elder Brother and his herd soon after. Thorn then sends the Vultures to spread the message of a Great-Gathering. Fearless and co. spot the vultures and immediately realize that the Great-Parent has been identified and Fearless leads his band to the Watering Hole where the Great-Gathering is being held. At the Watering hole, Thorn gives his inauguration speech. Several animals including Sky's brother endorse Thorn before he's interrupted by Fearless. Thorn is briefly startled due to the fact the Fearless (Under Stinger's manipulation) intended to kill him the last time the lion tackled him. Fearless is overjoyed to see his friend again and is proud to have him as the next Great-Parent. When Thorn brings up Fearless assassination attempts, Fearless reacts in a somewhat embarrassed manner.[3] When the Great-gathering is coming to an end, a pair a leopards bring a corpse of their comrade to Thorn. The leopards reveal that the Gold Wolves have killed and ate the heart of their friend. Fearless volunteers to lead his band (Consisting of Ruthless and Keen) to the Dead Forest in order to fight the wolfpack. The lion trio depart; However, Menace (Who Previously in Sky's posse) sneaks away from Sky, Nimble and Lively to join Fearless and co. When Meance catches up with the trio, she demands to join. The trio is reluctant to recruit Menace however they give in to Menace's demand after realizing that they're too far from the Watering Hole to return Meance. Meanwhile, Sky, Nimble, and Lively assisted Thorn in finding a spot for him to carry out his Great-Father duties. After a spot is found Boulder and his herd arrive in order to clear out some trees for a Great-Father Clearing. While the Bull's are clearing out the surrounding woodland, Sky meets and Elderly Bull named Flint. There, it is revealed that Flint is Sky's Maternal Grandfather. They discuss the death of Sky's Mother (whose name is revealed to be Mist Strider). Flint reveals how devastated he was when he learned how Mist died. Sky is also struggling to move on from her break-up with Rock Marcher as part of her still loves him even though he inadvertently attacked and killed River Marcher. Sky then notices that Meanace is missing. When she asks Thorn to use his powers to locate her, he reveals that she is with Fearless and co. Sky is still worried however as the elephant is well aware that Meance is devoted to her father. Thorn reassures her that despite this, Fearless will protect her since he [Fearless] is noble. Back at the Dead Forest, Fearlesspride encounters the Gold Wolves (whose pack-name has revealed to be Bloodheart). Menace arrogantly confronts the pack and brags about her relationships to Titan. After the skirmish between to the parties end (With Fearlesspride being the winner) The cubs are found by a Clan of Hyena's lead by Skulldrink. The clan Matriarch leads the small pride to her clan's camp. There, Skulldrink reveals that she and her Clan have been having problems with Bloodheart Pack as well and offer Fearlesspride an alliance. The lions agree and Fearless and Keen follow Skulldrinker and her party while leaving Ruthless and Meance at the Hyena Den. Fearless and Keen fight alongside the Hyenas against Bloodheart Pack. The Lions and the Hyena's are victorious. Fearlesspride leaves the Hyena Clan afterwards to find Titan. During their quest however, Meance is shown to be problematic as she had inherited her parent's (Particularly Titan's) cruelty. She also subjects her elder brother to physical and verbal abuse by biting his tail and calling him "Useless" (A derogatory Nickname coined by their father). Back at the Great Father Clearing, Thorn is visited by some of his Troopmates who complain about The Crownguard. They reveal that Berry's Crownguard is undermining her leadership behind the latters back. Thorn decides to visit his Troop to inform Berry about this. Unfortunately, Berry ignores Thorns warnings and attempts to assure her mate that she will be fine and that Thorn is worrying too much. Thorn is not convinced. However he decides to let Berry do things her way since she is the Crownleaf, not Thorn. Thorn then returns to his clearing where he, Nut, Spider, Mud and Sky a greeted by a float of crocodiles led by Rip.[4] Rip reveals that his float has been in conflict with a group of hippos led by Plunge (Who blame Rip's float for the death of an infant pod-mate). Rip threatens to destroy Plunge's herd in retaliation if Thorn refuses to help them. In order to prevent and all-out war between the hippos and the crocs. Thorn and Sky conduct an investigation on the true circumstances on the baby Hippos death. When Sky uses her powers to examine the baby hippo's corpse, she discovers that it was not the crocodiles but Bloodheart Pack that was at fault for the hippo's demise. After Sky informs Thorn of her findings, the pair report them to Rip and Plunge who happened to be at the river near Dawntrees Troop with their respective groups. Once Plunge and Rip hear about Thorn and Sky's findings, Plunge realizes that Rip was telling the truth when he and his float denied any wrongdoing against his infant herdmate. Plunge and Rip subsequently agree to call off their battle as long as each party remains on their turf.

Near the end of the book, Fearless discovers that Titan is indeed alive and leads the pack after its previous leader was killed.[3] In the epilogue Thorn laments and mourns the loss of his mate. He swears vengeance on the Gold Wolves and Titan for the loss of Berry. Windrider warns him that his vengeance shouldn't be rash as if Titan and Bloodheart Pack eat Thorn's heart they will acquire the powers of the Great-Spirit and misuse it.[5]

Oathkeeper

At long last, the Great Herd stands united against Titan-now so powerful that even Fearless, who vowed to avenge his stepfather's death, cannot defeat the rogue lion alone. Thorn may have a plan to bring about Titan's downfall, but the animals of Bravelands must decide how much they are willing to risk—and who they are willing to lose.

Critical reception

The first book in the Bravelands series Broken Pride appeared on The New York Times Best Seller list.[6] School Library Journal criticizes the series for its similarities to the Lion King but writes, "Fans of Hunter's previous series will not be disappointed, and they will be anxious for the next installment in this new series."[7][8] Kirkus Reviews gave it a starred review and writes, "Deep characters, a complex plot, rich mythology, and a stunning setting all come together to prove once again that the Hunter collective are master storytellers. Fans of Warriors will thrill at the opportunity to travel from the forest to the savanna in this brand new series."[9][8]

References
  1. Hunter, Erin (2018). Bravelands: Blood and Bone. HarperCollins.
  2. Hunter, Erin (2018). Bravelands: Shifting Shadows. Harpercollins. pp. Prologue pg. ???.
  3. Hunter, Erin (4 February 2020). Bravelands: The Spirit-Eaters. HarperCollins. pp. ???.
  4. Hunter, Erin (4 February 2020). Bravelands: The Spirit-Eaters. HarperCollins. p. 71.
  5. Hunter, Erin (4 February 2020). Bravelands: The Spirit-Eaters. Epilogue: HarperCollins.
  6. "Warrior Cats Official Facebook Page". Archived from the original on 11 July 2017 – via Facebook.
  7. "Broken Pride | School Library Journel". School Library Journal. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
  8. "Broken Pride". BiblioCommons. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
  9. "BROKEN PRIDE". Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
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