Fire Bringer

When a fawn is born with a patch of white fur on its forehead in the shape of an oak leaf, it seems that an ancient prophecy has come true and Herne, the god of the deer, has sent a saviour. But Rannock, the fawn, is now in danger and must flee for his life. A loyal band sets out with him and the hind he believes to be his mother…

Encounters with different kinds of deer societies along the way – from dictatorships to one dependent on humans (and culled by them) – are reminiscent of the political allegories of Watership Down . Clement-Davies’s anthropomorphised deer follow a similar quest to establish a society in which there can be a return to more ‘natural’ ways (certainly none of that awful matriarchy stuff encountered in one group) in which laughter, healing and dominant males are paramount. Other references suggest such influences as the bible (when Rannock cannot be identified, a plan is put forward to murder all the male fawns under a year) and C S Lewis: ‘sacrifice shall be his meaning’ says the prophecy and the reader encounters many adventures (this book is chunky) before discovering whether Rannock, like Aslan, is to die for his people.

If there is some inconsistency in Clement-Davies’s ability to evoke deer-rich experience (the encounter with the otter and seal stretch credulity) he has a strong dramatic sense and the ability to create a range of characters as well as providing a metaphor for the relationship of the individual to their society and the nature of their responsibility. This ambitious and imaginative first novel promises well for the future.