
Watership Down author Richard Adams dies aged 96 - open-source-ux
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-38446309
======
david-given
All the places in the book are real, by the way. The Watership Down warren is
here:

[http://streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?x=449912&y=156897&z=115&sv=44...](http://streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?x=449912&y=156897&z=115&sv=449912,156897&st=4&ar=y&mapp=map.srf&searchp=ids.srf&dn=539&ax=449912&ay=156897&lm=0)

...and there's actually a warren there. Watership Down makes a nice walk on a
sunny day (although a much less nice one on a December weekend when it's
raining and sleeting at the same time, to pick an example _completely at
random_ ).

Adams does a fantastic job of making a landscape that's only a few kilometres
across seem epicly huge.

Full list of Google Maps links here:

[http://mythgard.org/academy/watership-down-
geography/](http://mythgard.org/academy/watership-down-geography/)

~~~
wyager
I'm adding this to my bucket list. This was one of the most memorable books of
my childhood.

------
forrestbrazeal
My introduction to Watership Down was in the Paideia, the book of word lists
that the National Spelling Bee used to distribute as study material before bee
season. The word lists were occasionally themed around specific books and for
awhile they had a Watership Down list. Here are a few of the awesome words I
learned from that list (which eventually led me to read and enjoy Mr. Adams'
book):

stridulate (what a cricket does when it chirps)

susurration (murmuring, like grass in the wind)

tormentil (an astringent plant)

myxomatosis (a viral infection in rabbits!)

They don't write 'em like that anymore. RIP Mr. Adams.

~~~
hackuser
Don't forget the language Adams created for the rabbits:

[http://watershipdown.wikia.com/wiki/Lapine_Glossary](http://watershipdown.wikia.com/wiki/Lapine_Glossary)

------
brwr
I owe every ounce of my love of reading to Richard Adams and Watership Down.

Watership Down was the first book of its size that I read and it had a
profound effect on me that has significantly directed my life. I enjoyed it so
much that I kept reading after the book was finished. This led to reading and
loving anything written by J. K. Rowling, Isaac Asimov, Ernest Cline, John
Grisham, Robert Greene, Orson Scott Card (despite later finding out of his
personal flaws), and many other amazing authors.

Many years later, I'm still a huge fan of books, although I no longer read as
much fiction as I'd like.

Perhaps it's time to sit down again and go on an adventure with some rabbits.

~~~
gshulegaard
> Orson Scott Card (despite later finding out of his personal flaws)

I don't typically dive into the personal side of authors whose writing I
enjoy, what flaws are you referring to in Orson Scott Card?

~~~
woofyman
He's a raving homophobe.

[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orson_Scott_Card](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orson_Scott_Card)

~~~
wwweston
"Raving homophobe" is a pretty low-resolution picture of Card. Google "Janis
Ian Orson Scott Card" for some nuance. Or see this cached post from her site:

[http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:ioaWOkC...](http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:ioaWOkC-
jhsJ:janisian.com/forum/forum/the-janis-ian-forum/8148-orson-scott-card-and-
me+&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us)

I'm not going to defend much of his political rhetoric, which I find is aptly
described by the word "raving." And like others, I don't love a lot of his
views on homosexuality. Just noting a higher-resolution picture of him doesn't
fit the simple description of "raving homophobe."

~~~
mos_basik
>Google "Janis Ian Orson Scott Card" for some nuance.

Thanks for that tip. I'm aware of the Internet's general opinion of Card
(seems like a lot more people have something to say about him since the movie
came out!) but have never bothered to look up anything more specific. So far,
I had been assuming - based on personal experience with well-educated and
well-traveled Christians and Mormons - that his position on homosexuality was
pretty similar to what Janis Ian described in her post. Also that the
Internet's attention - as usual - had been caught by something and blown it
out of proportion. I'm glad that those assumptions seem to have been correct.

------
drawkbox
Watership Down is a great story but also Richard Adams publishing it was a
story of perseverance. It was rejected by multiple publishers back when
publishers were big gatekeepers.[1]

 _Watership Down published by Rex Collings after being rejected by seven other
publishers. Becomes Adams ' best-known work selling more than 50 million
copies worldwide. He wins the prestigious Carnegie Medal_

[1] [http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/richard-
ad...](http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/richard-adams-
forever-animated-by-the-life-of-animals-1974572.html)

~~~
massysett
Aren't the publishers still big gatekeepers? Are there any examples of works
by unknown authors that rose to prominence without going through a big
publisher? (I wouldn't count something by a prominent author, as they have the
name recognition to not need a publisher, at least not as much.)

~~~
lb1lf
Depends on what you mean by 'rose to prominence', but Andy Weir's The Martian
(being one of the most fun science-y novels I've read in recent years) started
life as a number of blog entries before being self-published (only to be
picked up by a 'real' publisher once the buzz had started)

------
jressey
I'll take this opportunity to mention Shardik, one of his many overlooked
novels. It's dark, complex, and in my opinion a greater work than Watership
Down. It's got world-building that is on par with Tolkien and is filled with
flawed, realistic characters.

~~~
mooreds
It's been years but man Shardik seemed like a fantastic book when I read it.
All my fantasy before then had been of the Piers Anthony or David Eddings type
and it was great to be immersed in a world that was like ours but fantastic.

(Though the older I get the more fantastic our world seems.)

------
libraryatnight
I first saw the animated film, which I loved and immediately had my parents
purchase the book on my behalf. This story taught me a different kind of myth
making and adventure from the high fantasy I read voraciously. It touched my
understanding of humanity and nature in new ways, and was part of a foundation
of great books that made me a life long reader.

------
danso
I remember that being my first "epic" of books I read as a child. My school
library had a poster of Newbery Medal winners (the Pulitzer of children books)
and Watership Down was on it. I must have read it a lot, because I still
remember nearly all of the plot and details and character names, as strange as
they were. It's such a strange and detailed book that I was surprised as an
adult to find out its benign origins. I guess that partly explains why it
didn't turn into a LOTR-like series of volumes. I had always wanted to read
more about El-Ahrairah's and Rabscuttle's adventures.

~~~
gkop
Watership Down is a great book, but I am having trouble corroborating a
Newbery Medal or Honor?

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watership_Down#Awards](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watership_Down#Awards)

[http://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/newberymedal/...](http://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/newberymedal/newberyhonors/newberymedal)

~~~
danso
Oh you're right, well guess I'm getting too old to remember my elementary
school days :). That Newbery list was pretty much where I got all of my
memorable reading at that age, including Rats of NIMH and the High King (aka
the Black Cauldron series), so I must have conflated it with Watership Down.
Seems more likely that I liked NIMH enough that a librarian recommended
Watership Down.

~~~
timthorn
The Watership Down that the book is set at is located near to Newbury -
perhaps that's where the confusion arises?

------
aidos
I _loved_ that book as a kid. Had read it a couple of times by age 8 or 9.
Probably one of the books that had the most profound influence on me from an
empathetic point of view. An absolute treasure.

------
chris_wot
My favourite Goodies moment was a spoof of Watership Downs:

[https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qDsLZmGBdt8](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qDsLZmGBdt8)

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lsllc
If you enjoyed Watership Down, check out Duncton Wood by William Horwood.

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LordFrith
dammit

~~~
mordechai9000
Don't you mean "Embleer Frith"?

~~~
LordFrith
I think it might be embleer rah, but it's been a while since I've read the
book.

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CodeSheikh
2016 please just end already.

