Survivors (novel series)
| Author | Erin Hunter |
|---|---|
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Series | Survivors |
| Genre | Children's fantasy |
| Publisher | HarperCollins |
|
Publication date
|
21 August 2012 |
| Media type | Print (hardcover), (paperback) |
| Pages | 288 |
| ISBN | |
| OCLC | 787859676 |
| LC Class | PZ7.H916625 Emp 2012 |
| Followed by | A Hidden Enemy |
(The Empty City) is a 2012 children's fantasy novel written under the pseudonym Erin Hunter. It is the first in the Survivors novel series. A contest was held on the (Warriors) website to determine the cover of (The Empty City) that came down to a mock "vote" with the pets of HarperCollins staff members.
The books in the series are written by Gillian Philip and Inbali Iserles under the Erin Hunter name.
The plot chronicles Lucky, a sheltie-retriever and Lone Dog, who must help his littermate Bella and her half-pack of Leashed Dogs to survive on their own after an apocalyptic earthquake results in the townspeople driving away without their pets.
Reviews have been positive, with The Empty City being praised for the pacing, characters, and "magical" style....................
Over fifty thousand Warriors and Seekers fans voted between two covers for The Empty City. Twelve pets of HarperCollins staff members "chose" their selection by tapping it with their nose or paw or by sitting on it in the case of one cat.
In the prologue, Yap (Later Lucky), a golden-haired mutt, is with his Pup Pack when his Mother-Dog tells him the story of the Storm of Dogs, when all of the mythical dogs will fight and all living dogs will be caught in the middle. The Mother-Dog includes how this will begin with Earth-Dog splitting the ground open to capture dogs.
Years later, Lucky, now a Lone Dog, is in a shelter when the ground rumbles and cages are turned on their sides. He and another dog, Sweet, escape the carnage and part ways. When Lucky begins to get hungry. He smells steak and finds a man and his Fierce Dog (one of any breeds of guard dog), who chase him to where the ground has split open in an event called the Big Growl that would begin the Storm of Dogs. Around this time Lucky begins having dreams of the Storm of Dogs.
After searching, Lucky finds that the mall is left unguarded. There he sees Old Hunter, his friend. Old Hunter turns on him, saying that he needs to keep all the food for himself since there's no more. However, Lucky sees that Old Hunter's tail is getting dangerously close to a light switch in a puddle and saves him. Lucky then gets his first meal and he and Old Hunter depart. Lucky takes a nap with some more steak from Old Hunter, and when he wakes up foxes are there who want the steak. Lucky attempts to run away, but gets cornered. More dogs come in and save him, and they introduce themselves: Bella, his littermate; Martha, a Newfoundland; Mickey, a border collie; Bruno, a German Shepherd; Sunshine, a Maltese; and Daisy, a Westie and Jack Russell Terrier mix. Lucky discovers that all of these are Leashed Dogs, or pets, that were together before the Big Growl, and hold hope that their owners will come back for them.
Lucky makes the internal decision to temporarily join this "leashed Pack" to help his sister and her friends in this new world and to help them find their dog spirits, and later he decides that this will help stop the dreams. Overnight a house collapses nearby that houses the bulldog Alfie. Only Lucky and Bruno have the courage to go and save Alfie, and he joins the new pack. The other members become determined to help others more. Afterwards, Daisy falls unconscious when she goes back for something in her house and falls victim to a gas leak. Lucky uses this to show that the pack cannot hold on to the hope of their humans. He lets them take one item each that will remind them of their owners into the wilderness.
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