Smoke Mountain (book)

"If this is really the end of the journey... then why don't I feel it?"

— Kallik's doubts about The Last Great Wilderness, in Smoke Mountain, page 258

Smoke Mountain (book)
Chronology
← Previous	Great Bear Lake
Next →	The Last Wilderness

Smoke Mountain is the third book in The Original Series. Toklo is featured on the portrait, with Kallik, Lusa, and himself gazing at Smoke Mountain from across a river below.

Book Jacket

Inside

The Last Great Wilderness...

There is a place where bears can live in peace, where there is sea-ice all year, where the forests are full of prey, where flat-faces never go. Polar bears Kallik and Taqqiq, black bear Lusa, grizzly Toklo, and the shape-shifting powers Ujurak believes that this fabled bear paradise must be the destination of their quest. But the path they follow is dangerous. The burning Smoke Mountains are more treacherous than anything the bears have faced before, and tensions run high as they encounter obstacle after obstacle. A rushing river and hostile flat-faces separate them from their goal, and a bear is pushed to the brink of death. Signs and omens point in different directions, and the bears, though traveling together, must each follow his or her own star... causing one bear to leave the group forever.

 But as the others travel on, they soon learn that it will take all their strength and determination to reach their destination. And, if they reach it, at last, they may learn that what they thought was their quest's end is in fact a new beginning...

Back

Four young bears are on a quest to find the Last Great Wilderness, a place where bears can live in peace, where there is sea-ice all year, where the forests are full of prey, where flat-faces never go. Theirs is a quest that will bring them amazing adventures and unexpected hardships, and it will set their paws on a path toward a future they cannot yet imagine. All they have to do is follow the stars.

Detailed Plot Summary

The story begins with the group continuing with their journey to The Last Great Wilderness, with their new companions Kallik and her brother Taqqiq.

 They travel and find an old white bear named Qopuk. He tells them about a mountain and a river that stretches far. When he finishes his story, he falls asleep and soon dies.

 Taqqiq tries tricking Kallik into leaving the other bears with him, but Kallik doesn't fall for it. Taqqiq confesses that he wants to leave. Kallik doesn't want him to go but lets him.

 When they arrive at Smoke Mountain, Lusa is injured by a firebeast. Before flat-faces can capture her, Kallik manages to get Lusa away, who is injured badly. In a dream, Lusa is told by her family in the Bear Bowl what their journey is meant for; To Save the Wild. When hunting, Toklo almost falls off a cliff but is saved by Kallik.

 Later Toklo is captured by humans and is tied up in the back of a large truck. The humans are driving along a narrow pathway on the mountain, and the truck falls over the side, landing in a river. The water begins to leak into the truck, where Toklo is still helpless and tied. His friends rescue him just before he drowns. Lusa then rescues one of the humans from drowning, and they continue on their journey.

 They arrive at their destination, The Last Great Wilderness. But Ujurak feels like it isn't the end. As they race down a hill, Kallik is unsure too, thinking, "If this is really the end of the journey... Then why don't I feel it?"

Characters

Polar Bears

• Kallik
• Taqqiq
• Qopuk
• Salik (mentioned)
• Nisa (mentioned)

Grizzly Bears

• Toklo
• Ujurak (Shapeshifter)
• Shoteka (mentioned)
• Oka
• Tobi

Black Bears

• Lusa
• King
• Yogi
• Stella
• Ashia

Humans

• The Giant Flat-Face

Sneak peeks

There is a sneak peek in the back of the English hardback edition of The Last Wilderness and Warriors Super Edition: Bluestar's Prophecy.