Među lešinarima: Sin lovca na medvjede / Sablast LLana Estacada

Among the Vultures: The Bear Hunter's Son / The Ghost of Llana Estacada brings together two adventure novels by Karl May from his American cycle. The focus is not on exoticism for the sake of exoticism, but on moving through a dangerous space in which courage, composure and moral reliability are constantly being tested.

In The Bear Hunter's Son, a young hero comes to the fore, bearing the burden of his father's reputation and who has yet to prove that he belongs in the world of experienced trappers and frontiersmen. The story develops through travel, ambushes, kidnappings, searches and clashes with opponents who know the terrain and the rules of violence better. The relationship between students and older guides, the temptation of recklessness and the gradual acquisition of independence are important. May builds tension here through the chase, following the clues and a series of dangerous encounters, so the emphasis is more on the formation of the hero than on one great secret.

The Ghost of Llana Estacada is more firmly built around a riddle. The action is set on the desolate and threatening plain Llano Estacado, a space of thirst, disturbances, illusions and misjudgments. Ghost stories circulate among travelers and border guards, but behind the legend lie very concrete interests, crimes and the concealment of identities. The characters are faced not only with nature but also with deception: what seems supernatural turns out to be a means of fear and control. This text is therefore at once an adventure novel and a story of revelation, with more mystery and less of an initiatory motif than in Son of the Bear Hunter.