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Trying to identify a futuristic sci-fi with last remains of humanity (a boy?) lives in the wilderness hunting etc. allied with some mutant bear (maybe red?) called Baer. Some sort of control is excerted over the planet/remnants of humanity by a robotic species with 'pencil thin necks?' living in control towers that breed new humans in 'test tubes' (boy breaks in to witness this at some point when rising up against them). Recall a part of the story where they are being pursued by the robots in space ship flying above while they escape under tree cover.

Read this in a UK primary school library - late eighties - interested to find for my own kids?

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    This very vaguely rings bells really hope we can track it down. Would suggest checking titles by André Norton, Nicholas Fisk and who ever it was it who wrote the Halcyon Swan series. These authors would very likely be in a primary school library in the UK in the 1980s. They certainly were in my school bin the northeast.
    – skyjack
    Commented Jul 25, 2021 at 11:21
  • Thanks for these leads. I couldn't find a obvious match checking the synopses of their works (via Wikipedia) but will keep looking!
    – jcollomosse
    Commented Jul 25, 2021 at 12:13
  • Baer as in the German ‘Bär’, or something else?
    – Fivesideddice
    Commented Jul 26, 2021 at 2:55

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Douglas Hill - Huntsman, Warriors of the Wasteland, and Alien Citadel.

The Alien race is the slavers; they capture the protagonist (Finn) family, and in the course of trying to rescue them ends up saving the world.

Baer is from a race of servants to the Slavers, but is a bit of an independent thinker and joins Finn.

Some relevant quotes from the first novel (which @KerrAvon2055 pointed out was the source of all the scenes mentioned):

“Call me Baer,” the beast-man said – and then his eyes twinkled as he saw Finn trying to quell a smile.

Finn hardly breathed as he studied the tall, thin form. The weirdly bulging torso and skinny limbs – the dark, all-of-a-piece covering – the yellow, many-faceted eyes – all were as he had been told.

The sled hummed on through the darkness. There was not the remotest chance that its occupant, or occupants, could have noticed the almost invisible shadow that was Finn, drifting among the trees to one side, keeping pace with the alien machine

It was the sight, in a far corner, of three large, transparent containers like those that had held the segments of human bodies. But these containers held entire bodies. Very small, and very dead. Floating in the preservative fluid of each container lay the tiny, wrinkled form of a newborn human baby.

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    You beat me to it by seconds! Well done. Worth adding that all of the scenes described by the OP are in the first book "The Huntsman".
    – KerrAvon2055
    Commented Jul 25, 2021 at 12:50
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    Thanks - away from my copy but will add some quotes later.
    – Michael
    Commented Jul 25, 2021 at 15:50
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    Wow. Ticking the accept box just doesn't cut it - tracing this story has been at the back my mind for, literally decades! And now it's coming in the post from Amazon next week! Thank you so much for answering this!
    – jcollomosse
    Commented Jul 25, 2021 at 19:19
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    Pleasure! I rediscovered them a couple of years back, and good to hear someone else gets to enjoy an old favoured book.
    – Michael
    Commented Jul 25, 2021 at 19:24
  • Thanks for adding the quotes!!
    – jcollomosse
    Commented Jul 25, 2021 at 19:57

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