The Anasazi characters will be familiar to readers of The Visitant: warriors Browser and Catkin, holy men Springbank and Stone Ghost, and the witch Two Hearts continue to move silently through the sand and sagebrush, circling through a world marked by warring religions and vanishing resources. When Browser and Catkin find a mutilated old woman surrounded by the skulls of her clan, they must summon all their courage to combat what surely must be witchcraft--or is it? Although the narrative founders at times in a sea of murkily presented myth, the characters are vibrantly drawn (though to watch an Anasazi holy man conduct an autopsy in a manner that would do Kay Scarpetta proud is one of several discordant anachronisms).
The Summoning God, like its predecessor, renders the lives and habits of the Anasazi in compelling detail: we learn that they used blazing star petals for perfume and that their ceremonial purification rites included cornmeal and ground seashells. Though the tenacity with which the authors seek to hammer home a situational equivalency between modern life and the 13th century is sometimes painfully heavy-handed, the evocation of daily life never is. Readers might wish to acknowledge that overutilization of resources, a thirst for territory, and a propensity toward holy wars are indeed threads that bind us to the Anasazi--then ignore the lectures and settle into the story. --Kelly Flynn
]]>Though only twelve summers old, Twig is a talented Dreamer. Sometimes she has spirit dreams—dreams that come true. But her mother has always discouraged Twig from exploring her powers for fear that they would turn her strange, like the reclusive witch-woman Cobia.
When Twig begins to have recurring nightmares about a green light exploding from the sky and causing widespread destruction, she must find the courage to defy her mother and learn to become a Spirit Dreamer. Helping Twig on her quest are her best friend, Greyhawk, and Screech Owl, a shaman who has been banished from the village. Together, they must persuade their people to leave the land of their ancestors and journey to the mysterious Duskland, far from only home they’ve ever known. Can Twig convince the Elders that she is a true Spirit Dreamer—before it’s too late?
Set 13,000 years ago in what is now the northeastern United States and Ontario, Canada, Children of the Dawnland is an unforgettable adventure about a visionary girl by internationally-bestselling authors and archaeologists Kathleen O’Neal Gear and W. Michael Gear. In writing and researching this book, the Gears visited the archaeological sites in New York, Ontario, Ohio, and Pennsylvania that play a role in the story. By allowing us to see through the eyes of prehistoric cultures, the Gears hope we can learn from them at a time of similar environmental change.
</DIV>]]>Das Ergebnis der Rezeptur? Ebenso bekannt: Wieder einmal ist man hilflos ausgeliefert. Gegen den eigenen Willen wird man sogartig in die Handlung gerissen und ahnt, dass eine durchwachte Nacht fällig ist. Besser noch, Sie hängen einen Urlaubstag dran, denn der unerhört spannende Plot des versierten Autorenduos Gear & Gear hat mit mehr als 600 Seiten echtes Magnumformat.
Gegen Ende der Story erscheint das Personal radikal gestutzt. Am Ende jagen Bryce Johnson und Veronica Tremain, Freund und Schwester des ermordeten Scott Ferris, dessen Vermächtnis nach. Mit einem Kleinkind der besonderen Art im Gepäck, wird das Trio durch die USA gehetzt, immer im Kernschatten und auf der Flucht vor den „wahren“ Gottesfürchtigen. Ein echter Höllentrip! --Ravi Unger
]]>Das Ergebnis der Rezeptur? Ebenso bekannt: Wieder einmal ist man hilflos ausgeliefert. Gegen den eigenen Willen wird man sogartig in die Handlung gerissen und ahnt, dass eine durchwachte Nacht fällig ist. Besser noch, Sie hängen einen Urlaubstag dran, denn der unerhört spannende Plot des versierten Autorenduos Gear & Gear hat mit mehr als 600 Seiten echtes Magnumformat.
Gegen Ende der Story erscheint das Personal radikal gestutzt. Am Ende jagen Bryce Johnson und Veronica Tremain, Freund und Schwester des ermordeten Scott Ferris, dessen Vermächtnis nach. Mit einem Kleinkind der besonderen Art im Gepäck, wird das Trio durch die USA gehetzt, immer im Kernschatten und auf der Flucht vor den „wahren“ Gottesfürchtigen. Ein echter Höllentrip! --Ravi Unger
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