Kachina

by J.R. Rada

Remembering five missing weeks can save one world and doom another David Purcell was on his way to meet his girlfriend when he fell into a cave. When he next comes aware of things, he is in a hospital recovering. He has been missing for five weeks and has no memory of his time in the cave. He is also mysteriously free of any signs of starvation, injury or cave blindness. Adam Maho is an elderly Hopi who has seen visions of Kuskurza, the Third World of Hopi creation stories. It is a world that is supposed to have been destroyed when the Hopi came to this world through a hole in the ground. Adam's visions show him that those ancient evils that had been long-believed dead were imprisoned and not destroyed. Their prison is weakening, though. When it fails, the dark kachinas will be free to once again bring death and devastation to the world. Adam's visions also show the Hopi that David is somehow the key to keeping the dark kachinas imprisoned. The dark kachinas realize this as well and have sent two of their servants, men of the Bow Clan, to the surface on a suicide mission to kill David Purcell. David is unsure of what to believe. He has flashes of memory from his time in the caverns, but he can't go so far as to believe what Adam tries to explain to him. That is, until the Bow Clan attacks him and kills his girlfriend. When David becomes a suspect in the murder, he flees to the Hopi settlement of Oraibi. The Bow Clan is not finished with David. They pursue him and capture Adam's granddaughter, though David escapes them. He turns the tables on the Bow Clan and decides to take the fight to them as he remembers more of his time in the caverns. He makes the journey to Kuskurza on a rescue mission and to try and find a way to stop the dark kachinas.

268 pages, Hardcover

First published May 16, 2012

Reviews

[Arlene Arredondo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Praise J.R. Rada!
Well written and engaging, this book will take you in a journey through the Hopi mythology. Discovering ancient native american believes and the culture of the Hopi clan.
The story is modern and fun to follow with some funny moments mixed in.
Likable characters and a fast paced story line will keep you hooked.
Definitely recommend it to fans of fiction and mythology.

[Angela Kalnins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kachina
By: J. R. Rada

David Purcell, a modern-day traveling salesman, finds himself in the middle of an ancient Hopi war between modern Hopis living on a reservation, the Sun Clan Hopis (good guys) and the Bow Clan Hopis (bad guys) who have been living underground in a secret cave system for centuries AND the Dark Kachinas—malevolent spirits bent on destroying the “fourth world”—our world.

I truly enjoyed this story. It’s unique. The very idea of the two ancient tribes of Hopi living beneath the earth for centuries, along with the Dark Kachinas, then breaking through to our world is just entertaining and lots of fun. Don’t get me wrong, the story is filled with murder and mayhem, terror and terrorism. It’s not a “fun” story for David Purcell and the other characters to live through. But, for me the reader, it was a fun story to read.

J. R. Rada is a talented writer with a great deal of imagination and skill. It also seems to me that he has a great deal of knowledge about the Hopi nation and their traditions and religions. I found this information fascinating. So much so that I looked up the Hopis on Google, just to learn more. THAT’S the mark of a truly skilled writer—to leave the reader wanting more.

On the negative side: I did find a few misspellings and just one or two grammatical errors. However, they were so few and far between they did not spoil my enjoyment of the story.

Overall, I really appreciated this tale and would recommend it to anyone interested in mystery, adventure, ancient cultures, etc. It’s a great read.