Killer of Crying Deer

by William Orem

Award-winning poet, playwright, and novelist William Orem's literary novel KILLER OF CRYING DEER is an account of the beauty and horror that unfolds when an English slaver ship carrying an abducted boy (the protagonist) wrecks off the coast of the Florida Keys in 1699. The survivors encounter a village of the "noble savage" Calusa tribe and the not-so-noble crew of Spanish Catholic zealots led by the sadistic Comandante Albenix. Orem is a stylist whose prose is both visceral and lyrical, a consummate wordsmith whose ear for dialogue is pitch-perfect and whose storytelling skills deftly lead the reader through young Henry Cote's abduction at sea to the unexpected conclusion of his horrendous journey, all rendered with unflinching authenticity.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Horror

252 pages, Paperback

First published September 15, 2010

About the author

William Orem writes about spiritual quest across different cultures and times. He also has a series of sub-interests, from modern science to the literary gothic.

The book Zombi, You My Love, is set at a mission in Haiti during the last summer of the Duvalier regime; Across the River is a linked series of stories, each of which takes place in a different room of a Georgetown hospital; Killer of Crying Deer is a spiritual struggle set in 1699 in what are now known as the Florida Keys, while the poetry collection Our Purpose In Speaking alternates between formal and free verse in examining the different facets of a Catholic childhood. The common thread among them all is the authentic search for the soul.

Miss Lucy, winner of the Gival Press Novel Award, is historical fiction about the life of Bram Stoker, author of Dracula, and examines the many ways in which books, and writers, can be haunted.

Zombi, You My Love, won the GLCA New Writers Award in 2000, previously given to Sherman Alexie, Alice Munro, Louise Erdrich, and Richard Ford. Across the River won the Texas Review Novella Prize; Killer of Crying Deer won the Eric Hoffer Award and has been optioned for film, while Our Purpose In Speaking won the Wheelbarrow Books Poetry Prize, and William has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize in fiction, poetry, and essay.

William grew up in Maryland and on Capitol Hill, both of which figure regularly in his work. His play THE SEABIRDS, winner of the Manduzmar New Plays Award, takes place inside a lighthouse on Chesapeake Bay during the Civil War, and his other short plays have been performed both around the country and internationally. Currently he is a Writer-in-Residence at Emerson College.

More info at williamorem.com.

Reviews

[Kerry O'Connor · Rating 4 out of 5]

"He saw Libra, Aquarius, dissolve into the broken-winged bird that distracts the fox, the story that had been so alien to him he had refused to allow it a place in the heavens. And in a moment of terrible clarity he understood, he pieced together the sky-code his father had sought for years to decipher. The star bird's story was not alien, not strange: it was the story of the Christ. They were all the same story, told all over the world; the story of sacred martyrs, those who sacrifice themselves in order to save men from their own blood-loving Gods.

[Naomi · Rating 3 out of 5]

My feelings towards this book are split. I must admit that I did enjoy the writing. The storyline left me a bit dry and not what I expected. Also, I must admit that given the setting of the book, I expected writing that was a bit more vivid in the imagery of the Florida Keys, but was left hanging.

[Nuclearoil · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the story idea; but it seemed like it never really got into to much depth with any of the characters. I think the author was trying to say a lot about the chachters but I never really felt a connection to their story. Just kind of got like an overview.

[David Manuel · Rating 1 out of 5]

I just couldn't get into this book and found it confusing - did not finish . . .