People of the River (First North Americans)

From Publishers Weekly Following their three bestselling paperbacks ( People of the Earth , etc.), the Gears cross over to hardcover with this absorbing addition to their First North Americans series. Here they cover the culture of the so-called Mississippians, who, between 700 A.D. and 1500 A.D., lived in the area surrounding Cahokia in what is now Illinois. The authors, who are also professional archeologists, depict a hierarchical society that depends on corn for sustenance, worships various gods, builds mounds of earth (some as high as 100 feet) and develops a precise knowledge of astronomy. As the novel opens, a severe drought has hit the region. The villagers near Cahokia cannot feed themselves, much less pay the required tribute of corn to Tharon, their chief, but he sends his soldiers to prey on them anyway. The religious ceremonies, ethics and taboos as well as the passions and longings of these ancients are made urgent and vivid in dramas centering on Tharon's conflicted chief warrior; the woman who fights at his side; a priestess whose dreams predict the future; and a young Dreamer who will be a priestess someday. Fast-paced and engrossing, the novel has the ring of authenticity as well. Major ad/promo; author tour. Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. From School Library Journal YA-- This is the fourth novel in a series that presents prehistoric life in North America through the description of different cultures. The Mound Builders, a trading society in Illinois, face drought and food shortages in A.D. 1200. The authors are archaeologists whose knowledge and prodigious research of prehistoric life are evidenced in the narration of everyday activities. While maintaining strong, parallel plot lines of a search for the Underworld and the escalation to war, they emphasize the interrelationship of the climate and the society's major problems. Not as sensational as Jean Auel's recent works, this book conveys its history lessons through strong characterization, vivid dialogue, and descriptions that YAs can readily visualize. - Arlene Bathgate, Lee High School, Fairfax County, VA Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. From Kirkus Reviews An earnest tale of warfare and spiritual journeys among an ancient American people--the first of this archaeologist team's First North Americans series to appear in hardcover. The story takes place circa A.D. 1300, in what is now Illinois, and concerns a vanished people known as the Mound Builders. The city of Cahokia--a trading and governing center--has as its leader the Great Chief Theron, who, at a time of growing drought and scarcity, insists on sacking his group of villages. Leading Theron's forces is a Brutus sort of warrior, Badgertail, who hates making war on brothers but believes instead in preserving order. And a rebellion is growing. Meanwhile, it's obvious to the priestess Nightshade--once captured as a child by Theron's father, escaped, and recaptured--that the First Woman (a supernatural deity) has closed off her realm and can't be reached for relief from war and famine. The child Lichen, however, tutored to shed self and give up her soul, will eventually pass through the Well of the Ancestors to the Underworld and confront the First Woman--who declares that ``Mother Earth would be better off without people...Part of my soul died with the last mammoth calf.'' At the close, Theron is killed, and the good survivors find a kind of paradise. At first a bit thick and hard to follow, and there's the inevitable jolly anachronism (Lichen's mom: ``I'm giving you ten days. You should be able to teach her the basic skills of Dreaming in that time'')--but the warfare is strikingly graphic, the Dreaming excursions intense. With the supernatural elements and harsh utilitarian characters, this has a remote but sturdy science- fiction feel rather than the nutty swashbuckling intimacy of Auel's novels. -- Copyright ©1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. Read more