People of the Lightning
A Novel of North America's Forgotten Past
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- $17.99
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- $17.99
Publisher Description
New York Times and USA Today's bestselling authors W. Michael and Kathleen O'Neal Gear bring North America's Forgotten Past to vivid life in this epic, romantic historical novel.
People of the Lightning takes us into ancient Florida, to a village of fisher folk who must face their deepest fear: Pondwander, the White Lightning Boy, the first of his kind to be born in tens of tens of summers. His white hair, pink eyes, and pale skin make him fearsome enough, but prophecy foretells that a Lightning Boy is destined to make Sister Moon bury her face in the clouds and weep falling stars—and unleash the winds of destruction.
Fearing their ultimate demise, the folk manage to trade him off in marriage to Musselwhite, a woman warrior who knows nothing of the prophecy. But when Pondwander is kidnapped, she must face an ages-old enemy who has always been determined to destroy her. But what is truly in store now that this Lightning Boy is hearing voices in the wind, telling him of his role in the coming horror?
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In the Gears' latest epic about pre-Columbian North Americans (after People of the Lakes), a wealth of rich historical detail once again bolsters a pulsing narrative set in a turbulent time. Here, the Gears vivify the Windover people, who-as explained in a foreword-lived in Florida about 8000 years ago and, curiously, were ``not closely related to any other Native American population.'' Cottonmouth, the cruel leader of the Standing Hollow Horn clan, and his warriors kill the children of Musselwhite, and capture her husband, Diver. Musselwhite is the soul and great warrior of the Windy Cove clan-as well as the mother and murderer of Cottonmouth's young son. Despite his hatred for Musselwhite, Cottonmouth desperately hopes that she will try to rescue Diver-not only so that he can kill her but because he believes that with her will come a ``Lightning Boy'' (created when a lightning bolt penetrates a woman's womb) who will help him during a forthcoming cleansing of the world. The Lightning Boy turns out to be the 15-year-old Pondwader, an albino who is married off to the grieving Musselwhite (who believes Diver dead) as payment for his mother's gambling debt. But when Musselwhite learns that Diver is alive, she sets out on a dangerous rescue mission that reaches a dramatic climax. Though perhaps a bit less interesting than the authors' previous works, this tale about love and the struggle to survive will not disappoint their fans.
