By 1300 AD, the Sky Hand people had crushed and enslaved the Albaamaha people and built their high-walled capital, Split Sky City, to dominate towns up and down the Black Warrior River. But a violent wind is brewing that may topple the city's mighty walls. Great armies are on the march, and a cunning new leader, Smoke Shield, has risen. He will lead the Sky Hand people either to stunning triumph or to bloody doom.
Old White, Trader, and the mystical Two Petals are journeying across the Choctaw lands straight into the chaos. Old White, the Seeker, must play a delicate game of espionage. For Trader the slightest indiscretion--let alone the temptation of forbidden love--could lead to disaster. Two Petals, the Contrary, faces the toughest choice of all : She must betray herself and her friends to Smoke Shield or live forever in the backward grip of madness. And Spirit Power has laid a far deadlier trap for them in the rainbow colors just beneath the rolling surface of the Black Warrior River.
A novel of desperate political intrigue and spiritual power, People of the Thunder once again demonstrates the Gears' mastery of American prehistory. Explore the ancestral heritage of the Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek and Yuchi peoples as the majesty and genius of the vanished Mississippian mound builders' civilization comes to life.
People of the Thunder ^ I loved this book. It is the sequel to People of the Weeping Eye. They did their usual awesome job of story telling. Great in depth & easy to read, have a hard time putting the book down. I can hardly wait for their (Kathleen & Michael Gear) next 2 books to come out. I just wish they were available on the Kindle system.
People of the Thunder ^ The Gears have done it again. I just wish there was more to the series. I have read all of these with great satisfaction. The North American Forgotten Past is a great series. I enjoy books of this type. I put their books on equal footing Ms Auels'.
PEOPLE OF THE THUNDER ^ Okay, Michael and Kathleen Gear. No leader in his ripe old age, who was a spiritual man would ever commit suicide believing in suicide as the other world passage to glory. I am sooooo disappointed in this book, it will probably be a cold day in Hell, before I buy another of your excellent books, that is until the end and they turn out to be such a Horrible Concept; that I do not believe that you know anything about Suicide and the True Spirit World. The Great Spirit, the Creator of Creation, does not reward suicide with glory. Try getting your facts straight. Spirits of Suicide by the thousands are waiting to condemn a soul to endless regret by tempting them to kill their flesh, which the Creator Created. You can find TRUE reference to Suicide in the Bible Oahspe(online) or the book "From a Gun to a Flower" also online. Historical Novels, My Mamanatowic Foot. This has been the last penny you will have made from me. Yuck. I would give you a no stars, but that is not possible. PocahantasChild2
Is This The Last Book In The Series? ^ This book is a sequel to "People of the Weeping Eye" - please insure that you read them in order. This book can stand alone but much will be missed without the previous book, especially the ending which ties back to the opening, modern day scenario in "... the Weeping Eye."
If the Gears are intending to bring their superb series to an end this book may very well be the fitting conclusion. These books excel in two areas: character development and thematic variation. In this two volume sequence, the Gear's have done a remarkable job of integrating the characters and building empathy with them in the reader. Thematically, these books continue the same basic narrative as in earlier story lines with enough variation in details and manner to arouse and maintain interest even though the reader is confident in the ultimate outcome (based on previous works).
A few words on this continuing theme. The unity of narrative found in these novels is that each is consistently an episode in the continuing "brotherly competition" of the demi-gods Raven Hunter (violence) and Wolf Dreamer (peace). In this novel this "brotherly competition" is most explicitly stated and explored. This particular book may very well be the most metaphorical of the entire series. It would be a mistake to assign the terms "evil" and "good" to the two forces. "Good" in the Gears' cosmology is "balance" between the two powers: Red (violence - Raven Hunter) and White (peace - Wolf Dreamer). Balance is achieved when violence is justly pursued and peace is appropriately sanctioned. People serve these powers and become tools, often deterministically, in the development of the gods' struggle. In these two novels there seems to be a "tidying up" character to the continued meta-narrative which makes me think the Gears may be bringing the series to an end.
I gave these books 4 stars instead of 5 because the ending is not as satisfying as previous books... mostly because it is just a bit too neat. There are too many "comings together" and, differing from previous works, no remaining tension in the characters that make us wonder "what might happen next." Still, these are books well worth reading and most highly recommended for young and old alike.
Long Wait Justified ^ I have every single book from their Native American series. I am so glad that they made this particular story into two parts. The plot is rich, full and intricate. Each of the characters is interesting and well developed. The social interactions among the groups is interesting and believable. And the authors' love of the environment is there throughout the book. After reading People of the Weeping Eye, I waited impatiently for this book to be published. And it did not disappoint. They successfully wove all the plot lines together and tied most of them up in the end to give a satisfactory ending, while leaving a couple things unresolved for future development.
Anything Goes Trivia
Megaton Man
Trevor
