From Publishers Weekly
Arizona archeologist Jack Foreman unwittingly unleashes a demonic, tornado-like force on the Southwest in Niswander's fast-paced, well-written debut, the first installment in a projected three-volume series entitled "The Shaman Cycle." Imprisoned 500 years ago by a "Great Gathering" of Native Americans and the power of a sacred charm, this instrument of mass bloodshed and destruction must be stopped by a second gathering. Enlisting the aid of Arizona police detective Greg Johnson, New Mexico tribal police sergeant Ed Twohats Redfield and TV weatherman Matt Sharp, Foreman helps shamans from 12 tribes join together to defeat the "beast" in two temporal and three spiritual domains--not an easy task, even with the ancient amulet. An ultimate sacrifice seems to be required, and Jack volunteers to make sure the demon is destroyed once and for all. Niswander invests his characters with colorful personalities, displays knowledge of and respect for Native American culture and knows how to weave disparate story lines together into a compelling whole.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Niswander's first novel, part of a planned trilogy, draws heavily on Native American mysticism and Arizona locales, evidently the author's strengths. A demon traveling as a dust devil is accidentally released from its ancient prison and attacks villages in New Mexico and Arizona. As their ancestors once did, the medicine men of the Southwest Indian tribes must unite to recapture the demon. They are aided by a weatherman who uses radar to track the dust devil and an archaeologist who finds the Charm--the key to the demon's recapture. Unfortunately, the plot desperately needs some tightening: most of the novel is spent gathering the medicine men, while the demon's rampage is brief and unfrightening. Southwestern residents may enjoy the local color and points of reference, and devotees of Native American culture may appreciate the author's pains with his subjects, but they are small rewards for getting through the narrative.
- Robert C. Moore, DuPont Merck Pharmaceutical Co. Information Svcs., North Billerica, Mass.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
- Robert C. Moore, DuPont Merck Pharmaceutical Co. Information Svcs., North Billerica, Mass.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
