Customer Reviews

Facing Rushmore

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

How did the St. Louis Memorial Arch turn black has puzzled scientists and FBI Agent Charlie Hart. Lakota Sioux ghost dancer John Brown Dog claims he caused it to happen and also insists the only way to return it back to its former state is to wash the arch with non-pasteurized milk. Still Charlie interrogates John to learn more about what chemicals he used and how dangerous they pose to the public. Instead of direct responses or even ignoring the Fed, John rambles all over the place including weird references to meeting God's whore Elena in Tennessee. Charlie admits he has no idea what John is telling him especially about controlling shape shadows.

Frustrated Charlie gives up and assumes the guy is a lunatic. That is until John conjures up the shape shadows. Meanwhile a freed John heads west to vandalize other American monuments and warns the descendents of the founding fathers that unless DC cedes all public forests and other Federal/State lands to the Native American population, no newborn will grace the country except the offspring of a select small band of Indians.

Readers will agree with Charlie and the power mongers that no way will a biblical level disaster occur like John claims will happen. Yet somehow David Lozell Martin locks in his audience who follows the suspenseful goings on to observe what impossibility will next occur because hooked fans will start to accept that John has the power through the shape shadows to enact revenge on those who have destroyed the Indian way of life. This action-packed thriller is a cautionary tale that asks humanity "What's Going On?" as we destroy the planet and head towards extinction.

Harriet Klausner

I'm having issues trying to get 3.5 stars to work. I read this book hoping for something as compelling as the next in the series (I read them out of order) and was somewhat disappointed. _Facing Rushmore_ is an entertaining read that is part social commentary and part story. It includes what I would refer to as the fantastic, as it juxtaposes the themes of Native American or Indigenous storytelling and narrative throughout the book.

At times the story feels forced, as if the social commentary overrides what the author is actually trying to do--tell a story. It can be frustrating to read a book, when an author is trying too hard to be witty or hit you over the head with a point.

Don't get me wrong, I will read more by this author and have found that I read his books in one sitting quickly. I think the stories/books are original and insightful. The audience for this book is a wide, general audience.

David Martin, one of the most prolific, versatile, and under-rated novelists of his generation, has once again shown his tremendous talent in Facing Rushmore. Not only is it a powerful and disturbing novel, it's full of history that every American should be aware of as well as ashamed. It should be a "must read" in every school, home, and public library.

There's nothing else out there like David Martin's novels, and FACING RUSHMORE is no exception. I like the blending of fiction and fact in this thriller. The story will captivate you and really make you think about this country of ours.

End of world story that says: Indian Good! White Man Bad! Give back land, or die! Martin's raving about the `injustice,' of it all makes you want to giggle. You would think if Indian Animist religion has so much `Heap big medicine,' then where are the other animist beliefs trying to take back their own. All the groups of people who been victimized, and then became successful have learned the hardest lesson of all: looking back to your past imprisons you, if you do not look to the future and embrace it, you will end up like the Native American Indians: locked up by their own volition, on their reservations, afraid of losing something that already is gone. American Indians and some African American still find themselves unable to decouple from the past. Martin earns only one "Ugh!' for this Melvillian screed.

I really enjoyed this author in the past. But it's unfortunate that he has also turned into another writer who seems to love the spoils of being an American (or as he calls us in his book Europeans) yet loathes what we are. I'm not sure where people get suspense out of this book. I believe on every page there is dialogue about how bad we American's (or Europeans) are and have been to the Indians. Will definately think twice about even reading this author again. Frankly, I could have done without the WHOLE book going over and over and over the same theme. Tiresome, I believe, to even those that are going to agree with the theme.