The Horses at the Gate: A Novel (The Earthsong Trilogy) [Hardcover]

Mary L Mackey (Author)

Book Description

Series: The Earthsong Trilogy | Publication Date: February 29, 2004

As nomad invaders ride south to attack the peaceful, goddess-worshipping people of Shara, the preistess Marrah is initiated into the cult of the Dark Mother. Armed with powerful magic, she and her nomad lover, Stavan, must fight for the survival of their children and their people. Volume two of The Earthsong Trilogy.

"A heart-pounding evocation...whose lessons lie in the hearts of the characters."
--Thomas Moore, author of Care of the Soul.

"Literary grace and powerful storytelling."
--Theodore Roszak

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

The sequel to Mackey's Year the Horses Came transports us to northeastern Rumania and western Ukraine some six to eight thousand years ago. Drenched in blood sacrifice and hatred, the villain Changar vows revenge against Marrah and her gentle lover Stavan, a prehistoric New Age man and rightful heir to the Hansi throne, which has been usurped by the dead chief Zuhan's evil bastard son Vlahan, a devotee of rape and destruction. In the spirit of ancient adventure novels, this fictional clash of good and evil abounds with visions, omens, and goddesses and, like its predecessor, is based on archaeologist Marija Gimbutas' goddess-centered studies of old Europe. With an ending that readies readers for another in a series, it deserves a place on the shelves next to the works of Jean Auel. Whitney Scott --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Publisher

Set in the matriarchal times described in the works of archaeologist Marija Gimbutas, this is the riveting tale of a peace-loving culture that meets adversity in a dramatic clash with horse-riding warriors. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Backinprint.Com (February 29, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0595763146
• ISBN-13: 978-0595763146
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,308,166 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Related through her father's family to Mark Twain, Mary Mackey graduated from Harvard and received her Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from the University of Michigan. During her twenties, she lived in the rain forests of Costa Rica. Her published works include thirteen novels and six collections of poetry.

For a number of years, she has been traveling to Brazil and incorporating her experiences into her fiction and poetry. Four of her novels (The Widow's War, The Year The Horses Came, The Horses At The Gate, and The Fires of Spring) incorporate some of the rituals of the Afro-Brazilian religion Candomble. In 2005 she took a boat up a tributary of the Amazon, traveling over two thousand miles through flooded jungle. In June 2009, she made another trip to one of the headwaters of the Amazon on the Rio Tocantins

Her works have appeared on the New York Times Bestseller List and been translated into twelve foreign languages including Japanese, Hebrew, Greek, Russian, and Finnish. A screenwriter as well as a novelist and poet, she has sold feature-length screenplays to Warner Brothers as well as to independent film companies. John Korty directed the filming of her original award-winning screenplay Silence. The film rights to her comic novel The Stand-In were recently optioned by director Renee De Palma of OneMotion Pictures. Three times, Garrison Keillor has read her poetry on The Writer's Almanac.

At present, she lives in northern California with her husband Angus Wright, and is Professor Emeritus of English at California State University. To learn more about her you are invited to visit her webpage at: http://www.marymackey.com You can also find her on Facebook at
https://www.facebook.com/marymackeywriter?sk=info

For more biographical information about Mary Mackey, also see:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Mackey

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great sequel, July 25, 2000

By 

Marianne "Marianne" (United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Horses at the Gate (Paperback)

Mary Mackey's follow up to "The Year the Horses Came" is just as good as its predecessor, maybe even better. Several great themes are explored in this work, including the quesiton of how the peaceful Motherpeople can defend themselves against the nomads without becoming like them.

Throughout it all, there's Mackey's inspiring writing, suspence, drama and romance. After reading this and and its predecessor, I wonder how any other novel can come anywhere near as close.

By the way, I recommend the novel "The Fifth Sacred Thing" by Starhawk to anyone who enjoyed this one.

5.0 out of 5 stars Compelling!, October 31, 2007

By 

Candice M. Erba (California) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Horses at the Gate: A Novel (Paperback)

This book, the second in a trilogy, is a can't-put-it-down! I cancelled all of my weekend plans so that I could keep reading it. The historical background research on the neolithic period, the compelling story, and the fabulous character development make for a five star novel! I can't wait to read the next book in the trilogy.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Well researched and well written - and well worth reading!, December 20, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Horses at the Gate (Paperback)

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, the third in Mackey's series. Her writing is wonderful, and the extent to which she researches her material is clear in the flow of the story, and the way she weaves detail into the telling of this tale.

A *very* good read!!