Customer Reviews

People of the Lightning (First North Americans)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

For the first time in many generations, a White Lightning Boy, Pondwater, is born to a tribe living in what we now call Florida. He has startlingly white hair, pale skin, and pink eyes. Legends tell of Lightning Boys playing great roles in the creation and the destruction of worlds. Pondwater, the 'fifteen summers old' boy, isn't very frightening or imposing, however. He is a kind soul who is sent to marry the great warrior-woman of the small Windy Cove Clan , Musselwhite. Musselwhite, as leader of the clan, is entitled to more than one husband, but her heart is not in another marriage. She must think of her clan, however, and not just her feelings for her first husband. Pondwaters' Heartwood Clan can offer her many warrior allies in her struggle against her old enemy, Cottonmouth. She and Cottonmouth share a secret past that will come to haunt them both....

I always eagerly look forwared to the Gear's books. This one I have just finished and it was a hard one to put down. I can't wait to get People of the Silence and People of the Mist.

A great surprise... a book I expected to get bored with and instead spent a sleepless night reading.

The albino power child Pondwader marries the famous warrior woman Musselwhite, whose clan needs more warriors in order to survive the attacks from Musselwhite's ex-lover's clan, Cottonmouth. Musselwhite's first husband has been taken hostage and tortured as a method of forcing the woman to come to his rescue, and Pondwader (though convinced he'll die freeing the lightning bird he believes is lodged in his own body) knows her only chance to succeed is to take him along. Only, his feeble body and limited sight will prove to be hindering to her desperate fight to save her beloved first husband, and the destruction of the clans' world is sure to come if the power child kills its guardian eagles - by releasing the inner lightningbird. Wich is exactly Cottonmouth's plan.

The writing seems a bit naive, and the adventure is slow to build tension, but the outcome is worth the wait.

The insight on the prehistoric Native American is addictive - even if it may be based largely on imagination. This is a "what if it was like this..." book.

I loved this book. So now I'll have to search for all the others...

there is not a lot of action in this book but I loved it. the story is about a lighting boy (a albino) and a woman. she is trying to get her capured hasband back from her EX's tribe.

book in excellent condition came wrapped in saran type material. thanks for the care shown with this product by the vendor.

As a native Florida environmental scientist, well read in paleoindian archaeology and social structure, I enjoyed the story a great deal, and was able to visualize a very believable setting for what must have been a rather rough time. The characters were well developed, although their dialogue seemed a bit too sophisticated for 6000 BC. I would liked to have seen more interaction between the characters and their surroundings - key elements like panthers, bears, and alligators are only briefly mentioned - as well as a closer look at their spiritual beliefs, but that's just me. I'm looking forward to reading the other books in the series.

This book was a great addition to the People of the....series of the Gear's. If you liked their previous books you will certainly like this one.

In the series. I started reading the series on chance, and now I can't wait until the next book and the next book come out so I can read them. This book in particular had some very interesting characters and I felt great development.

I had been reading the series of The First North Americans, when I came to this book I was amazed to find that it is based on an actual find located less than 20 miles from where I live! The Windover site is just 30 miles from Orlando for all of you Disney visitors. All though it is fiction, there is quite a bit a factual research in this book. I thought that the story was amazing and was even better tied to a familiar place. The Florida indians were an amazing people and many of the shell mounds and burial sites are still around if you know where to look of the beaten path of theme parks in Florida. A special book and if you plan to visit Brevard county a must read!

Although the various books in this series tend to follow certain patterns, particularly in terms of characterisation, I found this one to break out of the mold a bit. The wise but crazy old medicine man actually IS kind of creepy in People of the Lightning (unlike lovable Dune or sensible Panther from other books in the series), the most beautiful person in the book is not the hero or heroine, the villain actually is who you think it is, and the ending is wholly satisfying.

True to their usual standards of research, the authors pleased me with their knowledge concerning albinism. It usually goes hand in hand with visual difficulties, but so few people outside of the blind community seem to realise this. The descriptions of what the highly light sensitive Pondwader saw were beautiful and reasonable.

If you haven't read any of the books in this series, I'd highly reccommend starting at the beginning (People of the Wolf) but after that, it really doesn't matter. When you read People of the Lightning, have some time set aside, and preferably also some fish to grill. The descriptions make you hungry.