Song of Wovoka [Paperback]

Earl Murray (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 15, 1993

Twenty years after Dance with Wolves, Father Mark Thomas finds a life with the Cheyenne River Sioux and a beautiful woman named Fawn more compelling than his Jesuit training. But as Father Thomas' new life is beginning, the old life of the Sioux is about to end: one more hard winter and the people will starve.

The Sioux's last hope is Wovka, a Piaute prophet who promises that if all dance his Ghost Dance then the buffalo will return and the white man will vanish from the earth.

Is Wovoka a savior? Will the Ghost Dance lead the people to salvation, or to the tragedy called Wounded Knee?

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Wonderful dramatic storytelling. Earl Murray writes with passion about the West as it was."--W. Michael Gear and Kathleen O'Neal Gear, author of People of the River

"Earl Murray has a narrative gift that never flags."--El Paso Herlad Post

About the Author

Earl Murray once worked in botany and natural resource management. He is the author of thirty-five novels and nonfiction books that deal with the American West. His novel, Song of Wovoka, was a finalist for the 1992 Western Writers of America Spur Award for historical fiction. He lives with his wife, Victoria, in northern Colorado.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Tor Books; 1st edition (June 15, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812513185
• ISBN-13: 978-0812513189
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,781,754 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is a fine little novel., May 22, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Song of Wovoka (Paperback)

This is a well-written, exciting novel which accurately portrays the worldview of Native Americans of the plains. It deserves five stars. I use it as a first-book-read in a Native American Religions course. It never fails to interest students in learning more about Native Americans, as it gives their history specific, three-dimensional characters, both compelling and repelling. Since I teach students, black and white, who have little understanding of the Native American experience or point of view, I am grateful to Earl Murray for providing such an easily accessible, romantic, action-oriented novel. It makes my intellectual seduction of them much easier. When I get to explaining specific worldview assumptions of Native Americans, it is always helpful to refer back to, for instance, the visions of Fawn-that-goes-dancing or Black Robe (Father Thomas). I highly recommend this small novel.