Walks in the Sun [Paperback]

Don Coldsmith (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 1993

Twelve brave young men set out, led by the  indomitable Blue Jay, seeking a better wintering land to  the mysterious south. But the quest becomes an  obsession that plunges the men--and the beautiful,  enigmatic woman who joins them--into a lush, deadly  forest inhabited by great spotted cats and  "thunder lizards," against a man-eating people  near the sea, and to a highland realm where human  sacrifices are performed on a man-made mountain.  To the young holy man Walks in the Sun, the  journey is a test of his vision and his skill at casting  the bones. For as he and his comrades face death,  disease, and loss, they fight for survival--and a  return to the People.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

"Twelve brave young men set out, led by the indomitable Blue Jay, seeking a better wintering land to the mysterious south. But the quest becomes an obsession that plunges the men--and the beautiful, enigmatic woman who joins them--into a lush, deadly forest inhabited by great spotted cats and "thunder lizards," against a man-eating people near the sea, and to a highland realm where human sacrifices are performed on a man-made mountain. To the young holy man Walks in the Sun, the journey is a test of his vision and his skill at casting the bones. For as he and his comrades face death, disease, and loss, they fight for survival--and a return to the People.

From the Inside Flap

Twelve brave young men set out, led by the  indomitable Blue Jay, seeking a better wintering land to  the mysterious south. But the quest becomes an  obsession that plunges the men--and the beautiful,  enigmatic woman who joins them--into a lush, deadly  forest inhabited by great spotted cats and  "thunder lizards," against a man-eating people  near the sea, and to a highland realm where human  sacrifices are performed on a man-made mountain.  To the young holy man Walks in the Sun, the  journey is a test of his vision and his skill at casting  the bones. For as he and his comrades face death,  disease, and loss, they fight for survival--and a  return to the People.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Bantam Books (October 1, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553563645
• ISBN-13: 978-0553563641
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,658,772 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars One of Coldsmith's best!, December 20, 2011

By 

Jode72 "jode_az" (orange beach, al United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Walks in the Sun (The Spanish Bit Saga) (Paperback)

I have read much of Don Coldsmith's Spanish Bit series, and this is one of the most engaging of the books. A brash young subchief named Blue Jay strikes out with a traveling party to see what lies south, farther south than any of the People have ever traveled. If Cold Maker, the spirit that brings the winter, lives in an ice cave far to the north in the Place of Never-Summer, Jay's logic goes, wouldn't there be a Place of Never-Winter to the south, where the People must never battle Cold Maker again? The book is named for Walks In The Sun, the medicine man who accompanies the party, one of its only two survivors, who relates the tale of "the journey too-far-south," as it comes to be known in the lore of the People.

Along the way, they discover many strange, unfamiliar things, animals and spirits native to the territory, but foreign to the People. As a southerner, I got a kick out of their first battles with humidity; their bowstrings wouldn't snap, and their metals grew the first rust they'd ever seen. Along the way they have their first encounters with such frightening spirits as the "toothfish" (a shark they discover washed up on the beach of the Gulf of Mexico), the "thunder lizard" (alligators, which claim a couple of their men), cannibalistic "jaguar men," the "smoking mountain" (a volcano in Mexico), and comical experiences with unfamiliar animals such as anteaters and armadillos. Most intriguing is the chapter where Walks In The Sun spends the night in a Mayan temple, the Place of the Old Ones, and experiences a powerful and alien medicine through the spirits of the place. In the end, only Walks In The Sun and Blue Jay survive for the return journey to the People's Sacred Hills, where they now know the People belong. (That may sound like a spoiler, but the book begins with their return, and the story is told after.)

Anyone who is a fan of Coldsmith should read this book, as well as anyone who likes books that take them on a strange journey.