Spirits Walking Woman (Paperback)

~ Margaret Allan (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Set thousands of years ago in the ancient Olmec culture of what is now Mexico, this is the epic tale of Spirits Walking Woman, who is worshipped by her people and possessed of the gift of divine prophecy. Now, as the mate of a powerful warrior king, she is expected to take her place in the vast empire he rules with an iron fist. But another destiny calls to her that will take her far from the royal court and the dangerous plotting of her blood sister--one that will draw her to a proud, noble stranger who offers a passion as powerful as it is forbidden.

Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Signet (January 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451190394
• ISBN-13: 978-0451190390
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #893,611 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Starts off good, May 7, 2005

By	Chenoa (Hawaii) - See all my reviews

The beginning of the story was great. It seemed like a good plot, but took a turn for the worst when Spirits gave birth to a deformed child. I wanted the author to create a more intimite relationship between Spirits and White Serpent, instead of an unrenounced love for one another. It would have given me more empathy towards White Serpent when he returns to Mother-Father. As much as I wanted to, I couldn't develop a connection with White Serpent. There were a lot of twists and betrayal in this story, you can't help but finish the book. I never read a book where one of the characters was part man and part God. It was a bit strange for me because he was suppose to be one of the main characters and it was hard for him to develop a relationship with Spirits because of his Godlyhood. I thought the ending could have been better and Spirits could have had some kind of luck in the story. She had no family, her husband casted her out of the royal pavilion, her sister was her worst enemy, she gave birth to a deformed Prince, and her true love left her. In the end a whole city is destroyed.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Needs improvement., November 15, 2005

By	Chelsea G. Humphrey (Hampton, VA USA) - See all my reviews

Overall the book had a decent story line, however, it did lack in several areas. For one, I believed that the names of the characters were very simple and I felt that it degraded the civilization. It portrays them as the Hollywood theatre might; it had a very He-man quality. I did enjoy the way we watched Spirits Walking Woman grow from a mere child to a glorious woman. I also did enjoy how Margaret Allen created Harvest Mountain to pretend to be an idiot lead by his thirst for pulque and by his bulge in his pants. To see him turn around a manipulate the people around him, to bring out his enemies into the open and prove to be much smarter than anticipated was a much welcome twist. I was very disappointed to see that all of that planning was quickly erased and devoured by a whore and a priest and by the same idiocy that the Arthur so craftily made the reader realize was fake. The romance between Spirits and White Serpent was weak and could have used some improvement. White Serpents resurrection I also found disappointing, it exhumed a Jesus Christ quality which I thought wasn't proper in this story. His work and followers should have flourished after his death or withered away like all things do in history, his rise from his grave took the point away in his death as well as the King's death. The introduction of Night Talks, shows a more personal and humane side to the King. The book never once mentioned that Night Talks had died with her baby and since the King so graciously allowed Spirits and her child live, the same could have happened for his first wife. He loved her greatly according to the way he remembered her memory, I had hoped that Night Talks would re-enter the story as not just a memory but as more and perhaps be the King's salvation. The King did not appear to be a bad man, just mislead and wrongly raised. He favored Spirits and valued her opinion, and yet Green Water's and Smoking Mirror's evil transgression's against Spirits and her unborn child were never mentioned again, although, I felt that it was important for the King to realize the sins of his actions as well as those around him and grieve. His grief should have been his demise not the betrayal of his priest. The whole ending was chaotic and a bit absurd; a city-size orgy turned massacre?. . I am no expert on Olmec civilization but I do believe it wasn't entirely correct. Personally I thought the dragon was of Asian worship and not Central American, even though it has been associated with the Mesoamerican societies through Hollywood interpretation, of course I am not qualified to say otherwise. And I very much doubt their leaders were referred to as King or princess, as that was a European trait, "Chief" is more associated with Tribal leadership in the Americas or "Cacique". The writing was wonderful, and again the plot decent but again it did lack in several areas. The book has potential and is a light read. This is the first book I have read of Margaret Allen's and I plan to read the People of the Mammoth trilogy. It's a book to read once you have finished with all the goods ones; Its not great but I guess its okay.