The Summoning God (The Anasazi Mysteries, Book 2) (Mass Market Paperback)

~ (Author), (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Book two in the Anasazi Mysteries series, The Summoning God is the sequel to The Visitant, in which archaeologist-authors Kathleen O'Neal Gear and W. Michael Gear introduced readers to murder, mayhem, and the myriad details of life in a 13th-century Native American pueblo. In both novels, the narrative arcs between the present and the past, drawing aside the seemingly thin veil of time that separates them. Here, as archaeologists Dusty Stewart and Maureen Cole sift through an ancient Anasazi kiva, attempting to understand the circumstances that could have led to the presence of 33 charred children's bodies in the ceremonial chamber, we also see the members of the pueblo as they move toward the terrible destruction so carefully unearthed by Stewart and Cole. This narrative device isn't revolutionary, but it is clever: the demands of classic mystery plotting (we have a corpse, but who committed the crime?) are fulfilled, while the reader lives simultaneously in the worlds of evidence creation and deduction.

The Anasazi characters will be familiar to readers of The Visitant: warriors Browser and Catkin, holy men Springbank and Stone Ghost, and the witch Two Hearts continue to move silently through the sand and sagebrush, circling through a world marked by warring religions and vanishing resources. When Browser and Catkin find a mutilated old woman surrounded by the skulls of her clan, they must summon all their courage to combat what surely must be witchcraft--or is it? Although the narrative founders at times in a sea of murkily presented myth, the characters are vibrantly drawn (though to watch an Anasazi holy man conduct an autopsy in a manner that would do Kay Scarpetta proud is one of several discordant anachronisms).

The Summoning God, like its predecessor, renders the lives and habits of the Anasazi in compelling detail: we learn that they used blazing star petals for perfume and that their ceremonial purification rites included cornmeal and ground seashells. Though the tenacity with which the authors seek to hammer home a situational equivalency between modern life and the 13th century is sometimes painfully heavy-handed, the evocation of daily life never is. Readers might wish to acknowledge that overutilization of resources, a thirst for territory, and a propensity toward holy wars are indeed threads that bind us to the Anasazi--then ignore the lectures and settle into the story. --Kelly Flynn --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

This memorable novel of the vanished Anasazi, the second in the series (following The Visitant), provides sober ecological lessons for our own civilization. The Gears, who are also collaborators on the First North Americans series, tell the brutal story of one 13th-century tribe, the Katsinas' People, as they tumble down the path that leads to the sudden disappearance of the Anasazi. In parallel, the authors also tell the tale of a team of contemporary archeologists and anthropologists excavating the ancient site that bears witness to the Anasazi tragedy. The earlier-set narrative follows the fortunes of the Katsinas' People, led by Matron Flame Carrier and War Chief Browser. The tribe is already reeling from the effects of enemy attacks and attrition on the many small pueblos that dot northwestern New Mexico. While the external threat is bad enough, Flame Carrier and Browser must also contend with a serial murderer within the tribe. In the present, archeologist Dusty Stewart and anthropologist Maureen Cole each have their own intimate links to this past. As they excavate, those links and the fate of the puebloans become clearer. Their new novel is not for the squeamish, but the Gears offer unusual insight into Anasazi culture and history, while in an afterword, they suggest that it may already be too late for us to escape a fate similar to that of the Anasazi. An extensive bibliography bolsters their argument. (July)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 576 pages
• Publisher: Tor Books; 1st edition (September 17, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812540344
• ISBN-13: 978-0812540345
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #787,534 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Lots of Smoke, No Fire, November 29, 2002

By A Customer

Intertwining contemporary archaeology with an Anasazi mystery is a good premise. Unfortunately, the authors fail to execute it well.

Repetitious descriptions deaden the writing, making it flat and formulaic. No less than three times, Catkin's black braid is described as a "glistening serpent lying across her back." Too often, moonlight "gilds" or "sheaths" her "upturned nose," "beautiful oval face," and lots of others things. I lost track of how many times yellow cottonwood leaves glinted or glimmered in the autumn sun or swirled somewhere (down paths, on the river, over the kiva edge, etc.) We are reminded ad nauseum of the glints in Dusty's blond beard and hair, of the chin-length black bangs plastered to Browser's face by sweat, of his knee-length war shirt whipping against brush or bushes. Concerning Elder Stone Ghost, "Thin white hair blew around his face as he looked up at Browser." A mere three lines later we read, "Thin white hair blew around [Browser's] uncle's wrinkled face. Sloppy! Where was the editor when the authors needed him/her?

Gestures are recycled until they become tedious. People tuck stray hairs behind their ears or under their hats again and again. Lots of brows draw together lots of times. There is much cupping of coffee cups, sipping of coffee, gripping of war clubs in hard fists, and clasping of capes. The result is unintentionally comic and Chaplin-esque. These characters come across more like marionettes than full-blooded people.

The problems are not merely stylistic. Early on, too much information is thrown at the reader, confusing him/her: a mummy hanging from a rock, copper bells apparently left as bait, a murderous female, a little girl tagging along with her, somebody in a wolf kachina mask, a vicious pack of white-caped warriors, a woman with her eyes gouged out, beheaded bodies in a kiva, the heads in a grove, a necklace that seems important....Whew! The narrative would have been more coherent and the pacing better if these details had been doled out more slowly, one at a time. Easing into a good mystery should be like worming into a ripe apple: the deeper you dig, the darker and juicier it gets.

Sexual tension between Dusty and Maureen is a central conflict in the novel's contemporary portion. However, their unresolved mutual attraction/revulsion soon became frustrating, if not downright annoying. When are these two going to hop in the sack together? Or at least confront their obvious feelings for each other? I know, I know...this fat novel is one in a series of fat novels, and the authors want to keep things simmering. Maybe we'll find out if anything happens between Dusty and Maureen several thousand pages hence. Want to wait that long? I don't.

Hopefully someday somebody will give prehistoric Southwestern peoples the fictional treatment they deserve. But not today....

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thrilling, if a bit graphic!, December 18, 2000

By	S. Schwartz "romonko" (alberta canada) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Summoning God: Book II of the Anasazi Mysteries (Hardcover)

This second book in the Ansazi mystery series is as thrlling and exciting as The Visitant. I for one happen to love the mix of old and new story lines that thread through the book. In fact, the murders and even the pehistoric lifestyle and characters are so well written that it didn't feel like I was reading history. The story is probably one of the most violent and graphic of all the Gear's books, but that was what it was really like back then. If you like heart-stopping action and a really well-crafted mystery this is the book for you. Be prepared though to be hooked, as it looks like there are more to come in this series since this book does leave unsettled things as did the last one.

15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Past and Present, Science and Myth, History and Mystery, July 24, 2000

By	Dr. Jackie Kegley (Bakersfield, California USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Summoning God: Book II of the Anasazi Mysteries (Hardcover)

This second book in the Anasazi Mysteries series continues the expert mixing of past and present, science and myth,excellent archeological, anthropological and historical detail with the myths and mysteries of life in a 13th century Native American pueblo. Contemporary archeologist Dusty Stewart and physical anthropologist Maureen Cole attempt to decipher the evidence of an ancient Anasazi kiva containing scattered charred bones of children and skinned bones of elderly women while Katsina chief, Browser, his female warrior companion, Catkin and his uncle, holy man, Stone Ghost,seek to solve the mystery of the ruthless murders of children and two Matrons of two of the villages. The 13th century Native Americans struggle with ghosts of the dead and the witch Two Hearts while Dusty and Maureen try to come to grips with their own ghosts and their difference in approach to Native American culture. Parallel to these struggles are struggles of the heart and of culture, family and tradition exemplified in the complex relationships between Browser and Catkin;Straighthorn and Redcrop; Dusty and Maureen. There are various kinds of mystery--scientific, relational, religious and real. There is murder and terror and much to excite a "good read." One also comes to "care" for the characters and thus you want to follow their paths to success or defeat. One also has an errie feeling that the cultural disruption, cruelty and the holy wars of the 13th century have frightening parallels to our own time. This tale is one that will delight fans of Kay Scarpetta as well as those of Hillerman while also pleasing those interssted in history, archeology, anthropology and Native American culture. I, for one, look forward to Book 3.