People of the Lightning

Tor Books, 1996. Very Good. In the Gears' latest epic about pre-Columbian North Americans (after People of the Lakes), a wealth of rich historical detail once again bolsters a pu lsing narrative set in a turbulent time. Here, the Gears vivify the Windove r people, who-as explained in a foreword-lived in Florida about 8000 years ago and, curiously, were "not closely related to any other Native American population." Cottonmouth, the cruel leader of the Standing Hollow Horn clan , and his warriors kill the children of Musselwhite, and capture her husban d, Diver. Musselwhite is the soul and great warrior of the Windy Cove clan- as well as the mother and murderer of Cottonmouth's young son. Despite his hatred for Musselwhite, Cottonmouth desperately hopes that she will try to rescue Diver-not only so that he can kill her but because he believes that with her will come a "Lightning Boy" (created when a lightning bolt penetra tes a woman's womb) who will help him during a forthcoming cleansing of the world. The Lightning Boy turns out to be the 15-year-old Pondwader, an alb ino who is married off to the grieving Musselwhite (who believes Diver dead ) as payment for his mother's gambling debt. But when Musselwhite learns th at Diver is alive, she sets out on a dangerous rescue mission that reaches a dramatic climax. Though perhaps a bit less interesting than the authors' previous works, this tale about love and the struggle to survive will not d isappoint their fans.