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Library | Call Number | Status |
|---|---|---|
Searching... McMinnville Public Library | Gear, K. | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Sheridan Public Library | Gear Anasazi v.2 | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
The Summoning God is more than a superb murder mystery, it is a psych- ological thriller with blockbuster action, romance and suspense, and best of all a dynamic plot that will have you holding your breath waiting for the nest step down the dark labyrinth of their serial murderers mind. When world-renowned Canadian Physical Anthropologist, Dr. Maureen Cole, is called to the United States to analyze burials found in an ancient subterranean ceremonial chamber, she is stunned to discover the burned bodies of thirty-three children and two adults. The children were burned in the flesh, meaning they were alive when the fire started, but was the fire an accident or deliberately set? The scattered, mutilated remains of the adults give Maureen her first clue. In order to solve the mystery she must work with American archaeologist William Dusty Stewart. Theyve worked on two archaeological projects in the past and get along like a mongoose and a cobra. Now they must work together to discoverthe dark and terrible secret of an ancient people. The Gears seamlessly weave together modern archaeology and ancient history. Like all of their books, The Summoning God is based on real archaeological sitessites that tell a terrifying story of North America eight hundred years ago. Breathtaking descriptions evoke the harsh beauty of the desert, while the lucid, erudite historical perspectives are informed by the authors own extensive archeological experience.
Author Notes
Kathleen O'Neal Gear was born on October 29, 1954 in Tulare, California. She received a B.A. from California State University in Bakersfield and a M.A. from California State University in Chico. She conducted Ph.D. studies at the University of California in Los Angeles and did post-graduate studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Israel. In the 1980's, she worked as the Wyoming state historian, and later as the archaeologist for Wyoming, Kansas and Nebraska. She received the federal government's Special Achievement Award twice for outstanding management of our nation's cultural heritage.
She married W. Michael Gear in 1982, and they have collaborated on a series of books for young adults. The theme of these books is ancient civilizations, and the titles include People of the Wolf, People of the Fire, People of the Sea, and People of the Lakes. They own Wind River Archaeologist Consultants, which is a private research firm. She has also written several books by herself including the Women of the West series.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (2)
Publisher's Weekly Review
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) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Booklist Review
The Gears have yanked out all the stops to present a mystery in their successful Anasazi series that seems to deliberately incorporate tried-and-true devices: explicit Cornwellian forensic detail, a long-ago murder, a setting that mirrors Hillerman's southwestern territory, and two characters who bear some similarities to the X-Files' Scully and Mulder. Dusty Stewart, the white archaeologist who was raised on digs by a prominent leader in the field, has a profound reverence for Native American spirituality, having been initiated into a tribe. As before, he is teamed up with Dr. Maureen Cole, a pragmatic Seneca who teaches in a Canadian university. In spite of their mutual animosity, their respect for each other's skills makes them a good team, and their combined talents make them the ideal archaeologists to unearth a kiva filled with several skeletons from a thirteenth-century religious massacre. The Gears take their readers back to the time of the murders, when Browser, war chief of the Katsina people, is investigating a deserted pueblo and becomes trapped in the kiva with dozens of dead bodies. He manages to extract himself and returns to report to the beloved matron of the Katsinas only to find that she has been murdered. Ultimately, Browser solves the murders in the past that are, in the present, the archaeological mysteries confronting Dusty and Maureen. Once again, the Gears provide a fascinating dramatization of the lives of the ancient pueblo peoples and of the intricacies and excitement of contemporary archaeology. --Diana Tixier Herald