Moonfire

Moon Fire is a vibrant, tapestried tale of love and betrayal and heroism among the Ancient ones of Chaco Canyon. Its prose is delicate, spare and stately, conveying both passion and restraint in a wealth of cultural detail. Moon Fire is a gifted student of the Sun Priests who develops her special ability to communicate with animals to help her people. Moon Fire threads a precarious existence in the time of the Great Drought when the peoples of Chaco Canyon gradually left their stone dwellings to seek better sustenance (presumably). Moon Fire's family suffers hunger, thirst and fear of betrayal and falseness on many levels. The bravery of Moon Fire, her brothers, and her lover and life mate, the Sun Priest flutist WenaAhote, are fully challenged and displayed. In this tale of multiple counter-betrayals contrasted with the steady vision of truth, the culture of the ancient Anasazi comes again to life. A reverent, disciplined tone pervades and reanimates this tale of ancient mystery.Nancy Lorraine, Reviewer