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Book One of Contact: The Battle for America
by Kathleen O'Neal Gear
Black Shell, an exiled Chickasaw trader, is fascinated by the pale, bearded newcomers who call themselves "Kristianos," and not even the wise counsel of Pearl Hand, the extraordinary and beautiful woman who has consented to be his mate, can dissuade him. It will unfortunately take a first-hand lesson in the Kristianos' unfathomable brutality for Black Shell to fully comprehend the dangers that these invaders pose to his people's way of life.
While his first instinct is to run away with Pearl Hand, somewhere the Kristianos cannot find them, Black Shell has been called to a greater destiny by the Spirit Being known as Horned Serpent. With Pearl Hand by his side, Black Shell must find a way to unite the disparate tribes and settlements of his native land and overcome the merciless armies of de Soto, which will stop at nothing to attain wealth and power.
"The rich historical details and keen characterizations are offset by the graphic depictions of battlefield violence and social cruelty in this smooth, brisk-paced narrative that should generate wide appeal to American historical fiction fans." - Publishers Weekly
"An irresistibly intriguing story line that brings the past vividly to life.... Nobody does Native Americana better than the Gears." - Booklist
"[W]hile the backdrop is unique, the basic plot outline is not.... Some readers may appreciate the journey; others may prefer not to travel when the destination is so obvious." - Kirkus Reviews
This information about Coming of the Storm was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
The Gears can be found online at www.gear-gear.com
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