People of the moon

The authors Gear began their First North Americans series of preistoric historical novels in 1990 with People of the Wolf. This thirteenth installment is one of the best novels in the whole series. The Gears have consistently captured early Native American life with precision, detail, and narrative excitement, but in Moon they reveal their skills to even sharper effect. The geographical locale this time is an area that will become northern New Mexico and southern Colorado; the Chaco Anasazi hold sway over the region and have done so for 200 years. As is the case with all conquering people--and almost certainly guaranteed by the people they have conquered--maintenance of suppression proves difficult. The gist of this riveting novel is that the warrior Ripple, visited by the goddess Cold Bringing Woman, begins a campaign to destroy the hated overlords. Of course, resistance is met with retribution, and the Gears don't shy away from authenticism in depicting the violence that resulted--their motive, though, is to be realistic, not sensational.