Kathleen O'Neal Gear

What happens when apes are given human genes and develop a human-like brain, all in the name of making them more capable of surviving the evils man has done to them & their habitat? Such a bonobo is placed in the care of the Duttons, until they are forced to return sweet smart Umber to Africa, where augmented apes may be on a killing spree. Quite a thriller; I loved it, getting to know Umber, and then discovering who was truly evil.

I found the plot line of the book to be interesting as well as quite unique. We have a serial killer murder mystery set among the Anasazi peoples with an archaeology crew excavating his victim hundreds of years later. It was a solid mystery that became even more compelling as it went along. Stone Ghost was the best character...a gifted detective with a well-rounded knowledge of psychology, even if he was a bit eccentric. It was difficult to guess the killer, but the clues were all there and show more yet the ending was still surprising. The story actually runs in two plotlines, modern times and historical times, connected by the place that once was a village but now is an archaeological dig site. The one thing that I thought was unnecessary and brought the story down a bit for me, as well as losing the book a 5-star rating, was the way the author chose to introduce and give the reader a picture of the two main characters. The archaeologist was brilliant, but he was instantly reduced to the pages of a "bodice-ripper" book when the author described him in great detail as "a blond, rugged, muscular Adonis". I was now waiting for his "goddess" to appear and didn't have too long to wait. She, of course was described as"A full breasted, small waisted equally brilliant scholar">/i>. How did that really matter? Well, except that they were brilliant scholars and capable of solving the murders. Turns out that it really didn't matter what either of them looked like...they hated each other at first sight and throughout most of the story...but you probably know how long the "hated" lasted and where all that was heading. The author also brought forth the interesting question of science versus spiritual belief, but never explored it any further. The perfect opportunity was there several times. She had created two expert characters that could have added their individual views and knowledge on this question to the story. The majority of the book was 4-star worthy but a little less of the "blond, rugged Adonis" and "full breasted, small waisted" descriptions and more about the ancient peoples and the killer would have brought this story up to a solid 5-star read. show less

I had read an earlier (forgotten) book by these authors and felt that was basically a romantic novel dressed up in pseudo-native gear, so I didn't really want to read another by them. I finally succumbed, since it matches up with 3 different LT categories and promised to be an easy read. It did hold my attention, but was also long, so not as quick of a read as I had hoped, for finishing my challenge this month.
It was very engrossing. I think it helped that it was based on historic fact, and show more I learned much about DeSoto and his rampage. Quite a contrast to the couple of sentences in my grade school history class. Yes, there is a romantic interest, and obviously the protagonists were fictional, but the depiction of daily life, ceremonies, social structure and intrigues carried the book. Of course, much of that is creatively extrapolated from what is known about the tribes since European contact, and from archeological excavations (are we no better than DeSoto's troops, kicking over the burial urns?)
2011 review show less

A Searing Wind is the third and final book in the Contact: Battle for America series. I read it without reading the first two books and it was excellent as a stand alone book. I can only imagine what it is going to be like when I get the time to go back and read all three of them back to back. This is one powerful and engrossing novel and I suspect that when I do read the entirety of the story I will want to go back and read it again. A Searing Wind was that good.

I will admit to a certain show more fuzziness when it comes to my knowledge of early explorations on the North American continent. I knew De Soto's name and I vaguely recalled his travels and conquests from long ago history lessons but I will also admit to a certain dislike of American history while in school. That has changed as I have aged and I know devour books on the history of my country at about the same pace i read my beloved European history novels.

This tale of De Soto's tale of destruction through the southern part of what is now the United States is gripping. The two main characters, Black Shell and Pearl Hand are fighting the battle of their life to save their people and their ways from the invading kristianos. The Spanish felt they were superior in every way to the indios and were there to conquer and enslave them. The various tribes felt that De Soto and his men had to be destroyed but they had superior amour, weapons and the dreaded cabayos (horses).

The Indians work together - even tribes that have previously warred with each other to rid themselves of the evil that is De Soto - the monster.

I cannot begin to tell you how powerful a book this was. For the first time in a very, very long time a book brought me to tears. I can't tell you why or over what or I will ruin the plot but I will tell you that I became that involved with the story. I finished the book over a week ago and yet I still find myself thinking about it at odd moments. The Gears have that special way with words that draw you so far into a book you forget you are reading and become part of the story. Their descriptive power was such that I was almost smelling, tasting, seeing what the characters did. In spite of the violent nature of a book about conquest I almost didn't want to leave....

My only complaint is about the cover. I would have walked right by A Searing Wind in a book store. And that is sad because I would then have missed out on one of the best books I have ever read. I will forever be grateful that it was sent to me for review because now I have it and its sisters in my library to enjoy over and over again. show less