IT DREAMS IN ME

Author: Kathleen O'Neal Gear ISBN: 0765311674 6/2007 PREHISTORIC Publisher: TOR

Sora, the High Chieftess of the Black Falcon Nation, has been banished by her own people until she can find healing for her broken spirit. Her seductive, murderous rampages have led to war with nearby clans and caused dissension in her own. If another body turns up, Sora will certainly be blamed—even her own clan will demand her death. Now facing her thirty-third winter, she and her husband Flint are searching frantically for the means to cure her shattered soul. When war strikes nearby Eagle Flute Village a woman is witnessed murdering Chief Short Tail of the Loon people in an exotic ritual. All signs point to Sora. As the Loon people call for her death a healer emerges, offering one last hope of curing Sora and setting her free. But the healer's efforts may be in vain: Chief Short Tail's shadow-soul managed to find a home in his last breath, and, hell-bent on revenge, he'll do anything to put an end to Sora's life.

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

IT DREAMS IN ME is delightfully misleading. When I first opened this book, I expected to find one of those trek-through-the-wilderness stories, showcasing an early civilization whose most interesting activity is gathering nuts and dancing around a fire. Was I ever wrong! This is a complex, multi-dimensional tale of love, spiritual journey, healing and the dynamics and politics of clans, their affiliations, obligations and trustworthiness.

Sora, the High Chieftess, is haunted by dreams. They coincide with murders that have brought relations between her clan and others to a dangerous point. Sora yearns for healing, knowing that if she does not find it, she will surely be put to death.

I was amazed by the way this author seemingly effortlessly drew me back to a distant time. The details of the clans' meetings, the dress and daily activities were so well illustrated I could see it all. The emotional depth of this heroine pulled at my heart. I felt her tears and wondered, until the ending, how this would turn out for her. There is one scene at the end that is fairly brutal and I was disturbed by it, but otherwise I enjoyed this book very much.

Kay James