---

Reviews 

---

            James Gibson did it again with ANASAZI QUEST, his third novel that takes us even further into the mysterious world of shamans and sorcerers bent on destroying Caleb Stone and Shanni, the Huastec princess, before they reach the mythical Center of the Huastec civilization in southern Mexico.
            I couldn’t wait to see what happened next after the first novel, ANASAZI PRINCESS, introduced me to Caleb, the rancher’s son who returns to the Mesa Verde country near Mancos, Colorado to regain his family’s land and avenge the murder of his father.  Our hero encounters evil characters in his neighbors who close ranks and hire an assassin to eliminate Caleb and his unwelcome interference in their affairs.
            Gravely wounded, Caleb is rescued by Shanni and her grandfather, Tonah, the Huastec shaman.  In the second novel, ANASAZI JOURNEY, the Huastecs are forced out of their ancestral home in Mesa Verde with Caleb attempting to assist them in their quest to find sanctuary in the Center far to the south.  The narrative moves from an action novel to a new level as good and evil spar across the desert, forcing Caleb to recognize that Tonah, his friend, is a sorcerer, engaging in practices that Caleb equates with evil witchcraft.   Caleb cannot accept Tonah’s insistence there are Beings that threaten them from the “other world”, where Caleb’s weapons are useless.
            The novels reflect the sweeping magnitude of the western desert as bigger-than-life characters play out their life-and-death struggles on the parched landscape, made surreal by wildlife and plants unique to that environment.
            Parallels with the suffering in the desert of the Lost Tribe of Israel in biblical history provide a symbolic overlay that may be mythical writing, or simply the naïve genius of the developing novelist.  The result is an ongoing saga pitting classic battles and psychological warfare against the strength of the human spirit as the love between Caleb and Shanni is tested by the evil entities arrayed against them.
            Gibson enthralls the reader with graphic journeys into the world of shamanism.  Tonah’s battles against the evil Sentinels in the worlds of non-ordinary reality moves the action into the world of the paranormal, and reveals his hidden strengths as a sorcerer, and as a warrior.  Caleb faces a crisis when he realizes guns are not enough to overcome their enemies, and that he also must risk his life in a Spirit Quest in order to survive.
            Gibson’s sweeping word pictures, grounded in his historical research of the American southwest and Mexico, and his savvy character development impressed me with their scope, depth, and implications.  The use of facts about historical characters and locales creates a sense of reality that draws the reader into a believable world of plausible fiction.
            Of course all is not goodness and light.  The first novel, ANASAZI PRINCESS, is an excellent story, but it suffers from typos that a good editor would have eliminated.  (Author’s Note:  Removed in the “Collector’s Edition”, published in 2004).  These defects do not appear in the second and third novels.  The transitions between chapters, and the events in the story, were sometimes abrupt, and I would have liked to see more scenes between Caleb and Shanni demonstrating how their mutual attraction developed into genuine love.
            But these are minor defects in a grand story.  Gibson intuitively strikes the right balance between light entertainment and serious issues that appeal to the thoughtful reader; between conflict and romance, and between right and wrong.  Through it all we are uplifted by the ability of the human spirit to triumph over suffering and evil.
            In summation, a very interesting read that left me wanting more.  I can’t wait until the fourth novel in the series, ANASAZI DESOLATION, arrives!  And then I know I’ll be looking forward to ANASAZI TRIUMPH, to finish up the series.
 

(Book review by Christine R. Day, Ph.D.; Professional Educator and Trainer.)