Book Review of the Sisters of the Black Moon by FJ Pesando
Author Name: FJ Pesando
ISBN: 0-451-40440-8
Publisher: Onyx, Penguin group
Type of book: Adult, pre-historical fiction
Year it was published: 1994
Summary:
California, 12,000 years ago. The great glacial wall of ice has melted. Now the way is open for spear-carrying tribes from the north to swarm southward to the abundant coastal land, home to the saber-toothed tiger and bear, the wolf and mastodon, the giant sloth and long-necked camel. It is home as well to the beatiful Tidelander sisters, Morning Land and White Bird. THese two have only each other, and their own strnegth, skill and spirit, to help them survive when their tribe is annhihilated by invading warriors. This is their story-an epic of courage, passion, drama, set in a world both shining new and magically old, where together men and women face the challenges of danger, the tumult of desire, the timeless realities of life and love...
Characters:
Morning Land: She's the oldest, and by blood half-sister to White Bird. She has fear of men and intimacy and is the last of the tribe. She is described as knowledgeable, wise and very beautiful.
White Bird: Younger half sister to Morning Land. She is insecure and often wishes to be like Morning Land. She is kind and loving towards Laughing One. She becomes his first wife.
Laughing One: He is different than the men the sisters had known in their extinct tribe and both impresses Morning Land and White Bird. He is patient and protective of the two.
Minor Characters: Many characters had one dimension to them but they were far from boring and they didn't seem to be acting out of character.
Theme:
One of the themes that was stressed is overcoming the past to get some sort of happiness, and that no matter how much time has passed, a person cannot be completely healed. There is also the theme of enjoying the happiness whenever you can because you don't know what tomorrow will bring, and that happy times and sad times come in waves and you can overcome them.
Plot:
As mentioned, this was written in third person omniscient point of view. There is background so the reader doesn't get lost and we also are invited to see and learn the taboos and what perhaps Laughing One or the Tidelander sisters do wrong. It is a very imaginative and creative world, and whenever I read it, I am always curious whether or not the story is real.
Author Information:
Unfortunately none is available. If anyone can tell me of some, please do so.
Opinion:
I love the creativity and whatnot that the author painted with this world; the possible rituals and language parts that were used, and that people were not savvy and were only trying to figure themselves out. It did get boring in some parts, but the characters and the vividness of the world more than made up for that. Despite the names, the characters were easily disntiguishable. Although I was happy with the resolution, I did wish that at least he would have ended it at a certain time instead of just leaving the readers hanging for a sequel that never came. There will be disagreeable parts such as the polygamy factor (a man married to two sisters,) and the feelings between the sisters in some ways aren't resolved.
4 out of 5
(0: Stay away unless a masochist 1: Good for insomnia 2: Horrible but readable; 3: Readable and quickly forgettable, 4: Good, enjoyable 5: Buy it, keep it and never let it go.)
Comments
Post a Comment