cover image Let the Drum Speak: A Novel of Ancient America

Let the Drum Speak: A Novel of Ancient America

Linda Lay Shuler. William Morrow & Company, $25 (0pp) ISBN 978-0-688-12834-0

The third book of Shuler's Time Circle Quartet should please admirers of She Who Remembers and Voice of the Eagle while immediately drawing in readers new to the story of Antelope, daughter of the revered teacher Kwani Keeper and herself a teacher of the secrets of womanhood. Antelope, an Anazsasi of ancient America, is one of a long line of Chosen Ones who can call the spirits and communicate with her predecessors. She is also the loving mate of Chomoc, who has a wandering eye. Because she fears losing Chomoc, Antelope has insisted on accompanying him on a trading journey to the City of the Great Sun, even though she is still nursing their infant daughter, Skyfeather. But at the city, Antelope and Chomoc are not welcomed by the shaman and his chief, the Great Sun, who suspect and fear their powers. When Antelope sees into the spirit of the Great Sun, she realizes he is hiding a terrible secret and urges Chomoc to leave the area. But her mate is captivated by the beautiful and powerful queen of the City of the North. When Chomoc deserts his wife and daughter, Antelope must use all her powers to defend herself and her child, and to find a way back to her people. Shuler tells this tale in prose turbulent enough, and strokes broad enough, to paint over the sketchiness of her characters. Buttressed by considerable research (bibliography included), it's a bracing read. (June)