K'Atsina: A Novel of Rebellion

During the conquest of the New World in the 17th century, in what will become New Mexico, young, half-Indian Father Augustin, the hero of this strongly conventional historical romance, falls in love and elopes with his pupil, the Spanish heiress Senorita Antonia. Their child, raised in the pueblo of the Acoma people, is accepted in the society as his father was not, but fights to preserve both sides of his heritage--Indian and Spanish--against the abuse of each, as the predations of Spanish church and state continue, forcing an Indian uprising. This tale is blessed with a great plot and a feeling for both the details and the structure of life in North America's Spanish colonies. It is cursed, however, with trite dialogue (""Please, show me what it is to be a woman"") and enough stereotypes to fill a dozen bodice-rippers: noble savage, vile conqueror and everything in between the two. But for readers who like a dose of history with their pulp fiction, this historical romance will not disappoint. (Sept.)