Riding the Trail of Tears

Character development and a good story team up with technology in Hausman's innovative debut novel set in the world of virtual reality. Tallulah Wilson, 27 years old and part Cherokee, works as a tour guide, along with her boyfriend, John Bushyhead Smith, also part Cherokee, on a virtual Trail of Tears in the Tsalagi Removal Exodus Point Park, or TREPP, a tourist attraction in Georgia. Her grandfather, Art, invented the original virtual Trail of Tears using an old Jeep Cherokee with television screens replacing the windows, taking Tallulah on the ride when she was only 12 years old. "Grandpa said that the Indians walking the Trail were digital and couldn't see inside the car, but Tallulah thought they stared right through her... thousands and thousands of digital eyes." On one of Tallulah's tours, which consists of 11 people—a "motley bunch" is Tallulah's assessment—strange things start to happen, an imminent terrorist attack is suspected, and Cherokee residents inside the virtual world plan to change the ride's programming and point of view. Hausman, who has published articles in Native American Indian journals, addresses and revises this piece of America's past, taking readers on an unforgettable ride of their own. (Mar.)