Summoning God

This memorable novel of the vanished Anasazi, the second in the series (following The Visitant), provides sober ecological lessons for our own civilization. The Gears, who are also collaborators on the First North Americans series, tell the brutal story of one 13th-century tribe, the Katsinas' People, as they tumble down the path that leads to the sudden disappearance of the Anasazi. In parallel, the authors also tell the tale of a team of contemporary archeologists and anthropologists excavating the ancient site that bears witness to the Anasazi tragedy. The earlier-set narrative follows the fortunes of the Katsinas' People, led by Matron Flame Carrier and War Chief Browser. The tribe is already reeling from the effects of enemy attacks and attrition on the many small pueblos that dot northwestern New Mexico. While the external threat is bad enough, Flame Carrier and Browser must also contend with a serial murderer within the tribe. In the present, archeologist Dusty Stewart and anthropologist Maureen Cole each have their own intimate links to this past. As they excavate, those links and the fate of the puebloans become clearer. Their new novel is not for the squeamish, but the Gears offer unusual insight into Anasazi culture and history, while in an afterword, they suggest that it may already be too late for us to escape a fate similar to that of the Anasazi. An extensive bibliography bolsters their argument. (July)