I received this book from Librarything early reviews to give an honest review. I was very disappointed with the novel, and that isn't because it was badly written. For fans of Tolkien's work or the novel the Gospel of Loki, this may be right up your alley. Personally I am not a fan of stories that go on and on and on. It felt like too much crammed into a short space of time with no inclination of how or where the story was ever going to end.

The premise and magical universe was interesting, but again, there was no resolution to my many queries and I so I gave up at 56%, unable to slog through the rest just to find out if there were ever any answers. ( )

Historical fiction with a fantasy twist. While I feel that it had a slow start personally, it definitely ended with a bang. A good choice of read for anyone who enjoys fantasy and Native American history.

*I received this book for free. ( )

I went into this novel a little wary of some of the concepts: I work closely with many Native American populations and individuals and am very aware of the stereotypes that arise in literature. Many times it's downright painful. Thankfully I felt that Wisseman managed to take a relatively authentic view of the population...well, with added magic. And this magic was not just found in Native Americans, nor part of their faith or society (something that J. K. Rowling has received a good deal of criticism for in some of her recent releases that utilize Native American society as "magical"). That is a whole other story :) Anyhow, Wisseman presents an interesting novel here, one that I did enjoy. I will admit that it was a bit tedious at times, as the pacing would slow a great deal. A huge amount of inner dialogue left me skimming at time. Also Naysin's "fathers," who possess him, get a huge chunk of the ending of the novel, which bogged things down for me. I never felt a connection to them, and their story didn't draw me in. Overall, this was an interesting alternate history. I did really like how Wisseman took pains to show what happened to Native American society in the face of the overwhelming death toll that Smallpox took on the continents when Europeans brought it here (and people think the Black Death was bad--it had nothing on what happened in the Americas). If you are into historical fiction with a dash of magic, this is one to check out. ( )

I finished it. Finally. And that is my general feeling on it. (I was not able to read it straight through. I would read a few chapters, and read another book, then come back for a few more chapters, etc. )
The setting is interesting, early North American colonization period, even earlier than the [15642::Seventh Son] books by [[cardorsonscott::Orson Scott Card]] . Not quite sure if qualifies as Alternate History, or just Fantasy set in real world.
None of the characters really grabbed me. I did get most of the historic location/tribe allusions, which was actually some of the more interesting parts of the book for me. (I live near, and have visited Monk's Mound at Cahokia, where the book finishes up.)
Even though I generally enjoy this type of story, something about this just seemed … off maybe? I can't even quite describe the feeling I get from it.

In some ways, it almost feels like it's supposed to be a horror book, but again, not something I can put my finger on. It was just interesting enough for me to want to keep coming back, to find out what happened. The descriptions of how Smallpox and other European diseases decimated the Americas were haunting. ( )

Historical Fantasy or Alternate History in the era of the early colonization of North America.

Should be enjoyable for people who liked the Alvin Maker series, except this tale happens somewhat earlier and from the point of view of a native. ( )