From Publishers Weekly
Set in northeastern North America in approximately A.D. 1000, this arresting 10th novel in the First North American series by the Gears (People of the Mist, etc.) focuses on the Earth Thunderer Clan, peaceful hunters and gatherers who move their small villages on a regular basis in search of subsistence. In ancient Iroquois culture, the miraculous deeds of dwarfs were the stuff of legend, so the birth of one has made Paint Rock the most feared village in the Turtle Nation. Nicknamed Rumbler by his mother, the boy, now nine but only as tall as a four-year-old, is pampered and coddled and consulted before any major clan decision is made. A precious member of the clan, Rumbler's premonition of his abduction worries the others, especially since Jumping Badger, the cruel war leader of Walksalong Clan, is known to believe Walksalong would be invincible if it had Rumbler. When Jumping Badger and his war party attack, they slaughter all in their path and take Rumbler captive. But instead of feeling empowered, the Walksalong villagers are frightened by the Power Child, and condemn him to death. Gangly, fearless 12-year-old Little Wren befriends him, and the bulk of the book is made up of their escape and flight from an enraged, insane Jumping Badger and his warriors. Though the prologue is left strangely unresolved, the book is fast-paced, fluid, rich with smoothly integrated background detail and softened by a touch of romanticism that deflects the violence and brutality. It's sure to please fans of this seamless run of works on the indigenous people of the New World. $125,000 ad/promo. Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
Great trouble begins for two tribes in what is now northeastern North America when Jumping Badger, a sadistic war leader, raids and destroys Paint Rock village and kidnaps the dwarf child Rumbler, whose power in the spirit world is legendary. Blue Raven, Jumping Badger's cousin, believes that the tribes need to work together to survive attacks from fiercer enemies. But as warriors begin to die, Rumbler is accused of casting evil spells, and Blue Raven can no longer protect him. Little Wren, a young village girl, realizes that Rumbler's only hope for survival is for her to help him escape through the wintry forests. In their latest novel of prehistoric American Indians (e.g., People of the Mist, LJ 2/1/98), the Gears spin a fascinating, heart-rending tale of two children fighting for their lives and making an everlasting impact on the fate of their tribes. Recommended.-?Mary Ellen Elsbernd, Northern Kentucky Univ. Lib., Highland HeightsCopyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
The latest entry in the 10-volume First North Americans series (People of the Lightning [1997], People of the Mist ) from this team of professional archaeologists is set around the year 1000 in what would become upstate New York. Rumbler, a dwarf, is a respected seer of the Turtle Nation even though he is only nine years old. His entire village is destroyed and all the inhabitants gruesomely murdered when Jumping Badger, the deranged war leader of the Walksalong Clan of the Bear Nation, kidnaps Rumbler to steal his power for his own village, but instead of acquiring Rumbler's wisdom, Jumping Badger has brought on a deadly curse. The clan decides to kill Rumbler by exposing him on a snowy hillside, but Wren, an orphaned 12-year-old, helps him escape, and they form a lifelong bond and a powerful love. This is the prehistoric epic at its finest, with a gripping plot, lots of action, well-developed characters, and a wealth of interesting and authentic historical fact. Diana Tixier Herald

From Kirkus Reviews
Tenth historical epic in the First North Americans Series (People of the Mist, 1998, etc.) by archaeologists Gear and Gear, this time focusing on pre-Colombian peoples living in whats now New York and Ontario. Framing the story is the modern-day discovery of ceramics and human remains identified by one overweening archaeologist as Iroquoianwhile an equally strong-minded female archaeologist calls them Algongkian, or Princess Point. Anyway, they date somewhere in the range of a.d. 500 to 1000. The novel proper tells of elderly tribal shaman Silver Sparrow's failure to Dream and foresee a great raid by the Walksalong Villagers on Turtle Nation's Paint Rock Village to kidnap the nine-year-old dwarf child Rumbler, known also as False Face Childa very great Dreamer who can draw prophetic Power down from the skies and forecast major events. The murderous Jumping Badger leads the raid, kills the boy's mother, burns Paint Rock Village to ashes, and carries the prophet child off to Wallksalong Village, which is part of the Bear Nation. The Bear Nation cultivates crops, lives in fortified villages of long-houses, and pushes against Turtle Nation, forcing them either to move or else blend their small-house villages with Bear-Turtle villages. When Jumping Badger's warriors begin mysteriously dying, Rumbler, his hands tied together, is condemned to die on winter-whipped Lost Hill. Wren, a Walksalong girl three years older than he, helps him to escape into icy forests. But when Jumping Badger at last captures Wren . . . . Flowing imagination, storytelling marvels. The Gears have a fine time drawing the various interclan rivalries and clashes of cultures. (Satellite tour) -- Copyright ©1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Review
"This epic historical romance is a fascinating, well told tale of ancient superstition and culture, set in Florida approximately 8,000 years ago, amid a hauntingly eerie, mystical, and primeval landscape...[An] absorbing portrait of ancient life." --Booklist on People of the Lightning


Review
"This epic historical romance is a fascinating, well told tale of ancient superstition and culture, set in Florida approximately 8,000 years ago, amid a hauntingly eerie, mystical, and primeval landscape...[An] absorbing portrait of ancient life." --Booklist on People of the Lightning


Book Description
As the prophets have foretold, a child of power has been born unto the Turtle People of the Iroquois Nation. The Elders call him False Face Child, for he is the son of a powerful spirit. A living talisman, the child has inhuman eyes--black mirrors, ageless and deep--and all fear him.

All but Jumping Badger, the most powerful war leader of the Bear People. He destroys an entire village to take the boy to use as a spiritual weapon. But his triumph is short-lived. The Bear People suffer terrible visions and hear the voices of the spirits. Strange ailments and mysterious deaths take them one by one.

Though he is a seer, False Face Child is also a sad and lonely young boy named Rumbler. Twelve-year-old Wren befriends him and together they escape across the winter landscape of New York and Ontario with Jumping Badger close behind. He now fears the boy's power and seeks to kill him. Their only hope is to stay alive long enough to find Rumbler's legendary father, known only as The Disowned.


About the Author
Kathleen O'Neal Gear is a former state historian and archaeologist for Wyoming, Kansas, and Nebraska for the U.S. Department of the Interior. She has twice received the federal government's Special Advancement Award for "outstanding management" of our nation's cultural heritage.

W. Michael Gear, who holds a master's degree in archaeology, has worked as a professional archaeologist since 1978. He is currently principal investigator for Wind River Archaeological Consultants.

The Gears, whose First North American Series and Anasazi Mystery Series, are both international as well as USA Today bestsellers live in Thermopolis, Wyoming.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

The archaeologists/authors continue to entertain an avid international audience with their rousing historical epic of adventure, triumph, and heartbreak of the pre-Columbian peoples who struggled to make this great continent their home.

FROM THE CRITICS

Library Journal

Great trouble begins for two tribes in what is now northeastern North America when Jumping Badger, a sadistic war leader, raids and destroys Paint Rock village and kidnaps the dwarf child Rumbler, whose power in the spirit world is legendary. Blue Raven, Jumping Badger's cousin, believes that the tribes need to work together to survive attacks from fiercer enemies. But as warriors begin to die, Rumbler is accused of casting evil spells, and Blue Raven can no longer protect him. Little Wren, a young village girl, realizes that Rumbler's only hope for survival is for her to help him escape through the wintry forests. In their latest novel of prehistoric American Indians (e.g., People of the Mist, LJ 2/1/98), the Gears spin a fascinating, heart-rending tale of two children fighting for their lives and making an everlasting impact on the fate of their tribes. Recommended. [Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 7/98.]--Mary Ellen Elsbernd, Northern Kentucky Univ. Lib., Highland Heights

Kirkus Reviews

Tenth historical epic in the First North Americans Series (People of the Mist, 1998, etc.) by archaeologists Gear and Gear, this time focusing on pre-Colombian peoples living in whatns now New York and Ontario. Framing the story is the modern-day discovery of ceramics and human remains identified by one overweening archaeologist as Iroquoiannwhile an equally strong-minded female archaeologist calls them Algongkian, or Princess Point. Anyway, they date somewhere in the range of a.d. 500 to 1000. The novel proper tells of elderly tribal shaman Silver Sparrow's failure to Dream and foresee a great raid by the Walksalong Villagers on Turtle Nation's Paint Rock Village to kidnap the nine-year-old dwarf child Rumbler, known also as False Face Childna very great Dreamer who can draw prophetic Power down from the skies and forecast major events. The murderous Jumping Badger leads the raid, kills the boy's mother, burns Paint Rock Village to ashes, and carries the prophet child off to Wallksalong Village, which is part of the Bear Nation. The Bear Nation cultivates crops, lives in fortified villages of long-houses, and pushes against Turtle Nation, forcing them either to move or else blend their small-house villages with Bear-Turtle villages. When Jumping Badger's warriors begin mysteriously dying, Rumbler, his hands tied together, is condemned to die on winter-whipped Lost Hill. Wren, a Walksalong girl three years older than he, helps him to escape into icy forests. But when Jumping Badger at last captures Wren