New York Times bestselling novelists W. Michael and Kathleen
O'Neal Gear have long been considered the foremost chroniclers of early
Native American life. Now, in a critically acclaimed, sweeping new
series, they recreate the conflict-filled years following one of the
first European invasions. Seen through the eyes of a courageous pair of
Native Americans, Fire the Sky follows Hernando de Soto's brutal
expedition north from the Florida peninsula as the explorer plunders the
heart of a complex and fragile civilization.
An itinerant trader and outcast from his tribe, Black Shell was swept
into the Spirit World and returned a transformed man. Now, carrying his
white-feathered trader's staff, he devotes his life to a sacred mission
that only the tall, beautiful Pearl Hand--his lover, confidant and
wife--truly understands. Black Shell has seen what the incomprehensibly
violent, shining-armored invaders are capable of doing to his world and
knows that if his people are to survive, he and his "Orphans," a small
band of fierce warriors, must kill as many Kristianos as they can.
After being fought to a standstill by the courageous Apalachee Nation,
de Soto has changed his tactics. He will employ promises of peace to
accomplish what cannot be achieved by violence alone. Lured by a young
man's tale of gold and aided by an arrogant princess's treachery, he
makes his way through the beautiful southeastern landscape. One by one,
the ancient Nations fall victim to his lies as rulers and commoners
alike are tricked into enslavement. In spite of the price de Soto has
placed on his head, Black Shell shadows the Kristiano advance and finds
that his own legend precedes him. Some will heed Black Shell's
strategies of sacrifice and deception. Others will ignore him--and
suffer unspeakable horrors as a result.
In this moving, vivid portrait of a lost American civilization and a
powerful love between a man and a woman, the Gears illuminate a
little-understood time in our history, as this bloody conflict between
two peoples hurtles toward an apocalyptic battle that may change the
course of the war forever. . . .
