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| Review Summary |
iUniverse, 2003, 14.95, 207 pp.
ISBN: 0595303013
In a cave, two men find the remnants of a long dead civilization that left behind three “holy” books. One of them interpreted the message as God sent his son to save the human race. The other person insisted that the Words meant that the second coming of the Son needed saviors to sacrifice to atone for sins. Several millenniums after their hallowed excavation, mankind has evolved into two predominant cultures, of which both share in common beliefs in the Words of God stated in the book of testaments. While the Mone share the sacred words amongst all members of their society, the Kathe insist only priests are capable of understanding the Words.
The Kathe seek those born with the white-mark so that the males can be converted into Piaculums and the females sacrificed during “The Week of Blood” as a means to ascend to heaven. The Kathe abduct Mone farmer Cearl because he has the white-mark. He offers little resistance hoping to keep his son protected from the grotesque alteration.
Harriet Klausner
Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar
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Set in the distant future, the story takes place on a desert landscape where a group of Christians called the Mone and a blood worshiping cult known as the Kathe are ensnared in religious tension. The Kathe believe that salvation can only be achieved by drinking blood from men born with a rare skin condition known as the white-mark. The novel follows the life of Cearl, a man with the white-mark born to a group of poor Mone farmers. Cearl has a good life with a wife and two children he deeply loves, but he finds himself consumed by memories of being tortured by the Kathe as a child, as well as an overwhelming feeling that his god wants something from him. When a group of Kathe come to Cearl's village looking for human sacrifices, Cearl comes face to face with his childhood memories and makes choices that could destroy his life.
Richard Gray, Resident Scholar
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Composition of Book
Descript. of chases or violence - 20%
planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 30%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 35%
Descript. of society, phenomena (tech), places - 15%
Tone of book
- sensitive (sigh....)
- suspenseful (sophisticated fear)
FANTASY or SCIENCE FICTION?
- fantasy world/fantasy past
Is this an adult or child's book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Religious overtones?
Yes
Cultural problems, alien culture
Yes
Culture clash-
- one culture tries to impose its culture on another group
- one human from different culture of other humans
Intense exploration of society's culture?
Yes
Main Character
Identity:
- Male
Profession/status:
- farmer
Age:
- 20's-30's
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- very athletic
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
- society
Age:
- 40's-50's
Profession/status:
- religious figure
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- a moderate amount
- an average amount
How sensitive is this character?
- hard edged
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- very athletic
Setting
Terrain
- Desert
Earth setting:
- during "Tolkien" (fairytime) times
- distant future
Takes place on Earth?
Yes
Style
Person?
- mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death?
- generic/vague references to death/punishment
- explicit references to torture
How much dialogue?
- significantly more dialog than descript
- roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
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