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Book Info:
September 5, 1997
Brunswick Times-Record
By William D. Bushnell
Times-Record Contributor
Ancient Native American lore, spirituality and philosophy are brought to vivid life in James Joseph's first novel, Shadow of the Serpent. Using a compelling blend of fact, fiction and fantasy, Joseph spins an adventure yarn full of action, mystery and intriguing parables.
Inspired by his interest in Native American history and culture, Joseph, of Lovell, spent 10 years researching and writing this tale. While the large publishing houses are looking for formula material with mass appeal, this cross-genre story found small presses most receptive. And Joseph, with Audenreed Press of Brunswick, has produced a satisfying story of loyalty, sacrifice and hardship, in a triumph of good over evil.
Joseph cleverly never tells us exactly where or when this story takes place, but he does provide enough clues to orient the reader and still keep you guessing. Just when you think you have figured out the where, when and who, he slips in another clue that will confound you.
Sequannah is a young warrior of the Minnecou clan. He and his people summer in the northern plains and mountains, but head south to spend the winter in warmer climes. During a summer journey in the north, Sequannah and the Minnecou are forced to join forces with the Paccus, a rival clan. A brutal, warlike tribe known as the Snake People is creating an empire of evil and bloodshed as they grow in power, consuming lands and enslaving other peoples in a voracious quest for more power and wealth. It is easy to see some modern historic parallels here.
The Minnecou and Paccus are in the path of this spreading menace and their whole existence as proud societies is threatened. Although they have different languages, customs and attitudes, the Minnecou and the Paccus forge an uneasy alliance to resist the Snake People. Sequannah, his father, sister, and others of his clan are confronted with challenges and decisions they had never before dreamed of facing.
In this struggle for survival, these unlikely allies face dangers greater than the fierce, armor-clad Snake warriors. The leader of the Snake People, Quiktkoata, also possesses mystical powers used to terrorize his subjects and his victims. In addition to his thousands of human warriors, he controls an army of black and yellow serpents, snakes with the power to enchant and paralyze anyone who looks into the serpents' eyes. Three large hawks also fly in the skies above, serving as Quiktkoata's eyes, searching for enemies and prey.
Sequannah will find his courage, loyalty and faith tested as a young warrior in battle, as a submissive slave in captivity and as an uncertain leader facing overwhelming odds and hopeless conditions. Surrounded by treachery, danger and deception, Sequannah must rely on the wisdom of his ancestors, taught now by his father and the clan's Washan, an elder possessed of benevolent wisdom and wizardry.
This is a rousing, action-packed story, but its real strength lies in its parables, the moral lessons of life and nature that bring harmony and purpose to our lives. Sequannah learns that loyalty and sacrifice for the family, the good of all, are more important than individual desires of safety. Groups of people might be different in many ways, but they are the same in the ways that count. Good will always triumph over evil if people will set aside their differences and work together toward a common goal.
Joseph's well-crafted narrative is detailed, varied and colorful, offering a fascinating insight into the religions, customs, traditions and rituals of early Native American life. Complex and tightly woven plotting provides suspense and excitement. Sequannah is an enduring and convincing character, and apparently, Joseph thinks so too, as he is already planning a sequel and perhaps a complete series of Coyote Moon stories.
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Introduction
Long, long ago, before recorded history, even before the written word, people from every race and heritage maintained oral traditions that were handed down from one generation to the next. This continent once thrived with more than 500 different nations: some were permanent, some were nomadic, some were migratory. Though there was minor friction between many of them, rarely did they engage in massive invasions or genocide. For the most part, they learned from each other, shared and traded. The original natives of this continent relied on their ancient lore when they were first inundated with foreign immigrants. Some can still recite the old stories even now, despite centuries of inhumane treatment and countless attempts to eradicate those who clung to their traditional ways. They were forced to integrate into more Civilized views, often ridiculed and condemned as ignorant pagans. Intoxicated with proclamations of "manifest destiny" and "survival of the fittest", their foreign guests had turned on them, plundering their lands, resources, farms and wealth, and forcing them into agreements that were invariably overturned. To the south of this continent large-scale civilizations already existed, with writing systems, intricate technologies and considerable wealth. Yet, unlike Europe and Asia, where civilization spread into even the remotest of regions, it could barely get a toe-hold on this continent. North America is one of the most fertile lands on the face of the earth, the climate is pleasant and natural resources are abundant. It just doesn't make sense that civilization wouldn't have taken root here even long before Europeans arrived. It prompts us to ask, why, if civilization is so desirable, was it always resisted rather than embraced? Why, after conquering millions in the ancient cities of Mexico and Central America, did the Spanish run into a stumbling block with the sparse populations of what is now known as the desert southwest of the US? Why, after 300 years of constant battles and skirmishes, did they have little more control over these people than when they first arrived? Why, with its millions of citizens, its extraordinarily superior technology, its insurmountable wealth and its inexorable greed, did the US finally have to turn these indigenous nations against each other in order to defeat them? Did they resist for logical reasons? Spiritual? Just plain stubbornness? Perhaps they understood that the gifts civilization had to offer were little more than illusion. The stories they had heard since birth conflicted with the ideals of civilized peoples. The treasures offered by these strange people would soon become necessities, and they would become trapped in a perverse social system that increasingly isolated them from nature. They would become dependent on the fruits of society, and in turn, a weaker, more isolated species of the natural world. Though civilizations generated formidable power, in the long term, individuals would be catastrophically weakened when nature reclaimed what had been taken from her. The ancient lore of these nations was told around the fires of many wigwams, teepees, wickiups, longhouses and kivas. The meanings to these stories were generally lost to the uninformed. Different colors, animals and entities were often symbols of human behavior. Countless gods were merely facets of the true Creator. The tales were so metaphorical, that outsiders would need to learn dozens of cross-references to comprehend even the simplest of stories. They spoke of origins and history, of tradition and spirituality, of wisdom and morals, of humor and catastrophe, but they were created to entertain as well. A Coyote Moon Story is written with the same intent -- mostly to entertain, but also to bring some of the underlying meanings of Native American spirituality and philosophy into a more universal light -- something to amuse and something to ponder when we find ourselves isolated during our own "Coyote moons".
