Let the Drum Speak by Linda Lay Shuler

Let the Drum Speak is the 3rd in Shuler's series about Kwani, She Who Remembers.  These are books that need to be read in order as you need the history of the characters and to know how everyone relates to everyone else.

This is the story of Antelope, Kwani's daughter who has traveled far to the East with her mate in search of good trading.  They come to a city where a being called the Great Sun rules.  And that being wants Antelope and is determined to have her no matter what.  But he doesn't want to deal with the inconvenience of her child, especially when it makes such the perfect sacrifice for an upcoming festival.  With her mate nowhere to be found, Antelope must find what friends she can if she ever has a hope of returning home.

I never really realized that there were Queen and King figures in North Native American tribes.  The civilizations that were described sounded more like the Mayans or Aztecs, especially with the talk of Jaguar pelts.  So I learned more about the people of the area, if the information is indeed true.  Antelope is only a little more likable than her mother Kwani.  They are both pretty selfish and concerned with their own worth, but at least Antelope mellows out a bit with time.  Far Walker I actually liked.  Of all the men in these stories he actually didn't act the womanizer and was decent.  The rest had some pretty large fatal flaws and weren't the best people.  At least the younger ones.

This story moved with a better pace than the previous two.  And the story, despite spanning a number of years, had enough description to make it realistic.  There's still the usual vivid descriptions of sex, rape and violence though, so reader be warned.  There are a number of plot contrivances in this book (and the previous) that always make me question some of it though.  Like how people are always against Kwani and her daughter.  It seems that their lives are needlessly hard and everyone is out to get them.  While I recognize that sometimes powerful people have a hard time with people wanting to bring them down, I've just always felt that it's skewed a little too much in these books.  But they're still enjoyable, and if you like prehistory you'll probably like these books.  And you even get a little bit of real history as the author has done research before writing them.

I think there's a fourth book in the series and I might see if I can get my hands on it.  I'd like to know how the story ends and these books are decent enough to keep reading.

Let the Drum Speak
Copyright 1996
446 pages