SHADOW ON THE SUN
The Mound Builders, book 1
ZOE SAADIA
Review by Roy Murry, Author
Ms. Saadia's native American series are enjoyable
because she puts in extensive research into them. You can tell by the way the
history into the prose is not opaque, but gently hidden in the native's conversations.
With little written history, she grabs the reader into
a plausible story that of a great tribe along the Ohio River. That tribe
consumes the goods of smaller tribes on that tributary and using those men as
builders of the Mounds - large buildings.
This story begins with the Tribute Collector and his
niece. He is out collecting what the Royal Sun tribe demands of the lesser ones
using force if need be. His niece moves
up the royal ladder.
The collector brings back a strong-headed young man, who
has proved his capabilities in killing and is to pay his penalty for that act.
After a bloody battle to please the ruler, the young man meets the young niece by
happenstance. You need to read book two to see if that story continues, as I may.
Ms. Saadia story is compelling with an event that
changed the world in 1205, according to some historians. That event overshadows
the juncture of the two young people meeting and the way the Royals’ conflict
with each other over it.