The Bones Of The Old Ones

A thrilling, inventive follow-up to The Desert of Souls by Howard Andrew Jones, a "rare master of the storyteller's art" (Greenmanreview.com) As a snowfall blankets 8th century Mosul, a Persian noblewoman arrives at the home of the scholar Dabir and his friend the swordsman Captain Asim. Najya has escaped from a dangerous cabal that has ensorcelled her to track down ancient magical tools of tremendous power, the bones of the old ones. To stop the cabal and save Najya, Dabir and Asim venture into the worst winter in human memory, hunted by a shape-changing assassin. The stalwart Asim is drawn irresistibly toward the beautiful Persian even as Dabir realizes she may be far more dangerous a threat than anyone who pursues them, for her enchantment worsens with the winter. As their opposition grows, Dabir and Asim have no choice but to ally with their deadliest enemy, the treacherous Greek necromancer, Lydia. But even if they can trust one another long enough to escape their foes, it may be too late for Najya, whose soul is bound up with a vengeful spirit intent on sheathing the world in ice for a thousand years... "The Bones of the Old Ones is a damn good tale that not only pays homage to the masters, but sets its own print on the genre." --SF Signal "This rousing sequel to The Desert of Souls offers a mélange of ancient adventure myths populated by convincing, endearing characters... As intricately woven as the magic carpet of Greek sorceress Lydia, Jones's tale incorporates real historical personages and settings like Mosul of "haggard beauty" from the early days of Islam, and fills the pages with gallantry and glamour to provide a thrilling spectacle." –Publishers Weekly, starred review

An award-winning author and veteran mountain climber takes us deep into the Southwest backcountry to uncover secrets of its ancient inhabitants. In this thrilling story of intellectual and archaeological discovery, David Roberts recounts his last twenty years of far-flung exploits in search of spectacular prehistoric ruins and rock art panels known to very few modern travelers. His adventures range across Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, and southwestern Colorado, and illuminate the mysteries of the Ancestral Puebloans and their contemporary neighbors the Mogollon and Fremont, as well as of the more recent Navajo and Comanche.

In the Ice Age, mountains of ice grew where the ice did not melt, as more ice formed from the rains. Cave men had to compete with all animals for shelter and food. He depended on the ability of other creatures to survive.This made him one of the deadliest of animals. He showed no mercy. He kiled to borrow what he could not produce. Animals produce fur, to keep them warm. Man had to take the furs from animals to survive. He also had to take their meat, bones, and innards. In Spring wild green things sprouted and grew. Man learned to sort and use these. Some leery, more careful people began to notice medical properties of these plants They remembered these properties. Soon others of the clan became dependent on these people who could remember what to use for this or that ailment. They became the Shaman. Their job became as important as the hunter. Salt became an important commodity in the later Ice Age. Man crave it. If you had salt, you could trade it for meat, furs, and weapons. But if they had nothing to trade, then they would revert to borrowing.

After a pandemic ravages earth only a few isolated survivors exist. Chato Williams, a young boy who is living deep in the Alaskan wilderness has a prophetic revelation, telepathically induced by the serpent Quetzalcoatl, in which he sees a beautiful young girl in a faraway place called Serpiente who seems to beckon him to find her. Unfortunately, Chato’s family of survivors are slowly dying due to famine and the cruel environment they live in. Despite fears of leaving, not knowing if the pandemic is over, Chato constructs a sea kayak in order to search for the source of his revelation, other humans, and hope for his family. Chato befriends Charlie who assists him as they fight off warriors under the control of evil serpents who wish to kill them for their life energy. Will he find the girl of his prophetic revelations? Can they solve the ultimatum that the serpent ambassador Chimalma demands or will humans be forever farmed for their life energy to satisfy the lusty taste of the evil serpents?

What are the answers to the unanswerable? The question is as old as time, as is the journey of those who have chosen to set their feet on various and diverse pathways to true understanding. Wachetecuma’s personal path to Native American spirituality unfolded over a span of more than 60 years, though dreams, visions, and inspiration. The story of her journey is told both in her own words and in the words of the Old Ones. Eleven years ago, she met a Shaman, who became her mentor. For three years their paths were as one; they served the Old Ones as Hollow Bones Healers, growing through ever-greater insight and understanding, to a powerful sense of purpose, a connection to the Universal All. Wachetecuma encourages others to trust that still small voice within, to open to their hearts, to disregard detractors, and to faithfully follow their true path, ‘walking their talk.’ Never doubt that the path you are traveling – whether a path of your personal understanding, or the Good Red Road – is not just the right path for you; it is the only path for you.

Integrating both Maori myth and New Zealand reality, The Bone People became the most successful novel in New Zealand publishing history when it appeared in 1984. Set on the South Island beaches of New Zealand, a harsh environment, the novel chronicles the complicated relationships between three emotional outcasts of mixed European and Maori heritage. Kerewin Holmes is a painter and a loner, convinced that "to care for anything is to invite disaster." Her isolation is disrupted one day when a six-year-old mute boy, Simon, breaks into her house. The sole survivor of a mysterious shipwreck, Simon has been adopted by a widower Maori factory worker, Joe Gillayley, who is both tender and horribly brutal toward the boy. Through shifting points of view, the novel reveals each character's thoughts and feelings as they struggle with the desire to connect and the fear of attachment. Compared to the works of James Joyce in its use of indigenous language and portrayal of consciousness, The Bone People captures the soul of New Zealand. After twenty years, it continues to astonish and enrich readers around the world.