Raven Mocker

Demon...or Healer?

For years Snakewater, the aging medicine woman of Old Town, has been respected—and feared—by her Cherokee village. Now, as a series of mysterious deaths plagues her village, she finds herself accused of being a Raven Mocker, the legendary creature of evil that steals life from its victims in its relentless quest for immortality. Driven from her people, Snakewater journeys west for the first time with a traveling band to the Cherokee settlements far beyond the Mississippi.

Her trail will be one of perilous discovery. Accepted by a culture new to her, admired and loved by its children, she finds herself feeling more vibrant and youthful. But is her newfound vigor a gift of the spirits...or a sign that her people were right, that she is a life-stealing Raven Mocker? As the annual Sun Dance approaches, Snakewater will learn the fateful truth about herself and the unexplained deaths—a surprising revelation that will confirm her new life...or destroy it.

Misunderstood by her peers and unloved by her stepmother, the young Cherokee, Corn Flower, finds acceptance with Snakewater, the medicine woman of Old Town. Soon, Corn Flower moves into Snakewater's isolated house and begins learning the art of healing--what ceremonies to perform, which plants to harvest, how to preserve them. When Snakewater dies, Corn Flower inherits the role and the power of the medicine woman as well as her name, Snakewater.

This latest novel in Don Coldsmith's beloved Spanish Bit Saga is told through Snakewater, the oldest Cherokee in her village. She provides potions and curative rituals for those who seek her help. In Old Town, she is respected for her skill and knowledge--until a grieving young woman blames Snakewater for her infant's death. "Raven Mocker!" she accuses, invoking the feared creature of Cherokee legend, who cheats the carrion bird by stealing the life-years of those who die young to ensure his own immortality. The case against Snakewater is strengthened when a warrior dies by his own knife in Snakewater's vacant hut and again when the warrior's brother mysteriously drowns.

Fleeing from the suspicion, jealousies, and hatred of Old Town--and from her own fear that she may in fact be the dreaded Raven Mocker--Snakewater joins a band traveling west. On her odyssey, she regains confidence as she discovers her talent for storytelling and learns what it means to be part of a family.

Snakewater's path takes her across the Mississippi, on perilous trails with a trader and his wife, and to the winter camp of the Elk-dog People, a nomadic nation of buffalo hunters, where she begins to put her past behind her. This gripping story concludes with a surprising confrontation at the Elk-dog People's annual Sun Dance when the mystery behind the unexplained deaths is finally revealed--or is it?

Publishers Weekly

In the latest installment of his Spanish Bit Saga, yeoman western writer Coldsmith tells the tale of Granny Snakewater, n e Corn Flower, an orphaned Cherokee girl who falls under the tutelage of her adoptive namesake and gradually replaces her as the conjure woman for the Real People. Grown old and reclusive, Snakewater falls victim to rumors that she is the embodiment of the spiritual demon Raven Mocker, which gives her the power to steal years from others' lives and add them to her own. As the village's suspicions become more pointed, she flees west to Arkansas, where she takes up with the Elk Dog people and becomes a central player in their development of the Sun Dance. Although vague about setting and time, Coldsmith provides a kind of Classic Comic Book account of Indian civilization before it was destroyed by white encroachment. His Native Americans speak like Oxford dons, except when they drift into a casual 20th-century idiom, which happens with annoying frequency. Apart from a few "bad apples," most of his characters are kind in word and deed and wiser than any sage. The narrative flows well enough, although it is often slowed by intrusive folk tales and fairy stories. Still, this is a pleasant read, particularly for young readers. There is no particular conflict, save Snakewater's self-doubts about her potentially mystical abilities, and no sense of tension or suspense contributes to the development of character. In sum, this newest edition of the "saga" is a competently rendered but fairly banal fictional biography of an elderly woman based on a minor folk legend. (Mar.) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.