Genre:
Urban Fantasy/World Mythology/Native American
Description:
Webb Curtis
lives in anticipation. His relatives do amazing things as a matter of
course. His mother is Naomi Curtis, who facilitated the Gods’
power-sharing agreement that led to Their return to Earth. Older
sister Sage saved the Earth by kicking the gods into action on
climate change.
And Webb?
Knitting is his superpower. He also knows the future, but only when
he’s not directly involved. Now thirty-five and with a baby on the
way, he is trying to find his place in the world. But his task will
be complicated by a smoky interloper, an Icelandic princess, a tiny
golden spider -- and Ragnarok, a.k.a. the end of the world. Not even
Webb himself could have anticipated this...
Author:
“Lynne
Cantwell is a contributing author at IndiesUnlimited where she shares her
knowledge about Indie publishing and promotion. She has a master’s
degree in fiction writing from Johns
Hopkins University and is a
former broadcast journalist who has written for CNN
and Mutual/NBC Radio News,
among other places. Ms. Cantwell currently lives near Washington, DC.
Ms.
Cantwell is the author of The
Pipe Woman Chronicles, which
includes five books, The Land,
Sea, Sky series, which
includes three books, Spider’s
Lifeline is the third volume
in the Pipe
Woman's Legacy books. Cantwell
also has other works of fiction and non-fiction alike.”
You can
learn more about Ms. Cantwell’s other books at her website or stalk
her on Facebook.
Appraisal:
Spider's
Lifeline is the third volume
in the Pipe Woman's Legacy
series and begins several
years after the ending of Firebird’s
Snare. At first I was a little
disappointed to learn that Webb was now thirty-five years old. I
suppose I wanted to watch him grow up. This book, however, has moved
beyond a coming of age tale, instead dealing mainly with Norse
mythology, concerning Ragnarok "Fate of the Gods," and
Native American legends.
Webb does
an excellent job setting up this story as well as filling in any
background information we need to know. The story was mainly told
from his first-person point-of-view with a few occasional
point-of-view shifts to Sage, whose current mission intertwines with
Webb’s nightmares. Several players are brought back into the mix to
complicate and or help in the situation at hand. There are also a
couple of new players woven in to make things even more interesting.
One character has pleasantly surprised me and I eagerly wait to hear
more about Antonia’s and Brock’s youngest son, Roman. He may well
turn out to be an unsuspected ally. The other is the hereditary
princess of Iceland, Ingrid Ingunnardottir, who seems to be causing
disruptions on cosmic levels. Ms. Cantwell has indeed woven a tangled
web.
I suspected
as the story branched off into related story arcs—or strands of a
web, if you don’t mind me saying—that there was no way to bring
this book to a satisfying ending with Ragnarok looming. This story
alludes to a disagreement between the Gods on a cosmic level that is
starting to spill over into the mortal realm and might bring forth
the end of the world. On the home front, society is breaking down and
Sage is, yet again, conflicted about the role the Gods have chosen
for her. This is also causing tension between Naomi and Sage as well.
One of the
aspects I liked about Ms. Cantwell’s storytelling, which shines in
this series, is the seeming role reversal of Sage and Webb. Sage’s
patron, being the Phoenix, is outwardly more physically protective
and aggressive. While Webb, being Heyoka—the sacred clown in the
Lakota tradition—tends to be more introspective and creative. I
love the unassuming air he exudes throughout this book. Despite the
critical importance of this story to the series, Webb’s voice is
light and easy to read. He is my favorite character of all and I
loved getting to know him better.
If you are
a reader who has aversions to cliff-hangers you may wish to wait for
the next book to be released before reading this one. I could see it
coming as there were many strands to this tangled web that needed
resolving. I felt like I knew this author well enough that she
wouldn’t let the story suffer by closing things up too quickly. So
for that I was thankful. Now, I can’t wait for the next addition to
this series. Hurry hard, Ms. Cantwell.
FYI:
Spider's
Lifeline is Book 3 of the Pipe
Woman's Legacy series. While this book could be read as a
stand-alone, because Ms. Cantwell does an excellent job filling the
reader in on pertinent info, do yourself a favor and read book 1,
Dragon’s Web,
and book 2, Firebird's Snare.
I need to
add a warning here, there were several F-bombs dropped and sexual
abuse, including a mildly graphic rape, for those who have
sensitivity in these areas.
Format/Typo
Issues:
I found
excellent formatting and editing.
Rating:
***** Five stars
Reviewed
by: ?wazithinkin
Print
Length: 184 pages
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