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 recently
retired and moved to New Mexico.
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.
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.
Buy now
from: Amazon US Amazon UK
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.
Original review posted April 22, 2016.
Format/Typo
Issues:
I found excellent formatting and editing.
Rating:
***** Five Stars
Reviewed
by: ?wazithinkin
Approximate
word count: 55-60,000
words
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