Crosswind (Land, Sea, Sky) / Lynne Cantwell

Reviewed by: ?wazithinkin

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Approximate word count: 60-65,000 words

Availability    

Kindle  US: YES  UK: YES  Nook: NO  Smashwords: YES  Paper: YES

Click on a YES above to go to appropriate page in Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Smashwords store

Author:

Lynne Cantwell is a contributing author at Indies Unlimited 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. You can connect with her at her blog or on Facebook page.

Description:

“Storm's coming... Life on Earth is much improved since the pagan gods' return. As conflict eases around the world, attention -- and money -- has turned to more humanitarian goals: improving the lives of the First Nations peoples and others who were repressed for thousands of years.

But the former ruling class – the military, religious, and corporate leaders who profited under the old system -- are about to stage a last-ditch effort to bring their good times back.

The gods refuse to start a new war against those men, because that would make them no better than Their opponents. Instead, They have drafted three humans to help Them. Together, Tess, Sue and Darrell must find a way past their own flaws to ensure the gods' peace will not be destroyed.”

Appraisal:

In this new series that begins ten years after The Pipe Woman Chronicles, we meet our three big players. Tess Showalter, an investigative reporter, who has a special connection with the Morrigan, an Irish earth goddess with a connection to war.  Sue Killeen, a Wiccan, who has a special connection with the earth goddess Gaia. To round out the threesome our two females are joined with Darrell Warren, a Native American Navy officer, with a special connection with Nanabush, an Anishinaabe trickster god. Ms. Cantwell does an excellent job introducing their strengths, weaknesses, insecurities, and backgrounds. A few of the characters from The Pipe Woman Chronicles are in this series and their connections are vital and fully explained.

The plot is credible and the pace is steady as we follow Tess as she investigates secondary characters who have a plot to disrupt a protest march on the Capital grounds in Washington DC that could have a disastrous ending. The political maneuvers are plausible as America adjusts to the new world order since the Second Coming. The players who think they have lost the most try shifting things back to the way things once were. It is an original and engrossing story with elements that ring true. I enjoy the spiritual aspect that is employed by Ms. Cantwell while the Gods attempt to influence or manipulate they do not take away anyone’s freewill and allow them to make their own choices. It will be interesting to see where the story goes... there is a storm brewing, not all the aspects in this story are settled at the end. There are still plenty of deniers in the world and I was not fully convinced of one character’s acceptance of his new reality at the end. 

FYI:

It is not necessary to have read The Pipe Woman Chronicles to follow this story, although I loved and highly recommend them.  It is also not necessary to have read the Land, Sea, Sky short stories.

Format/Typo Issues:

I found no significant editing or formatting issues.

Rating: **** Four stars