People of the Canyons is number twenty-six (!) in the Gears’ sweeping forays into North America’s epic deep past. Canyons visits the American Southwest, whose the tribes dwell amidst cave and canyon. As always, the trademark spirituality of the series shines through. 

The Blessed Sun Leather Hand- a Powerful witch cursed by a even more Powerful shaman- is approaching the end of his long life. If he cannot break the curse, he will not be able to Travel to his Ancestors once he dies. Leather Hand forces and coerces two Powerful people- Tocho and Maicoh- to seek out an artefact charged with the energy of the one who cursed him in order to break it. 

But the ancient forces of Wolf Dreamer and Raven Hunter, energy of Bundle and fetish, have different plans in play. The ebb and flow of time and space, the balancing of chaos and entropy.

I love this series! The Gears’ are both archaeologists, and their love and respect for the cultures they bring to vibrant life shows in attention to detail. The continuity of ancestral memory and the blurred lines between the mundane world and the spiritual world tugs this poet’s heart, this philosopher’s soul. 

Highly recommended, especially if you enjoy historical fiction, speculative fiction, or enjoy archaeology, anthropology, or philosophy.

****Many thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan Tor for providing an egalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.