“Heart of the Bison”
Author: Glen R. Stott
I recently read “Heart of the Bison” by up and coming author Glen R. Stott. While I was initially interested due to the book’s synopsis; I wasn’t overly impressed with the cover graphics (no offense to the author) but as the saying goes “you can’t judge a book by its cover.” This novel definitely hammered that home…
“Heart of the Bison” is book one in Stott’s “Neandertals” series and yes, I’m aware that I appear to be misspelling Neandertals. However, it seems Stott has done his research. To quote: “Many paleontologists spell the word with a “t” in place of the “th” to encourage proper pronunciation.” What do you know; I hadn’t even made it past the introduction and I was already learning new things. *chuckle*
So, the premise of “Heart of the Bison” is this: Kec, a young child of the Neandertals, wakes from a troubling dream. During this dream Mother Earth tells Kec that the clan she comes from is in trouble and that she must be the one to save her people. To help Kec in her efforts Mother Earth shows Kec the image of a child she will someday have; a “magic” child.
Across the same continent Strong Branch, a powerful and highly respected Shaman of his tribe, has had a dream as well. The Great Spirit shows him a child, born to his own people, whose future son will bring much dissention and discord; a distant relation of their chief who will challenge everything that Strong Branch’s people believe in.
Both Kec and Strong Branch have much thinking to do in order to correctly traverse the path that each of their deities have laid before them. Kec and her clan come from the much older world of the Neandertals; Strong Branch and his people are a less primitive race known as the Cro-Magnons. Stott’s tale meanders interestingly through these two worlds placed so close together yet so far apart but, in the end, their worlds collide and the outcome of this collision will strongly impact the fate of future generations on both sides.
In summary, a well-written, well thought out tale and anyone who has enjoyed the “Earth’s Children” series by Jean M. Auel will most likely want to read this saga as well.