The Godmother's Web by Elizabeth Ann Scarborough Review
Ace Books, Feb., 1998.Hardcover, 304 pages.
ISBN: 0441005039.
Ordering information: Amazon.com.
Horse trainer Cindy Ellis sets out on a cross-country journey in Arizona to train a friend's horse for the trail. Before she has gone far, she encounters an elderly Navajo woman dressed in the traditional fashion wearing a fortune in beautiful turquoise jewelry. Kind-hearted by nature, Cindy allows the old woman to travel with her to the next town where Cindy intends to find relatives of the old woman to take her off Cindy's hands. When she finally finds the old woman's grandson, however, he merely laughs at the idea of his grandmother needing help. The pair's strange tour leads them into the sad and embittered world of the Navajos and Hopi reservations where traditional beliefs are sometimes at war with the riches and corrupting influence of the modern world. As the stories unfold it is clear that the old woman is much more than she seems and that the threads of all the different lives of the people they meet are subtly being woven into a web which can release the hurts and begin the healing process for this troubled people.
Nebula award-winning author Elizabeth Ann Scarborough has crafted a clever and magical fairy tale using the rich history of the Navajo and Hopi peoples. Populated with creatures from the old stories and modern-day humans struggling to make their way in a difficult world, Scarborough's America is a captivating destination. Deftly weaving reality, current social and environmental issues with fantasy elements, Scarborough creates a world which is at the same time, recognizable and mystical. Another excellent work by an author who is sure to become one of fantasy's greats.
Return to the March 1998 issue of The IWJ.
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