Another really outstanding book in this series. For folks (like myself) who love historical fiction, this series is a wonderful trip back into a possible life at the time DeSoto first landed in Florida. The authors paint a picture of a pretty advanced and well-populated SE United States at the time. Since they're also in the business of understanding and knowing about past cultures, I'm assuming they're painting an accurate picture of what things might have been like at the time.

They also do a really good job of painting a nice balance between whites and natives as they clash. Since the story is told through the perspective of a native, it's natural that the customs and ways of the whites seem nonsensical and barbaric to the natives. At the same time, the authors do a wonderful job of showing that the difference between the war-waging abilities of the two cultures had to do with technology and the superior ability of the whites to use that technology.

It felt like a very fair rendering of what things might have been like at that point of first contact. As a bonus, the writing and character development is outstanding.

The beef I have with these authors books is with the publisher not the authors. The publisher seems intent on keeping the books out of the electronic realm. The greed of publishers in this respect is getting tiresome. When they do release in e-form, they seem intent on charging more than they charge for the hard copy. Shame shame shame. ( )

Black Shell, Pearl Hand and the Orphans, a band of warriors dedicated to the defeat and destruction of Hernando de Soto and his expedition through what is now the Southeast states, continue their adventures in Book 2 of "Contact: the Battle for America". Moving from the terrritory of the Appalachee through that of the Toa and the Cofitachequi, they pick away at De Soto's men and try to warn the tribes ahead of the danger. Unfortunately, they find that many rulers have their own reasons to deal with the devil.

Ending on a more hopeful note than the first book in the series, "Coming of the Storm", "Fire the Sky" whets my appetite for the rest of the story. ( )

have not read this one yet...have yet to manage to plow through #1. Think I prefer their prehistoria where they can allow their imaginations free rein. ( )