Dreams of the Oregon Coast: A Michael Melville hangout

Back when I was just a boy, I was intrigued by the idea of the ancient gods. Growing up Catholic this was dangerous ground to be interested in. Over the years, as I grew into an adult I became fascinated with the histories and religions of ancient peoples and civilizations. First it was our local Indian legends then Egyptian, the Greek and roman gods/goddesses and also the murky mysteries of Atlantis. A few semesters ago I took a class at GVSU where I learned about ancient mythologies from around the world. Some of these included the Norse, Celtic and Asian religions as well as the tribal mythologies of the Pacific Northwest. I became fascinated by them even more. Since I have a deep love for the Pacific Northwest I took a special interest in the tribal legends from that area.

When I contacted, Kriss Morton, at The Finishing Fairies about reviewing Lynne Cantwell’s novel Crosswinds I wasn’t sure what to expect. The book sounded great based on the brief synopsis I read and the fact that it had to do with the Gods, both old and new excited me. Sadly I only had a little knowledge of Lynne’s previously published work such as the Pipe Women Chronicles **EPIC fail on my part**. As I began reading Crosswinds I certainly wasn’t expecting to have this much in common with the book when it came to my own personal interests.

Crosswinds is the first book in a new series by Lynne Cantwell. This novel takes us into a reality where the ancient Gods of lore and legend and also newer gods are present in the world. They influence and guide the lives of people and the world around them. This happens with what seems to be very little secrecy. Months after the return of Jesus in Denver as an American Indian, the nation is being split apart by separate groups either supporting the return of the Christian god and or pitting against him. The book largely takes place in Washington DC and is full of the political twists, turns and backstabbing one would expect from the town. I really liked the friendship and bond between Tess and Sue as well as e former special-ops agent, Darrell, as they search and out fight against those who would like to bring the world back to its old ways of fear and control.

I was pleasantly surprised when I found out one of the main characters named, Darrell, an American Potawatomi Indian is from Michigan where I was born and raised. I enjoyed some of the geographical references as well as the fact that my part of Michigan has a rich Potawatomi heritage. Lynn did a fabulous job of entwining new religions such as Wicca and their mother Goddess with that of the more established gods and goddesses as well as lesser known gods such as the Norse god Loki, the Irish Goddess The Morrigan , Nanabush the Ojibwa Trickster god, the Greek mother Goddess Gaia and several others. This type of story could scare some readers off; offend them perhaps because of its topic and mixed subject matter if they are wimps. One thing I admire about Lynne is the bravery it took to write this book and put it out there for people to read. The only thing I wasnt so hot on was the cover but other than that Crosswinds was a great book.