Summer of Stolen Souls
By Veronica Lawson
Kindle ASIN B008OD6OO6, $3.03; Paperback ISBN 13: 978-1475936193, $17.96; Hardcover ISBN 13: 978-1475936216, $26.96
Manny’s parents were murdered when he was still a baby. He has spent his life growing up with his grandfather, a Ute medicine man, whom he barely tolerates, but when an ancient prophecy begins to come to pass Manny will have to learn to rely on his grandfather as he never has before as he and three of his friends are called to become warriors in the upcoming battle.
Lawson brings this mystical horror story to life by drawing deeply on Native American, Ute, legends. I found myself lost in the story and never quite sure what was coming. The story was always fresh and exciting and never predictable.
The storyline is unique, not in the aspect of an ancient prophecy coming to life, but rather in the way Lawson brings the story to life. She sets it in a small town and on the Ute reservation in Unitah Basin. She relies on the small town setting only as a backdrop for certain key scenes, keeping most of the action on the reservation itself.
The scenes she paints come to vivid life on the page and she draws deeply on the mystical elements of Ute legends to help her story become real to the reader.
I would highly recommend this book to people who like horror stories, zombie stories – no this story is not about zombies though there are some similarities between zombies and the Ute skinwalkers and people who just want a good escapist read.
