After Reading: THE RED WRAITH by Nick Wisseman

By: Meradeth Houston on 4:00 AM

As magic awakens in Early America, Naysin, a child of the Lepane nation, manifests talents that cause him to defile his tribe’s harvest ceremony. His punishment is exile. In the years that follow, Naysin’s spirit fathers keep goading him into misusing his abilities. On the island of Bimshire, he inspires a slave rebellion before abandoning it; near his former home, he marches European settlers to their deaths; and in the forests of Edgeland, he ends a battle by massacring both sides. Such acts cause much of the New World to see him as the Red Wraith, an indigenous monster who delights in butchering white innocents. The infamy is well-earned, but that’s not who he wants to be. And when he encounters a group of fellow magic-users, Naysin realizes how he can set everything right. (Goodreads)

I am so behind on books this year...oh well. I am reading at least :)

I went into this novel a little wary of some of the concepts: I work closely with many Native American populations and individuals and am very aware of the stereotypes that arise in literature. Many times it's downright painful. Thankfully I felt that Wisseman managed to take a relatively authentic view of the population...well, with added magic. And this magic was not just found in Native Americans, nor part of their faith or society (something that J. K. Rowling has received a good deal of criticism for in some of her recent releases that utilize Native American society as "magical"). That is a whole other story :) Anyhow, Wisseman presents an interesting novel here, one that I did enjoy. I will admit that it was a bit tedious at times, as the pacing would slow a great deal. A huge amount of inner dialogue left me skimming at time. Also Naysin's "fathers," who possess him, get a huge chunk of the ending of the novel, which bogged things down for me. I never felt a connection to them, and their story didn't draw me in. Overall, this was an interesting alternate history. I did really like how Wisseman took pains to show what happened to Native American society in the face of the overwhelming death toll that Smallpox took on the continents when Europeans brought it here (and people think the Black Death was bad--it had nothing on what happened in the Americas). If you are into historical fiction with a dash of magic, this is one to check out.