A Great Review for Drum Dance

 

Here’s one of my favorite reviews for DRUM DANCE, #3 in my Arctic Series. Drum Dance was written for Adult/YA readers, and the Kindle edition is currently FREE to read with Kindle Unlimited. 

https://www.amazon.com/Drum-Dance-Arctic-Book-3-ebook/dp/B004C44MKY/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

Brenda Txxxxx

4.0 out of 5 stars Intriguing!

Reviewed in the United States on January 15, 2017

Verified Purchase

After David Jansson’s mother died, he spent his time with his aunt and uncle at Peace River in Alberta – but when his father sent for him, he decided to join him if only to get to know him again. David hadn’t seen his father in five years. Per Jansson was manager for the Hudson’s Bay Company at the small, isolated trading post of Gjoa Haven in the Arctic in Canada. Seventeen when he travelled, David’s journey in the small plane with Mac was a terrifying one; he wondered what on earth had possessed him to do this.

But when David arrived, it was to find his father was not the man he remembered. Abusive and a drunk – his moods would swing from affectionate and helpful, to abusive and violent in a matter of moments. David regretted his decision and hated the intense and relentless cold; he decided though to make the best of his promise to remain for two years. The beauty of the young Inuit women, especially Nipesha frustrated him, especially as his father had told him to stay away from them. And he was also to have nothing to do with the local shaman Naigo – which proved to be nigh on impossible. But he did find some fascination with the Eskimo tradition of celebrating the arrival of the sun - the shaman would beat the drum in the fabled drum dance, while telling stories to his people.

But could David continue with the intolerable situation? The Arctic seldom gave any person a second chance…

Young Adult novel Drum Dance by Bonnie Turner has an intriguing plot; not at all like anything I’ve read before. Though this is book 3 in the series, and I haven't read the previous two, I thoroughly enjoyed the story of David’s growth from boyhood, and felt for him during his struggles. I have no hesitation in recommending Drum Dance to fans of the genre.

How DRUM DANCE Was Born

Drum Dance* began as a sequel to my middle-grade novels—The Haunted Igloo and Spirit Lights—but I soon discovered that my young protagonist, David Jansson, had his own story to tell, and the novel evolved into a standalone story for older teens and adults. 

An avid fan of Arctic stories, I wanted to explore the Hudson's Bay fur-trading posts in the Central Arctic, and learned there's very little information available for that time period. My contact at the Hudson's Bay Company (in Canada) located a few old, hand-written ship- and trading-post logs and bills of laden, as well as the name of the supply ship that serviced Gjoa Haven in the late 1930s.

My extensive research and the writing of Drum Dance was truly a labor of love with a strange feeling of magic. I know I wasn't there, yet somehow I was.... 

I hope readers enjoy David's story about his two years at a fur-trading post. While this isn't a true sequel to Spirit Lights, people who have read that book are going to get a huge surprise about halfway into this one, because it clears up an issue left hanging in the other book.

With climate change now altering the face of the Arctic—not to mention making life more difficult for the Inuits in their homeland—I feel it's important to preserve this information for future generations.

*Drum Dance was a "2011 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Awards" Quarter-Finalist.

The novel is currently available to read FREE with Kindle Unlimited.

https://www.amazon.com/Drum-Dance-Arctic-Book-3-ebook/dp/B004C44MKY/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=