Review: A Tribute to Two Rivers
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 09 27, 2013
Zoe Saadia's series on "The Great Peacemaker" is a must read for anyone who appreciates books about the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) people and their dedication to peace with the formation of the Five Nations Confederacy.  Sometime between the 12th and 14th centuries, an amazing man, Two River Currents Flowing Together (Deganawida) persuaded five aggressive tribes to accept peace, tribes who had warred among each other so long that they could not remember any other way.  The fact that Two Rivers had this amazing vision was astounding, and in strong partnership with Hionhwatha (Hiawatha), their combined bravery brought about a peaceful, democratic framework long before European contact and the American Revolution.  These two men were probably among the greatest orators in human history,There is very little historical fiction written about the Great Peacemaker, a man of myth and legend.  However, I had previously read a series featuring Deganawida, the Peacemaker, and, although I have been a fan of the authors for a very long time, I was disturbed by their central plot which made the Peacemaker a victim of child sexual abuse.  I don't know whether such behavior existed among the indigenous people of North America, but child abuse as a major factor in the early development of the man just didn't seem to fit who he became.In "Two Rivers," the first book of "The Great Peacemaker" series, Ms. Saadia continues her dedication to stories featuring indigenous people of the Americas that started with her Pre-Aztec and Rise of the Aztecs series.  Ms. Saadia's book is a much more dignified and believable approach to showing how the Peacemaker came to fulfill his destiny and the prophecy.  I think her presentation of the Peacemaker, showing his way of reasoning, his character, his doubts and fears, gives the reader a much better sense of the human being... an ordinary man who accomplished an extraordinary feat.As one who can't write fiction and is intensely awed by those who do, it is hard for me to fathom how Ms. Saadia develops such intriguing and believable characters who lived hundreds of years in the distant past.  While reading her novels, it seems as if Ms. Saadia inhabits the bodies of the characters and describes their thoughts and feelings as if they were her own.  Her stories gradually reveal themselves, seemingly like a spiral, beginning at the edge and closing in to the center. At the same time, she is an astute observer and analyzer.What has impressed me the most, is Ms. Saadia's amazing ability to describe what it is like to be a warrior. Whether a battle is man-against-beast, or man-against-man, she describes it so eloquently and with such detail, that it could make one wonder if she were describing it from experience within a man's body. Even the detailed description of the lacrosse game at the book's opening is exquisite. Opening the story with a lacrosse game not only introduces the central characters, it honors the Iroquois nation by showcasing the game they invented, a game that even today is a major sport and Olympic event.Having read all of Ms. Saadia's historical novels, I can honestly say that they provoke one to reconsider their perspective of indigenous people in the North and South American continents. The European invaders came to the Americas thinking they were bringing civilization to savages. Perhaps instead, savages came to the Americas and found civilization was already here.