The following review was contributed by:
PAUL LAPPIN
This book is set in 1880s Canada, eh? But, in this
world, the moon has acquired a slow orbit on its axis,
due to being struck by a comet several years
previously. Also, the secret of perpetual motion
machines and magnetic locomotives have been discovered
and put to practical use.
Corporal Marmaduke Grayburn of the Northwest Mounted
Police is one of those building the western frontier.
For most of his life, he has been plagued by prophetic
dreams and ""hunches,"" one of which saved his life. He
is assigned to the secretive Q Division, a unit of
paranormal investigators.
With help from an eccentric psychic researcher named
Arthur Chambers, Grayburn investigates the sudden
disappearance of a Methodist missionary and his
family. Also gone is an Indian artifact of great power
called the Manitou Stone.
These are hard times for the local Indian tribes. The
buffalo, on which they depend, are almost gone. A Cree
sorcerer, Wandering Spirit, plans to use the power of
the Stone to bring about the long-prophecied Day of
Changes, when the natives of western Canada will
reclaim their stolen lands. Also included in this
story are underground tunnels where time and distance
work very differently than aboveground, and the spirit
of a white buffalo forced into the body of a newborn
child too early.
This novel is really good. Much of it is based on
actual history. It's just weird enough to be
interesting, the characters are real people, and it's
very well done. It is well worth reading.