The Raven's Gift
Don Rearden
(Author)
21,000+ Reviews
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Description
A riveting thriller set on the windswept Alaskan tundra
John Morgan and his wife can barely contain their excitement upon arriving as the new teachers in a Yup’ik Eskimo village on the Alaskan tundra. Lured north in search of adventure, the couple hope to immerse themselves in the ancient Arctic culture. But their move proves disastrous when a deadly epidemic strikes and the isolated tundra community descends into total chaos. When outside help fails to arrive, John’s only hope lies in escaping. His thousand-mile trek across the Alaskan wilderness grows more improbable when he encounters a blind Eskimo girl and an elderly woman. The two need his protection from those who would harm them, and he needs their knowledge of the terrain and their companionship to survive. The harsh journey and constant danger push him beyond his limits as he discovers a new sense of hope and the possibility of loving again.
John Morgan and his wife can barely contain their excitement upon arriving as the new teachers in a Yup’ik Eskimo village on the Alaskan tundra. Lured north in search of adventure, the couple hope to immerse themselves in the ancient Arctic culture. But their move proves disastrous when a deadly epidemic strikes and the isolated tundra community descends into total chaos. When outside help fails to arrive, John’s only hope lies in escaping. His thousand-mile trek across the Alaskan wilderness grows more improbable when he encounters a blind Eskimo girl and an elderly woman. The two need his protection from those who would harm them, and he needs their knowledge of the terrain and their companionship to survive. The harsh journey and constant danger push him beyond his limits as he discovers a new sense of hope and the possibility of loving again.
Product Details
| Publisher | Penguin Canada |
| Publish Date | August 13, 2013 |
| Pages | 288 |
| Language | English |
| Type |  Paperback / softback |
| EAN/UPC | 9780143173342 |
| Dimensions | 8.2 X 5.2 X 0.8 inches | 0.6 pounds |
About the Author
DON REARDEN grew up on the tundra of southwestern Alaska. A screenwriter, poet, and novelist, his books include Never Quit and Warrior's Creed. Rearden now lives in the mountain community of Bear Valley, Alaska, and is a Professor and Chair of the Department of Writing at the University of Alaska in Anchorage.
Reviews
Alaska State Communications Awards Novel of the Year
“Underneath this story’s intrigue, suspense and insider knowledge, there is something darker, more disturbing. . . . Rearden portrays how pollution affects northern culture and the subsistence way of life, as well as the systematic poverty of which ‘outsiders’ have little knowledge. . . . Beyond poverty, substance abuse and suicide we find characters with buoyancy and hope."
—Winnipeg Free Press
“The Raven’s Gift is a compelling read—well-crafted, engaging. . . . The term ‘page-turner’ comes to mind. But it’s dark and frightening for a midwinter read.”
—Alaska Dispatch
“The Raven’s Gift has a winning plot, characters we’ve never met before, and intriguing details of a world most of us will never venture to—creating a read that opens our eyes and finds the fault lines of a heart in one breathless sitting.”
—Jodi Picoult, New York Times bestselling author of The Tenth Circle and My Sister’s Keeper
“At first glance, The Raven’s Gift might appear to be an epic thriller set in the ancient land of the Yup’ik tundra, but it goes much farther than that into the delicate frontiers of the human heart—the best book I’ve read this year.”
—Craig Johnson, author of the Walt Longmire Mysteries
“An epic adventure, a work of mythical dimensions, never to be forgotten.”
—Daniel Quinn, New York Times bestselling author of Ishmael and The Story of B
“A many layered Alaskan intrigue which is gritty and engaging and an absolutely good read . . . all in a world, that Alaskan world—which I could believe.”
—Ron Carlson, author of Five Skies
“Don Rearden’s writing is captivating and new. This is a writer who has many books in him. I predict he will be widely read, well respected, and greatly admired.”
—Jo-Ann Mapson, author of bestselling novels Bad Girl Creek and Solomon's Oak
“Don Rearden is a masterful storyteller, and an artist of extraordinary talent and vision. Like all great books, The Raven’s Gift transcends geography and culture; it provides a window into what it means to be human in an age when humanity is all too often pushed aside and those who live at the margins forsaken in the name of political expedience.”
—Kris Farmen, author of Turn Again and The Devil's Share
"Rearden’s fresh, new voice is a kaleidoscope of cultural collision and the astonishing landscape of the heart.”
—Ron Spatz, Alaska Quarterly Review
“Take a remote Alaskan village, add a dedicated teacher, toss in a plague. The Raven’s Gift is a page turner with a message: We Alaskans are lost if we cannot fi nd our own way.”
—Bill Streever, author of Cold: Adventures in the World’s Frozen Places
“If you’re not scared, be scared: Don Rearden’s The Raven’s Gift will propel you pell-mell into a terrifying future of plague on the Alaskan tundra—all too real if you’ve talked with elders who survived 1917—all too frightening if you have sense to know this future can start five
minutes from now.”
—Seth Kantar, author of Ordinary Wolves
“A scary, atmospheric and unpredictable thriller, while a gritty, realistic look at the modern Arctic in all its beauty, complexity and horror. . . . But don’t worry; there is hope and faith and love within all the darkness.”
—Lesley Thomas, author of Flight of the Goose
“Underneath this story’s intrigue, suspense and insider knowledge, there is something darker, more disturbing. . . . Rearden portrays how pollution affects northern culture and the subsistence way of life, as well as the systematic poverty of which ‘outsiders’ have little knowledge. . . . Beyond poverty, substance abuse and suicide we find characters with buoyancy and hope."
—Winnipeg Free Press
“The Raven’s Gift is a compelling read—well-crafted, engaging. . . . The term ‘page-turner’ comes to mind. But it’s dark and frightening for a midwinter read.”
—Alaska Dispatch
“The Raven’s Gift has a winning plot, characters we’ve never met before, and intriguing details of a world most of us will never venture to—creating a read that opens our eyes and finds the fault lines of a heart in one breathless sitting.”
—Jodi Picoult, New York Times bestselling author of The Tenth Circle and My Sister’s Keeper
“At first glance, The Raven’s Gift might appear to be an epic thriller set in the ancient land of the Yup’ik tundra, but it goes much farther than that into the delicate frontiers of the human heart—the best book I’ve read this year.”
—Craig Johnson, author of the Walt Longmire Mysteries
“An epic adventure, a work of mythical dimensions, never to be forgotten.”
—Daniel Quinn, New York Times bestselling author of Ishmael and The Story of B
“A many layered Alaskan intrigue which is gritty and engaging and an absolutely good read . . . all in a world, that Alaskan world—which I could believe.”
—Ron Carlson, author of Five Skies
“Don Rearden’s writing is captivating and new. This is a writer who has many books in him. I predict he will be widely read, well respected, and greatly admired.”
—Jo-Ann Mapson, author of bestselling novels Bad Girl Creek and Solomon's Oak
“Don Rearden is a masterful storyteller, and an artist of extraordinary talent and vision. Like all great books, The Raven’s Gift transcends geography and culture; it provides a window into what it means to be human in an age when humanity is all too often pushed aside and those who live at the margins forsaken in the name of political expedience.”
—Kris Farmen, author of Turn Again and The Devil's Share
"Rearden’s fresh, new voice is a kaleidoscope of cultural collision and the astonishing landscape of the heart.”
—Ron Spatz, Alaska Quarterly Review
“Take a remote Alaskan village, add a dedicated teacher, toss in a plague. The Raven’s Gift is a page turner with a message: We Alaskans are lost if we cannot fi nd our own way.”
—Bill Streever, author of Cold: Adventures in the World’s Frozen Places
“If you’re not scared, be scared: Don Rearden’s The Raven’s Gift will propel you pell-mell into a terrifying future of plague on the Alaskan tundra—all too real if you’ve talked with elders who survived 1917—all too frightening if you have sense to know this future can start five
minutes from now.”
—Seth Kantar, author of Ordinary Wolves
“A scary, atmospheric and unpredictable thriller, while a gritty, realistic look at the modern Arctic in all its beauty, complexity and horror. . . . But don’t worry; there is hope and faith and love within all the darkness.”
—Lesley Thomas, author of Flight of the Goose
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