I purchased this book because A) a couple of my reading friends were raving about it, B) it was on sale for only .99, and C) because I've read a few things from this author in the past and enjoyed them. I enjoyed this book as well, just not quite as much as my friends did.

Let's start with the good stuff. I learned a lot about the Anasazi. I've always been fascinated with their history and Mr. McBride does quite a job with his research. There is NO question in my mind that everything written in this book about the Anasazi was researched in depth and is accurate. I also liked Mr. McBride's writing style. It flows well and as a result the book flies by.

The mystery at the center of this book- I liked what it turned out to be. I appreciate the imagination shown in creating such a ....thing, and I respect the ability to write about it in such a realistic manner.

Now, for what I did not like. There are 3 human characters in this book and one of them is incapable of speech. As a result there are long periods of solid text. No conversations, virtually no give and take between characters, (except for a few times when Sani, our protagonist, sits with his grandfather and one argument Sani had with his drunken mother.) I am not a fan of long periods with no dialogue. I can't help it, maybe it's shallow of me, but there it is.

So, as sometimes happens when I write a review, I decided to up my original rating of 3.5 to 4 stars. The writing really was exceptional and the fact that it did (mostly) hold my attention through a lot of solid text, warrants at least a 4 rating. If this subject (the Anasazi and what happened to them) interests you, if you're interested in finding out what the mystery is, then read this book!
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