Raven Stole the Moon

Rating:
Summary: Combination Mystery Thriller and Culture Lesson
Review: A woman of Native Alaskan blood is drawn back to the place of her only son's murder, where her marriage, as well as her belief system are challenged. Garth Stein weaves Tlingit legend with mystery thriller to create a story that is gripping and, at times disturbing. He is not afraid to make his characters unsympathetic, which adds to the realism of his story. Being one half Tlingit drew my interest to this mystery, but Garth Stein's ability as a novelist kept it until it's climactic finish.

Rating:
Summary: Combination Mystery Thriller and Culture Lesson
Review: A woman of Native Alaskan blood is drawn back to the place of her only son's murder, where her marriage, as well as her belief system are challenged. Garth Stein weaves Tlingit legend with mystery thriller to create a story that is gripping and, at times disturbing. He is not afraid to make his characters unsympathetic, which adds to the realism of his story. Being one half Tlingit drew my interest to this mystery, but Garth Stein's ability as a novelist kept it until it's climactic finish.

Rating:
Summary: Could not put this novel down...
Review: Garth Stein has captured the culture, mystique and emotional beauty of Alaska in his novel, HOW RAVEN STOLE THE MOON. It is the story of a woman, a mom, a lover, a wife and what she must go through to aid her son's soul in passing over to the Land of the Dead Souls. Does the story contain cliches? Yes, but the theme goes beyond the everyday writing. Characters are well-developed and their stories are rich. Jenna is a woman not afraid to show her vulnerability in situations, she remains strong by doing so. She is right to take the time to analyze her current relationship with her husband, my only disappointment is that Alaska remains in the past by the time the final page is turned.The beauty of Tlingit legends comes alive. Some of these legends are well explained through various characters in the story. The reader is given the opportunity to explore, appreciate and value the spiritual world that is presented. The author does a wonderful job in explaining the idea that kushtakas, like people, contain within their spirits both good and evil.My only disappointment is that Mr. Stein lives in New York and not Alaska. Maybe someday he will return to this setting, both phsyically and as an author. Should Mr. Stein and his family return to this great state, I'm sure they would be welcomed with open arms and eager readers. Just the random thoughts of a fellow Alaskan.

Rating:
Summary: A page turner.
Review: I'd say pretty darn good book for a first time novelist. I was a bit put off by the modern language, the obligatory swear words, masturbation scene, the confusion over which man the female protagonist was going to choose, but I like Stein's descriptions of Alaska, the way he built suspense and at times caught the reader off guard. He wrote a good story and kept up the pace, the interest, so that the story didn't flag. I had trouble putting the book down. I look forward to more books by this writer, because I think he has real potential; he's got plot down well, his characters are interesting if a bit skinny, and his sense of context is good. Keep on writing, Mr. Stein!

Rating:
Summary: One of the best first novels I've read this year...
Review: Newcomer Garth Stein wrote an intruiging and suspenseful first novel. His colorful, detailed descriptions of people and places really allowed me to "see" this novel. However, I was a little put off by the excessive use of cliches throughout the book. To wit: what a letdown it was when Eddie, Jenna's romantic fling, said to her as she was leaving Alaska to resume her mudane life: "Better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all." Ho hum. Nonetheless, the tale was entertaining and unique.

Rating:
Summary: Stein does for Alaska what King did for Colorado
Review: Not since I read The Shining have I had the shivers running up and down my spine like I did with this book! An excellent thrill ride from beginning to end. Mr. Stein is a master craftsman when developing his characters, and I was amazed at his ability to shift from both the male and female perspective.

Rating:
Summary: Stein does for Alaska what King did for Colorado
Review: Not since I read The Shining have I had the shivers running up and down my spine like I did with this book! An excellent thrill ride from beginning to end. Mr. Stein is a master craftsman when developing his characters, and I was amazed at his ability to shift from both the male and female perspective.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent writing, storyline and characterizations
Review: Two years ago in her hometown of Wrangell, Alaska, Jenna Rosen was helpless as her five year old son drowned. Unable to cope with her guilt any longer, she leaves her husband in Seattle and returns to her remote Alaskan village to confront her grief. However, instead of finding solace, Jenna hears rumors that her little boy's soul has been absorbed by the kushtaka, a half man-half otter. Only a powerful shaman can set the lad's soul free.

Jenna is not sure whether she should believe in her Tlingit heritage, but decides that she cannot take a chance that her son's soul has been abducted. Jenna knows that she will need the professional help of a shaman to allow her son's soul to finally rest in peace and, perhaps, her own as well.

RAVEN STOLE THE MOON is a powerful novel that brings alive the Tlingit animalistic-based belief system in a very interesting tale. This book is must reading for anyone intrigued by an alternate approach to describing how the universe ticks. However, instead of just a dry, social anthropological comparison, in the ingenious hands of Garth Stein, readers get a genuinely fascinating story.

Harriet Klausner