Rating: 
Summary: Well-researched, extremely readable book
Review: "Sacred Ground" is one of Mercedes Lackey's more serious urban fantasy offerings. It's steeped in Native American culture, folklore and legend (as much that would have been history was destroyed long before the start of this book -- early 1990s -- by unsuspecting, unthinking or uncaring sorts), and it illustrates several major and growing problems.1) How are Native Americans treated in this country? 2) Can spirituality be integrated into a modern person's life in a meaningful way? 3) Is it worthwhile to help people, always knowing that there are more people who need help than you can afford to help out there? The last two are answered with an emphatic "YES!" The first one is problematic at best. Jennifer Talldeer, an interesting character if I've ever seen one, talked about the problems of "registering" with the Bureau of Indian Affairs vs. _not_ registering, and chose not to register (as most of her family, if not all, had also chosen). She also showed the difficulty of doing a tough job (private investigator) well, despite being less than five feet tall and rather slight of build. She uses her mind, her heart, and her spirituality to get her through; I think she's an admirable role model for anyone seeking such, and an excellent protagonist for a whole series of novels (would Tor care to resurrect the series, something that looks highly doubtful at this point). Jennifer's relationship with her grandfather, Mooncrow, is also intriguing. Mooncrow isn't all that traditional in some senses; he loves Nintendo, he eats lots of pizza, he cooks, and he's after her throughout the book to, um, find a fulfilling lover. Not too many grandfathers do this, I don't think. Mooncrow is a highly contradictory person, as evidenced by his name. Crows are never white, nor do they fly at night, yet Mooncrow . . . well, he delights in being contrary. So it's no surprise that he's found a spiritual successor in his granddaughter, despite that being highly unusual. It's also no surprise that he's teaching her everything he knows, despite the fact that women normally aren't taught so much. ("Good for Mooncrow" is what I kept muttering while reading.) Jennifer's true name is Kestrel-Hunts-Alone, which is a far, far more straightforward name by any standard than Mooncrow's, and as such, she's shown to be driven, nearly obsessed, and that obsession has cost her things she hasn't realized. There is external conflict in the mystery, which quickly turns from "who did it" to "why did he do it?" And there is loads of internal conflict provided by Jennifer herself, her mission(s), and her relationship with David Spotted Horse, the man who "got away" years ago. (Of course, he was not worth keeping years ago, either. Perhaps now is different?) Ms. Lackey effortlessly shows how modern women make a living, and combines that with a spiritual quest, some thrilling action-adventure, and a romance. This is an extremely moving book, it is emotionally honest, and it gets almost everything spot on. Five stars, highly recommended. Barb Caffrey
Rating:
Summary: Fast-paced mystery and classic Lackey magic!
Review: "Sacred Ground" is a page-turner! As in her Diana Tregarde
investigations, Mercedes Lackey has moved fantasy to planet
Earth. She weaves her magic through Osage shamanism and long-ago curses to deliver a message of conservation and concern for life, yet never sacrifices the fast pace. Be
prepared to spend an afternoon readng, because you won't be able to put this one down!
Rating:
Summary: Well-researched, extremely readable book
Review: "Sacred Ground" is one of Mercedes Lackey's more serious urban fantasy offerings. It's steeped in Native American culture, folklore and legend (as much that would have been history was destroyed long before the start of this book -- early 1990s -- by unsuspecting, unthinking or uncaring sorts), and it illustrates several major and growing problems. 1) How are Native Americans treated in this country? 2) Can spirituality be integrated into a modern person's life in a meaningful way? 3) Is it worthwhile to help people, always knowing that there are more people who need help than you can afford to help out there? The last two are answered with an emphatic "YES!" The first one is problematic at best. Jennifer Talldeer, an interesting character if I've ever seen one, talked about the problems of "registering" with the Bureau of Indian Affairs vs. _not_ registering, and chose not to register (as most of her family, if not all, had also chosen). She also showed the difficulty of doing a tough job (private investigator) well, despite being less than five feet tall and rather slight of build. She uses her mind, her heart, and her spirituality to get her through; I think she's an admirable role model for anyone seeking such, and an excellent protagonist for a whole series of novels (would Tor care to resurrect the series, something that looks highly doubtful at this point). Jennifer's relationship with her grandfather, Mooncrow, is also intriguing. Mooncrow isn't all that traditional in some senses; he loves Nintendo, he eats lots of pizza, he cooks, and he's after her throughout the book to, um, find a fulfilling lover. Not too many grandfathers do this, I don't think. Mooncrow is a highly contradictory person, as evidenced by his name. Crows are never white, nor do they fly at night, yet Mooncrow . . . well, he delights in being contrary. So it's no surprise that he's found a spiritual successor in his granddaughter, despite that being highly unusual. It's also no surprise that he's teaching her everything he knows, despite the fact that women normally aren't taught so much. ("Good for Mooncrow" is what I kept muttering while reading.) Jennifer's true name is Kestrel-Hunts-Alone, which is a far, far more straightforward name by any standard than Mooncrow's, and as such, she's shown to be driven, nearly obsessed, and that obsession has cost her things she hasn't realized. There is external conflict in the mystery, which quickly turns from "who did it" to "why did he do it?" And there is loads of internal conflict provided by Jennifer herself, her mission(s), and her relationship with David Spotted Horse, the man who "got away" years ago. (Of course, he was not worth keeping years ago, either. Perhaps now is different?) Ms. Lackey effortlessly shows how modern women make a living, and combines that with a spiritual quest, some thrilling action-adventure, and a romance. This is an extremely moving book, it is emotionally honest, and it gets almost everything spot on. Five stars, highly recommended. Barb Caffrey
Rating:
Summary: Well-researched, extremely readable book
Review: "Sacred Ground" is one of Mercedes Lackey's more serious urban fantasy offerings. It's steeped in Native American culture, folklore and legend (as much that would have been history was destroyed long before the start of this book -- early 1990s -- by unsuspecting, unthinking or uncaring sorts), and it illustrates several major and growing problems. 1) How are Native Americans treated in this country? 2) Can spirituality be integrated into a modern person's life in a meaningful way? 3) Is it worthwhile to help people, always knowing that there are more people who need help than you can afford to help out there? The last two are answered with an emphatic "YES!" The first one is problematic at best. Jennifer Talldeer, an interesting character if I've ever seen one, talked about the problems of "registering" with the Bureau of Indian Affairs vs. _not_ registering, and chose not to register (as most of her family, if not all, had also chosen). She also showed the difficulty of doing a tough job (private investigator) well, despite being less than five feet tall and rather slight of build. She uses her mind, her heart, and her spirituality to get her through; I think she's an admirable role model for anyone seeking such, and an excellent protagonist for a whole series of novels (would Tor care to resurrect the series, something that looks highly doubtful at this point). Jennifer's relationship with her grandfather, Mooncrow, is also intriguing. Mooncrow isn't all that traditional in some senses; he loves Nintendo, he eats lots of pizza, he cooks, and he's after her throughout the book to, um, find a fulfilling lover. Not too many grandfathers do this, I don't think. Mooncrow is a highly contradictory person, as evidenced by his name. Crows are never white, nor do they fly at night, yet Mooncrow . . . well, he delights in being contrary. So it's no surprise that he's found a spiritual successor in his granddaughter, despite that being highly unusual. It's also no surprise that he's teaching her everything he knows, despite the fact that women normally aren't taught so much. ("Good for Mooncrow" is what I kept muttering while reading.) Jennifer's true name is Kestrel-Hunts-Alone, which is a far, far more straightforward name by any standard than Mooncrow's, and as such, she's shown to be driven, nearly obsessed, and that obsession has cost her things she hasn't realized. There is external conflict in the mystery, which quickly turns from "who did it" to "why did he do it?" And there is loads of internal conflict provided by Jennifer herself, her mission(s), and her relationship with David Spotted Horse, the man who "got away" years ago. (Of course, he was not worth keeping years ago, either. Perhaps now is different?) Ms. Lackey effortlessly shows how modern women make a living, and combines that with a spiritual quest, some thrilling action-adventure, and a romance. This is an extremely moving book, it is emotionally honest, and it gets almost everything spot on. Five stars, highly recommended. Barb Caffrey
Rating:
Summary: Native American culture beautifuly blended Modern day-great!
Review: As my first experience of the writings of Mercedes Lackey, I was immediatley entrapped in the stunning mixture of mysticism, magic, and modern day mystery.
I highly recomend this and other Lackey books
Rating: 
Summary: A Native American Tregarde?
Review: Good, clean, fun. Much more enjoyable than Lynn V. Andrews pretentious, Wannabe Indian schlock. Jennifer Talldeer, Lackey's heroine, acquits herself well in this novel. Evildoers get stopped, the world is saved, and the reader has fun. Occult mind-candy fiction, but it's =GOOD= candy, not the cheap kind that comes 99 cents/pound and has a bad aftertaste. While the situations in this book get favorably resolved, this novel begs the question of our "real" world, in which Native Americans suffer privation, discrimination, and illegal/unjust imprisonment. If you take pleasure in reading this story, you owe it to the "real" characters, people like Leonard Peltier, to learn their stories. Jennifer Talldeer hasn't been able to get Leonard justice--she's not "real." But Leonard's cell in Leavenworth is very real. If you doubt that, get his Prison Writings, and step from Lackey's fantasy into his nightmare. Have you read Bury my Heart at Wounded Knee yet? Matthiesen's In the Spirit of Crazy Horse? Or even Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States? Sure. Enjoy the mind candy. But feed your soul with something more nutritious. Help make a dream of justice come true for the real Native Americans. (If you'd like to comment on this review, click on the "about me" link above & drop me an email. Thanks!)
Rating:
Summary: Another good female character
Review: I also correlated Talldeer with the Diana Tregarde set. Both center around strong admirable women (great role models) and the fantasy genre can always use more; it's why I enjoy Mercedes Lackey as an author. As always, with Ms. Lackey's books, I hope she continues writing about Jennifer Talldeer. Since I am also a (frequent is too mild a word) SF/Fantasy reader, I wish to return to the worlds these authors create. One book is never enough!!!
Rating:
Summary: I loved it!!
Review: I found this book incredibly stimulating and interesting. It's mix of aincent magic and old-time evil combined with a modern-day villian backed by a force from the past was marvellous. topped of with a heroine with all the attributes possible it was a wonderful read. Not only was it enjoyable, but I also learned a good deal about native american heritage. Impossible to put down, a well written book.
Rating:
Summary: Great Read!
Review: I like the way Lackey has written Jennifer, she is on par with Diana Tregard. The mystery of the book is great, and the charachters are well developed.
Rating:
Summary: a good indian mystery
Review: i liked this book i wish she had written more of this series you wont be sorry if you read it
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