Sue Harrison's The Storyteller Trilogy (Open Road Media 2013) is the three-book tale of Alaska 8,000 years ago in the area of present-day Iliamna Lake. Life was cold, difficult, and always a struggle but the people were earnest, hard-working, and with many of the same desires as you and I. Two tribes who had historically been friendly find themselves on the verge of war. Chakliux, a man born with webbed feet, is abandoned by his birth mother, adopted into another tribe who comes to believe he has special abilities to bring good luck and prosperity to his tribe. But when Chakliux travels in search of a wife, several people in the village are unexpectedly killed, a rare occurrence in those freezing climates. From then on, Chakliux spends much of the three books fighting problems, rising above them, and then working earnestly for his tribe, trying to treat people well despite their attitudes of him. Above all else, he struggles to come to terms with a mother who abandoned him but weaves her way into his adult life when it seems to her benefit.

"...live in this village until she decided how best to take revenge on a son who had no pity on his mother."

"Coincidentally, when she is around, people die too. More than that, promises are betrayed, evil is taken and given--all in the name of what is for the good of the tribe."

Tribal life ran according to rites, taboos, and superstitions. This sort of world, without science or laws (except those laid out by curses and superstitions), becomes often a dark difficult existence ruled by the basic need to survive:

"...lifted until she brought a root to the surface. Using the stick and her hands, she pulled until she had two arm-lengths of root above ground, then she cut it off and followed it away from the tree, coiling as she walked, pulling, until the root was thin enough to snap."

"It was sea otter, she was sure, with a ruff of wolverine fur and cuffs banded with caribou hide, scraped and softened until it was almost white. The back of the parka came down in a wide pointed tail of some strange spotted skin, a stiff-haired pelt un any KÂ’os had ever seen."

"Aqamdax worked quickly, cutting meat, retouching or exchanging her knife blade when it dulled, then cutting again. With each animal, she slit the belly first, removed liver, heart and kidneys, then the skirt of fat that covered the intestines. The stomach, roasted whole, full of the sedges and grasses eaten by the caribou, was a feast in itself, and the intestines, cleaned and scraped, made good carrying tubes for drinking water or to store a mix of fat, meat and dried berries."

Harrison is an internationally-regarded author for her fiction about early people and this book shows why. She has an incomparable ability to write as though she experiences a world none of us has ever seen, wrapping it in the atmospheric details that put the reader right there, shivering:

"The lodge poles were crowded with the skins of sacred animals—white least weasels, flickers, marmot and beaver, and many wolverines."

"For what is storytelling if not ideas brought full and whole to the inner eyes of those who listen?"

"But what village—even the strongest—did not live from winter to winter, praying?"

By the time I was partway through the first book (Song of the River), I couldn’t help but feel that I knew  these people, their customs and desires, their shattered dreams. The plot though interesting was almost secondary--inconsequential--when weighed against the opportunity  to explore these people's lives. Harrison's ability to fold detail and drama together in the uniqueness of a world we'll never be able to see is stunning.

This is highly recommended for those who the works of Kathleen O'Neill Gear and those who love prehistoric fiction.6 s Jane K.Author 2 books

Sue Harrison's trilogy kept me spellbound because of her exquisite character development. There were characters that we loved to hate. Looking back in time, we find (mostly due to the author's extensive research) that mankind has not changed very much. Good, evil, jealousy, hate and love are the nature of human beings.

This is beautifully written - you might have to spend a bit more time reading it - because of the character's names - but whatever time you spend is worth every minute. It's especially an excellent trilogy for long winter nights.1 Sue497 3

I thought this series was a little slow-moving at first, but the names of the characters were unusual and I sometimes can get caught up with that until they become familiar enough for me to get a mental picture. The title, Storyteller Trilogy, was also not as obvious until the third book. I did become invested in some of the characters, and the lifestyle of these ancient ones was fascinating to me as well. Becky4

The Story Teller Trilogy

I absolutely loved this trilogy! I got so caught up in the characters that I was sad when it ended. They felt family, Sue Harrison did a masterful job of fleshing out the stories and characters, I know I'll read this again. I highly recommend this! Robert C. smith922 8

An Enjoyable Journey into Ancient Alaska

Although a bit confusing at times because of the many and difficult names, this was overall an enjoyable and Informative story; actually, more of a great many short stories connected with sometimes hardd to remember people and locations. Kathy Holland90 9

I loved this trilogy set in the Aleut lands of western Alaska. The esteemed storytellers, keepers of the history of the People, are particularly intriguing. I d the possibility of contact between the Aleuts and inhabitants of the easternmost Japanese islands. I binge read the three books in a week--couldn't put them down! Paula104 5

I love this author and consider her a community friend.Her writing really takes me in and I,m somehoe in her stoies.ThisTrilogy didnt fail to keep up to my expectations .and I oved having all three available . Kathleen Oweegon4

A nice, long, and engaging read

Nice storyline that wove across the centuries, but with connecting threads throughout. I stayed engaged for the duration? I also appreciated the accuracy of the herbs referenced. Denise71

impossible to put down

Warning! You will become so engrossed in the story that you wonÂ’t be able to leave it alone for long. Thank you, Sue Harrison, for sharing your giftedness with the world through your books. Emma Alexander-smith1 review

I absolutely loved this book
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