Judith Mcallister

As Long As the Sun Walks: a Novel Judith Mcallister

Clay Whistle held to sanity by strength of will. She had three days only to live in this Middleworld, to taste the sweetness of chocolate, to hear the music of the morning bird, to smell the heady perfume of flowers, touch the female fertility of earth?three days to find meaning in life. She thought often of Zactun Na, The City Of The White Stone House, of her friend, Half Coat. She thought of her sister, Thirteen Moon, and there was comfort in the knowledge that the blood of their lineage would be passed on through her child. But most often, Clay Whistle thought of the island. In her mind she fled the enclosing walls of her stone chambers at Tikal to soar free on the wings of a Red-tailed Hawk. With her heart she rose high above mist that clung like white gauze to the verdant green hills of the highlands, then wheeled to ride a swift carpet of warm wind over white beaches and across the blue-green tidal inlet that led home. She lived in two worlds, now?in the present, clinging to the vibrant texture of life. And in the past, in that time when as a child she ran barefoot toward the promise of tomorrow and touched, so easily, the elusive tail-feathers of happiness?in that time and place in the sacred round of days when she had known Red Canoe.

A tale of star-crossed lovers set during the apex of Mayan civilization. Clay Whistle and Red Canoe are best friends, too young to realize they are in love with each other. As they mature and acknowledge their feelings, class issues force them apart: Red Canoe is the son of a fisherman, albeit the village headman, while Clay Whistle is the grand-niece of Lord Sun Shield, the powerful ruler of a city-state on the western edge of the Mayan empire. The main narrative, which follows Red Canoe and Clay Whistle down separate paths destined to cross once again, is well paced and engaging. ?the novel is well researched, with countless colorful details of ancient Mayan life? For the general reader, though, the tale of lovers set against the backdrop of political intrigue will provide an entertaining read.

-Kirkus Discoveries