Reviews: (by author)

Dickinson, Peter. The Kin.  Illus. Ian Andrew. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 2003. $24.99 Hardcover ISBN 0-399-24022-5, 628 pp.

Visit www.peterdickinson.com.

The Kin are, essentially, the first homo sapiens.  They have one advantage to the other groups of humans; they have the incredible ability to speak and communicate with language unknown to many.   In a world we can only imagine, the possibilities of triumph and devastation are endless.   The Kin have undoubtedly faced them all.   This four-part epic adventure, including Suth's story, Noli's story, Ko's story, and Mana's story, contains all the necessary elements of survival, with just enough thrill, mystery, and suspense to tap into all undiscovered realms of the imagination, and then some.   This is a fresh glimpse into the unknown history of mankind; how we have evolved since our ancestors, learned from the teaching of those around us, and sought after new ways to improve a once detrimental existence filled with constant fear and anxiety.

The first part of the series is Suth's tale.   He is the oldest and strongest of the six remaining Moonhawk to have left their Kin in order to save the younger, abandoned children from unnecessary death.   They are all brave and courageous in their own right, but Suth, a boy forced to be a leader, must overcome many fears to save the lives of his "family," as well as his own.   The children have acquired remarkable spiritual qualities, such as the ability to smell water from afar and sense danger in the winds.   Noli, Suth's cousin and oldest of the female children, has been chosen by the First One, Moonhawk, and has the ability to guide them to safety.   The Moonhawk women prove to be as wise as the Moonhawk men are strong.   We are shown this in the Oldtales, the stories of the Kin provided for us between each chapter, giving us insight and explanation of the creation and customs of the Kin.   Suth earns his manhood early by killing the leopard.   Nature has granted Suth, who is fatherless and leaderless, with his man-scar.   It was his time.

Noli's story is one of great interest because she is the "chosen one."   Moonhawk comes to her in dreams and safely guides them to the next Good Place.   After facing imprisonment by the devious Monkey Kin, the Moonhawk Kin finally escape during a terribly violent volcanic eruption.   They continue through prosperous times and hard times.   They used their instincts to survive.   They meet with a wordless man and Noli names him "Tor."   A new Moonhawk has been conceived.   Noli can hear the "spirit voices" of Tor's people.   The importance of duty is clear; the women must care for the young and forage for the family, and the men must take the role of the father and hunter.   Thus, Noli becomes the mother and Suth the father.   They made friends out of enemies by approaching them with kindness and with the exchanging of gifts.   Eventually, Tor's people, the Porcupines, and the Moonhawks are brought together in friendship.   Noli learns from her friend, Goma, that wordless knowledge is just as effective as spoken language.   They have the power to communicate in silence.   Noli is becoming a woman; it soon will be her time to choose a mate.

After surviving a flash flood that wipes out their canyon lair, the Moonhawk reunite with the rest of their Kin.   Tinu, part of the original six Moonhawk, is very wise despite a deformation of the mouth prohibiting clear speech.   She comes up with a plan to trap and kill the demon lion that has been preying on the Kin.   When their original leader is killed, Tun becomes the new leader.   He is just as strong and courageous, but lacks the pride that leads to the downfall of many men.   The story of Ko is equivalent to a dream sequence.   Ko was always dreaming about fighting off predators and being the most skilled hunter.   It was not a good time for the Kin.   Drought caused famine and the Porcupines split from the Moonhawk in search of food and water.   They are always on the look out for danger; no place was a safe place.   Foraging through desert, valley, and mountain, they settle in the marsh.   Ko is eager to become a man.   His curiosity, however, often times leads to trouble.   But he is trouble as much as he is lucky.   The Kin celebrate the night the demon crocodile is killed; the women for being clever, the men for making the feast, and Ko for his bravery.   He makes his first boast, but it won't be his last.   Thanks to Ko and his ventures across the marsh to the islands, the Kin meet and befriend the marsh men.   They trade gifts, the crocodile head for a guide through the marsh to new land.   More importantly, they all learn from each other.   They watch, listen, understand, and guide one another to water, food, and temporary safety.

Mana's story is more of a spiritual journey rather than a physical one.   She too wants to be like the adult Kin, but her search is for purpose.   Mana is very modest compared to Ko.   Through Noli, Moonhawk speaks of danger and Mana is told of a time when fierce man hunters came and killed the men and took the women for themselves.   This is what happened to Ko and Mana's parents.   The Oldtales tell of great lessons to be learned; a time when rage ruled the hearts of man and a war oath was sworn between all the Kin.   The terror of sudden attack brings on the long anxiety of conquer, the horror and grief of the outcome, and the immense relief of victory.   Mana feels her spirit is wounded after she kills a demon man.   She feels inside herself that all death is wrong.   While the Moonhawk speak of her with doubt, disapproval, and bewilderment, Mana finds that the demon baby she saved has healed the wound in her spirit.   She is free; she has found her purpose.   She fears that her baby won't have words like his demon parents, but we know words do not make the people.

These stories act as myths to help us understand our history just as the Oldtales are made up to help the Kin understand and appreciate their traditions.   Above all, this is a tale of human people with human emotion.   They feel much of the same things as we do today - love, fear, distrust, jealousy, anger, rage, happiness, and joy.   With or without spoken language, these are people stories, a fictional saga of truth and honesty.   A new mythology is born.

Highly Recommended
Rebekah Tobias, June 2004

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