"Excellent historical fiction"

In 1830 Indian Territory just north of Santa Fe, Lozen shocks the members of the Warm Springs Apache clan as she outruns and is more accurate with a bow and arrow than boys her age. Her brother Victorio and family friend Teyze train her in the ways of a warrior, but she is put to the test when she wrestles a much bigger male. To everyone's shock except her family and Teyze she defeats her opponent using cunning to overcome his power advantage.

Receiving formal training as the only female warrior in the tribe, Lozen shows skills as a healer too. As the Apache are being overwhelmed by Mexicans and White Eyes, many turn to Lozen for spiritual and worldly leadership. As she tries to lead her people with strength against overwhelming odds, Lozen, also known now as "Power of the Blue Hands", knows the danger of the encroachment that could destroy her people's way of life, but how to prevent it seems just beyond the next mist.

MOON IN THE WATER is a gender bending historical fictionalized account of a real Indian while focusing on the lifestyle of a southwest Apache tribe struggling to survive against outside intrusion. Lozen keeps the story line focused as the star who defies sexual barriers to become a warrior and leader. Using the story of Lozen as an underlying basis to his fascinating story line, Stan Gordon provides a deep look at Apache customs at a time when the tribe was in peril from the outside encroachment.

Harriet Klausner

Reviewed by Harriet Klausner
Posted July 11, 2005