Shaman's Fire- Sandy Cathcart

My Rating: 4 Stars

Description: A singer, a death, a shaman…what has Sayla Whitewater gotten herself into?

Shaman’s Fire is a modern-day suspense story of a young Native American woman who struggles to find her identity as she moves between the ancient traditions of her people and the beliefs of the merging white world. She discovers magic in the shaman’s fire but, too late, she discovers such magic demands a price. Is it possible that the God of her grandmother is the same Creator her ancestors worshiped?

Shaman’s Fire is a story of choices and how the known world can change in an instant. It’s a story of injustice…a story of heartbreak…and a story of restoration.

My Thoughts: Do you walk the Creator way? Even if not, this book is still a great look at the conflict between Native Americans and Whites as well as Christianity and native traditions. The main characters of this book are Native Americans who follow Christ, at times struggling with certain traditions from the past. While the story focuses on Sayla's spiritual journey, the narrative hits on prejudice and culture clash.

For those reading Shaman's Fire for the spiritual aspect, spiritual warfare is central to the plot. In this story there is a literal battle for Sayla's soul fought between the shaman with his way of shadows and Creator Yahweh with Sayla's family. This spiritual battle is shown through visions and has very real repercussions in the physical world, showing how a family can battle darkness with prayer and faith in the Creator.

There are things about this book that bothered me at times. I was not always certain, particularly at the beginning, what the point was that the author was driving at and there were a few times where I got some of the secondary characters mixed up. One thing that I am still not sure how I felt about it was that the POV switched from character to character, with Sayla in first person, Kadai in second, and Loretta in third person.

Even with it's issues, Shaman's Fire has a lot to offer readers. I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.