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The Awakening: a historical novel about Hawaii
As whalers, Russian fur traders, China trade ships, and explorers expanded into the Pacific in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, it was inevitable they would find the Hawaiian Islands. Once found, ships paused there to refurbish and resupply their ships which led to more permanent settlement. American missionaries traveled thousands of miles to bring their message, hoping to conquer foreign gods. Writers such as Thomas Paine opened minds to political equality instead of autocracies. The Awakening is a prequel to End of the Gods when Hawaiians overthrow their gods. This prequel is set in the early 19th century, a time of increasing turmoil when many Hawaiians opened their eyes and minds to other ideas when they saw that their harsh god, Ku, did not punish Westerners for breaking kapu.
Hero, Kai, a thirteen- year- old slave sandalwood carrier, faces violent death for walking on kapu grass, and seeks safety by jumping off a cliff into the ocean to escape. Western ship crew rescue him, teach him to speak and read English, and teach him about political movements seeking freedom. The ship carries him to China as a crew member where he studies Kung Fu at Shaolin, and learns about Buddhism. Kai survives racism, being thrown overboard, and fights Malay pirates.
When he returns to Hawaii, Kai learns about the movement by the Regent and High Priest to overthrow the cruel rule of the god Ku, a movement gaining in strength. He also learns about Russian intrigue to gain power over Hawaiian land and serves as a spy.
Hero, Kai, a thirteen- year- old slave sandalwood carrier, faces violent death for walking on kapu grass, and seeks safety by jumping off a cliff into the ocean to escape. Western ship crew rescue him, teach him to speak and read English, and teach him about political movements seeking freedom. The ship carries him to China as a crew member where he studies Kung Fu at Shaolin, and learns about Buddhism. Kai survives racism, being thrown overboard, and fights Malay pirates.
When he returns to Hawaii, Kai learns about the movement by the Regent and High Priest to overthrow the cruel rule of the god Ku, a movement gaining in strength. He also learns about Russian intrigue to gain power over Hawaiian land and serves as a spy.
306 pages, Paperback
Published May 28, 2023
1 person want to read
About the author
Bill Fernandez
17 books5 followersBorn and raised on the tiny Pacific island of Kauai in the Hawaiian Islands, Bill enjoyed a childhood unlike most because the ocean was steps away and summer temperatures all year round. His family built a large movie theater on the island (Roxy) which introduced Bill to a much larger world.
Then the soldiers arrived: 40,000 GIs four months after Japan bombed Pearl Harbor. Life changed: gas masks, machine gun nests, curfews enforced by armed soldiers, rationing of gas and food. Bill adapted: he built a shoe shine kit, ran errands for candy and cigarettes for the GIs, and worried about a Japanese invasion. Family worried about internment of Japanese.
After graduation from Kamehameha Schools for Hawaiian children, Bill entered Stanford University, and graduated with BA and law degrees (JD). Law practice in Sunnyvale, CA, (future home of Silicon Valley) led to a judicial appointment to the Santa Clara County, CA, bench where he served more than twenty years.
Retired, Bill and his wife Judie traveled and then settled into a family home in Kapaa where Bill began his writing career. First, a memoir about the family movie theater, then two memoirs about his childhood adventures, and three novel series (Grant Kingsley, John Tana, and Kalani). The novels feature native Hawaiian men, heroes trying to understand and adapt to the foreign invasion of Western Capitalism and religion. The novels are well researched and historically accurate.
The last two historical novels begin in the late 1700s, during pre-Western contact when Kamehameha the Great fought battles to unite the islands under one ruler. The hero is Kalani, a young Hawaiian man sent by his mother to become a warrior for Kamehameha to protect her and his sisters from slavery. He has much to learn. First: he has no genealogy to protect him from higher ranks, is threatened but survives, learns about women, slavery, treachery, guns and cannon, as well as human sacrifice. The second novel in this series, Conquest, begins when Kalani's wife is burned to death during a vicious nighttime attack on his farmland. He seeks revenge on the masked killers. Kalani spies for Kamehameha, helps Captain George Vancouver, disguises himself as a priest of Lono, and fights in dramatic battles set on Oahu.
All of the novels are well researched and reviewed by Kirkus.
Then the soldiers arrived: 40,000 GIs four months after Japan bombed Pearl Harbor. Life changed: gas masks, machine gun nests, curfews enforced by armed soldiers, rationing of gas and food. Bill adapted: he built a shoe shine kit, ran errands for candy and cigarettes for the GIs, and worried about a Japanese invasion. Family worried about internment of Japanese.
After graduation from Kamehameha Schools for Hawaiian children, Bill entered Stanford University, and graduated with BA and law degrees (JD). Law practice in Sunnyvale, CA, (future home of Silicon Valley) led to a judicial appointment to the Santa Clara County, CA, bench where he served more than twenty years.
Retired, Bill and his wife Judie traveled and then settled into a family home in Kapaa where Bill began his writing career. First, a memoir about the family movie theater, then two memoirs about his childhood adventures, and three novel series (Grant Kingsley, John Tana, and Kalani). The novels feature native Hawaiian men, heroes trying to understand and adapt to the foreign invasion of Western Capitalism and religion. The novels are well researched and historically accurate.
The last two historical novels begin in the late 1700s, during pre-Western contact when Kamehameha the Great fought battles to unite the islands under one ruler. The hero is Kalani, a young Hawaiian man sent by his mother to become a warrior for Kamehameha to protect her and his sisters from slavery. He has much to learn. First: he has no genealogy to protect him from higher ranks, is threatened but survives, learns about women, slavery, treachery, guns and cannon, as well as human sacrifice. The second novel in this series, Conquest, begins when Kalani's wife is burned to death during a vicious nighttime attack on his farmland. He seeks revenge on the masked killers. Kalani spies for Kamehameha, helps Captain George Vancouver, disguises himself as a priest of Lono, and fights in dramatic battles set on Oahu.
All of the novels are well researched and reviewed by Kirkus.
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July 9, 2023
This book takes place in a critical time in Hawai’i history. The elimination of the kapu system was necessary for the people to survive in a changing world. The character Kai is a bright and vibrant. This is a great way to examine the time period.
Displaying 1 of 1 review