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Totem
A group of workmen unwittingly disturb an ancient Indian burial ground and unleash the Ancient One, a creature with a taste for evil that can only be stopped by one person.
400 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1989
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
September 29, 2024
Wow, what an uncanny and thrilling read. What happens when Joe and his team of construction workers find the remains of a buried Indian? What about the mysterious woman Corina MacDonald? Why is murder talking place and who kills the workers of the construction team? What is so special with the paintings Corina did? Will there be a happy ending for Joe and Corina? Is the police of help? Why do the dead come back as spirits? But most important of all who is the Spirit Walker? Here Ehren M. Ehly draws all registers. She comes up with her scariest novel, great Indian lore and an extremely terrifying monster. Love story, monster, sacrifices, mythology... this blast from the past has it all. My favorite of her novels. Highly recommended!
September 14, 2024
I had been looing for an affordable copy of this for years, it being the only Ehly novel I hadn't read. While I would not say I am disappointed, this did not measure up to her best (Evil Eye). Ancient American Indian curses, burial grounds, etc. were common fodder for the 80s horror boom, and Ehly decided to toss her hat into this trope in Totem. At first, I thought this was a pretty blasé, standard romp, but Ehly put enough twists and such into it that, while not transcending the typical 'Indian horror' genre, still proved to be a fun read.
Our protagonist, Joe, starts the novel at the site for his new housing project. Joe and his partner, a contractor, put all their eggs into a gamble that Southern California needs some new houses and now have plans for a smallish development in the hills. On the first day, however, some strange things happen. First, a hawk flying over the site drops from the sky as if dead; Joe picks it up and has a rather odd 'communal' experience with it before it flies away. Next, a bulldozer unearths an old Indian basket full of bones. Typically (and by law), such finds need to be reported and such, usually with some delays as people search for more remains. Joe's partner, however, just chucks the basket over the edge of a nearby canyon and tells everyone to get back to work. An Indian worker on the site tells everyone 'bad things' will happen to everyone there; omens and all that.
Well, sure enough, people on the crew start dying in strange ways. First, the bulldozer driver loses control and takes it on a nosedive into the canyon. Simple accident! But more 'accidents' start to happen and the local cops sense something amiss. About the same time as these events, an Indian woman (Corina) shows up at the site; seems she is the mom of the laborer that had discussed omens. Corina had been working as an artist in NYC (painter) and doing well, but she dropped everything to fly back to California. Turns out she is some sort of shaman...
Overall, a fast and fun read, with some inventive foo along the way. This felt pretty paint by the numbers for the first third or so, but Ehly did add a few twists that showed some promise. I wish she had written more! Finally, another killer cover, with a 3/4 size front that flips back to show the Indian woman on the cover half zombie like and horrible. Worth a read if you can find it! 3 totems!!
Our protagonist, Joe, starts the novel at the site for his new housing project. Joe and his partner, a contractor, put all their eggs into a gamble that Southern California needs some new houses and now have plans for a smallish development in the hills. On the first day, however, some strange things happen. First, a hawk flying over the site drops from the sky as if dead; Joe picks it up and has a rather odd 'communal' experience with it before it flies away. Next, a bulldozer unearths an old Indian basket full of bones. Typically (and by law), such finds need to be reported and such, usually with some delays as people search for more remains. Joe's partner, however, just chucks the basket over the edge of a nearby canyon and tells everyone to get back to work. An Indian worker on the site tells everyone 'bad things' will happen to everyone there; omens and all that.
Well, sure enough, people on the crew start dying in strange ways. First, the bulldozer driver loses control and takes it on a nosedive into the canyon. Simple accident! But more 'accidents' start to happen and the local cops sense something amiss. About the same time as these events, an Indian woman (Corina) shows up at the site; seems she is the mom of the laborer that had discussed omens. Corina had been working as an artist in NYC (painter) and doing well, but she dropped everything to fly back to California. Turns out she is some sort of shaman...
Overall, a fast and fun read, with some inventive foo along the way. This felt pretty paint by the numbers for the first third or so, but Ehly did add a few twists that showed some promise. I wish she had written more! Finally, another killer cover, with a 3/4 size front that flips back to show the Indian woman on the cover half zombie like and horrible. Worth a read if you can find it! 3 totems!!
December 23, 2024
A guy thinks he's struck it big in the construction business when he starts work on some houses in a prime location. Thing is, his partner kicks and defiles a bunch of old Indian artifacts that they uncover. He smashes skulls and hurls bones into the canyon. Soon after, he dies. Horribly. Others from the work site turn up dead too. The remaining partner is joined by a mysterious Indian woman / Shaman and they try to calm the Spirit-Walker.
A pretty nice book that I have passed up a few times in the past. I finally picked it up the last time I saw it and was not disappointed. You can't beat a desecration of holy land by greedy developers who then turn up dead book if it's done right. This one was.
A pretty nice book that I have passed up a few times in the past. I finally picked it up the last time I saw it and was not disappointed. You can't beat a desecration of holy land by greedy developers who then turn up dead book if it's done right. This one was.
January 1, 2018
A 4.5 out of 5. Not PC in any way, but a hell of a lot of fun.
Could not put it down.
Could not put it down.
July 19, 2024
Native American mythology, ghosts, an ancient creature. Too many POVs at every chapter. Alright.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews