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White Mountain
In my tribe you are not born with a name, but must earn it.
My father is called Meatfist because he hunts with his bare hands. Songspeaker's name was decided early, for she turns the stories of our people into beautiful music that we listen to as we sit around the fires at night. My brother Surefoot received his name because he can climb anything - he seems to walk up cliff walls as easily as the rest of us walk on flat land.
I remained Nameless for so long - until I discovered I was a Skinchanger.
My father is called Meatfist because he hunts with his bare hands. Songspeaker's name was decided early, for she turns the stories of our people into beautiful music that we listen to as we sit around the fires at night. My brother Surefoot received his name because he can climb anything - he seems to walk up cliff walls as easily as the rest of us walk on flat land.
I remained Nameless for so long - until I discovered I was a Skinchanger.
50 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 31, 2015
About the author
James T. Witherspoon
3 books7 followersI've been creating stories my entire life. The first I can remember was a gruesome tale about a dinosaur hiding in the woods behind my house - written on construction paper and bound together with yarn. I'd like to think that I've improved somewhat since then.
I write mostly speculative fiction - sci-fi and fantasy both - and there's likely a little horror in everything I write. I'm a big fan of movies, video games, and table-top games - including Dungeons and Dragons (my other favorite form of storytelling).
I live in northern Texas, but if I had the funds, I would move to a new city every few months. Just long enough to learn the place, get accustomed to it, and then move again.
I write mostly speculative fiction - sci-fi and fantasy both - and there's likely a little horror in everything I write. I'm a big fan of movies, video games, and table-top games - including Dungeons and Dragons (my other favorite form of storytelling).
I live in northern Texas, but if I had the funds, I would move to a new city every few months. Just long enough to learn the place, get accustomed to it, and then move again.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
April 6, 2015
Nameless was born into a tribe of hunters that live in an icy tundra in the north. Nameless's father is the clan chief who is renowned for killing bears with his bare hands, his brother is blessed with incredible balance, and his best friend can use magic.
Nameless has yet to display any exceptional ability. Since he's part of a tribe that names its members for their exceptional abilities, he remains nameless. Until the day everything changed.
White Mountain was an interesting tale of a younger son Nameless who becomes a skinchanger. The skin he changes into is shocking as it's his tribe's main source of food and clothing...a bear. Fortunately for Nameless he changes into a large white bear rather than the brown bears that live near his tribe. After transforming into a white bear, Nameless's father finally gives him his name White Mountain.
The beginning of the story really pulled me in. I liked Nameless and felt for someone with no particular talent in a tribe where talents aren't just lauded they in fact become a persons name. The story stayed interesting as he changed into a white bear earning the name White Mountain. I got excited about seeing a training of sort where the skinchanging White Mountain learned to harness his abilities and even change into different types of animals.
Unfortunately shortly into that the story changed from a young man adjusting to his skinchanging abilities to a story on how people are just other animals and shouldn't feel they are more important than any other living thing. The dialogue at one point literally says that with no room for interpretation. All this is accomplished while the main character as a white bear hunts and kills seals to sustain himself and his partner. The story took on a national geographic in the arctic tone which wasn't too interesting to me.
One other thing that I personally disliked is that Nameless/White Mountain's internal dialogue read at times as though he was explaining everything that was happening to the reader rather than the reader experiencing it right along with him.
White Mountain certainly has moments that really caught my interest, but overall it was just OK.
2.5 out of 5 stars
Nameless has yet to display any exceptional ability. Since he's part of a tribe that names its members for their exceptional abilities, he remains nameless. Until the day everything changed.
White Mountain was an interesting tale of a younger son Nameless who becomes a skinchanger. The skin he changes into is shocking as it's his tribe's main source of food and clothing...a bear. Fortunately for Nameless he changes into a large white bear rather than the brown bears that live near his tribe. After transforming into a white bear, Nameless's father finally gives him his name White Mountain.
The beginning of the story really pulled me in. I liked Nameless and felt for someone with no particular talent in a tribe where talents aren't just lauded they in fact become a persons name. The story stayed interesting as he changed into a white bear earning the name White Mountain. I got excited about seeing a training of sort where the skinchanging White Mountain learned to harness his abilities and even change into different types of animals.
Unfortunately shortly into that the story changed from a young man adjusting to his skinchanging abilities to a story on how people are just other animals and shouldn't feel they are more important than any other living thing. The dialogue at one point literally says that with no room for interpretation. All this is accomplished while the main character as a white bear hunts and kills seals to sustain himself and his partner. The story took on a national geographic in the arctic tone which wasn't too interesting to me.
One other thing that I personally disliked is that Nameless/White Mountain's internal dialogue read at times as though he was explaining everything that was happening to the reader rather than the reader experiencing it right along with him.
White Mountain certainly has moments that really caught my interest, but overall it was just OK.
2.5 out of 5 stars
Displaying 1 of 1 review