Children of the Sun

by Charlotte Prentiss

DANGER AND DESIRE IN A PRIMEVAL WORLD

In the American Southwest, ten thousand years after the last Ice Age swept the earth, a peaceful tribe of cave dwellers hunt and till the land. Beautiful, sensuous Nisha, known as the defiant one, dares to choose her own mate despite the tribe's disapproval. And together, the fierce passion between these two gives life to an infant son, destined to become the Great Hunter.

But one night, under a sky filled with ominous stars, Nisha's world is viciously destroyed by a pillaging, raping tribe of nomads. Watching in helpless horror as her husband and son are murdered, Nisha vows revenge. With relentless wit and wile, she plays her captors against each other, titillating them with a new kind of lovemaking, outsmarting and taming their brutishness. And with the triumphant courage of a resolute risk take, Nisha escapes into a new life, filled with new adventure, passion - and love.

Genres: Native American, Prehistoric, Historical Fiction, Fiction

411 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published November 1, 1995

About the author

Charlotte Prentiss is a pseudonym of Charles Platt

Reviews

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Out of the three books in this trilogy by Charlotte Prentiss (Children of the Ice, People of the Mesa and this one) Children of the Sun was probably the most intriguing. It was more sexual than the others, to be sure- which was interesting because through this, Prentiss was able to show the primitive savagery of the warrior tribe, as opposed to the sophistication of the Hohokam and Anasazi tribes. Having Nisha do a lot of travel was beneficial to the reader- we were able to experience the cave dwelling people, the valley dwellers, and the people who lived on the mesa- descendants of the people who originally found the mesa in the last novel. She is very descriptive of her characters and surroundings, but not so much so that it goes on forever like Jane Auel (going on for pages about how the people made a boat out of a tree is fodder for insomnia-ridden evenings, to be sure). The only downside here is it gets more and more unbelievable each time Nisha escapes or gets her revenge. If you don't mind too much violence or sexual detail, this might be the pre-history book for you.

[Manuela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall, it was enjoyable. For me, it started well and moved fast-paced. My biggest struggles with the book: 1. The erotic "gift" she has, that all these men seem to want from her, is giving very good hand-jobs. I mean, I see how the author tries explaining that these "men take what they want from women" and "haven't been given extasy" but... I'm pretty sure you're not winning over entire hoards of men with that.
2. Near the end, she forms a lesbian relationship with another tribe's girl. So, at the end, she essentially leads the girl on while thinking of a shaman man she use to know. Not that cool.
Otherwise, it was a fun read and I enjoyed the time period. My mind portrayed a skewed version of the movie 10,000BC.

[Victoria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hands down the best book in the trilogy! Letting go of things is never easy especially when you feel it's all your fault things happened the way they did. However determination and courage can take anyone where they want to go. Loved all three books that not only showcased Native Americans but even more so: Women who were, Strong, Beautiful, Courageous and so many other things.