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Sacred Mounds
Cyclonic hordes of insects, a telepathic despot, body-swapping sex - just a few of the surprises Salvador Samuels encounters when he finds himself swept back to pre-colonial times walking in the moccasins of a blind Indian - who, in turn, has been transported into Salvador's body in present day America. Four hundred years apart, they're bound by a common mission to rescue our world, aided by the mysterious presence of the mounds. Thousands of these ancient earthworks once dotted the landscape of North America. We still don't know why they were created. Sacred Mounds suggests they are as important today as when they were made over a thousand years ago.
Sacred Mounds, a first novel of magical realism and historical fantasy, weaves the stories of two men, each a stranger in a strange land. With the help of two remarkable women, they must find a way to save our planet and return home.
From Jim Metzner, producer of the Pulse of the Planet series and podcast, with a foreword by Hutke Fields, principal chief of the Natchez Nation.
Sacred Mounds, a first novel of magical realism and historical fantasy, weaves the stories of two men, each a stranger in a strange land. With the help of two remarkable women, they must find a way to save our planet and return home.
From Jim Metzner, producer of the Pulse of the Planet series and podcast, with a foreword by Hutke Fields, principal chief of the Natchez Nation.
375 pages, Paperback
Published June 16, 2020
1 person is currently reading
25 people want to read
About the author
Jim Metzner
6 books11 followersActor, singer, writer and sound-recordist Jim is best known as the producer of the radio series and podcast Pulse of the Planet. His forty-year archive of sounds is now part of the permanent collection of the Library of Congress in Washington, DC.
Jim has given presentations around the world as a Fulbright Specialist.
Sacred Mounds, his first novel, is a finalist in Screencraft's Cinematic Book Competition.
https://writers.coverfly.com/lists/sc...
For more information visit https://www.jimmetznerproductions.com and https://www.sacredmoundsnovel.com
Praise for Sacred Mounds:
"This is a rollicking, thought-provoking, rollercoaster of a novel. It's time traveling on steroids, but it asks big questions. Bravo." Ken Burns
"Amazing…fresh and vivid. Metzner is an extravagantly imaginative writer." Orson Scott Card, author, Ender's Game
Jim has given presentations around the world as a Fulbright Specialist.
Sacred Mounds, his first novel, is a finalist in Screencraft's Cinematic Book Competition.
https://writers.coverfly.com/lists/sc...
For more information visit https://www.jimmetznerproductions.com and https://www.sacredmoundsnovel.com
Praise for Sacred Mounds:
"This is a rollicking, thought-provoking, rollercoaster of a novel. It's time traveling on steroids, but it asks big questions. Bravo." Ken Burns
"Amazing…fresh and vivid. Metzner is an extravagantly imaginative writer." Orson Scott Card, author, Ender's Game
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
June 6, 2020
Sometimes it takes a whirlwind to pull us into to the center of ourselves. Jim Metzner has created two such tornados in different timeframes and two protagonists who must lose their identifies in order to find them. A Natchez Indian from the distant past and a modern New Yorker are compelled to switch more than their bodies, in this novel that is a striking metaphor for humanity’s ongoing schism with itself.
Salvador “Lewis” Samuels, recently divorced and needing to mend, drives to Mississippi to unwind, picturing himself sipping mint juleps on a porch and smelling the roses. He makes a fateful decision to pull off the road at the “Ancient Mound 7 Miles” sign, pitch his tent at the top of the Mound to spend the night. He wakes up from an intense dream and runs his hands over what is clearly not his body—muscular and naked except for a cloth tied at the waist. Lewis’s eyes are open but what he sees are the sort of colors that appear when they are shut after having looked at the sun too much.
Meanwhile Skyfisher, a Natchez who has a lifelong fascination with the Sacred Place, spends the night there and is found bruised and delirious in the morning by his wife, Tell Me a Story. She realizes that her husband is a stranger to himself.
As the two men adapt to their wildly different but equally wild surroundings, they each learn how to see and communicate in new ways that have implications for our future here on earth. Without giving away too much, it is safe to say that this immensely entertaining book will take you to new heights of inner madness and well as delight. Sacred Mounds explores the human psyche in ways reminiscent of Huxley and sparkles with satire that brings Vonnegut to mind. I highly recommend taking the ride.
Salvador “Lewis” Samuels, recently divorced and needing to mend, drives to Mississippi to unwind, picturing himself sipping mint juleps on a porch and smelling the roses. He makes a fateful decision to pull off the road at the “Ancient Mound 7 Miles” sign, pitch his tent at the top of the Mound to spend the night. He wakes up from an intense dream and runs his hands over what is clearly not his body—muscular and naked except for a cloth tied at the waist. Lewis’s eyes are open but what he sees are the sort of colors that appear when they are shut after having looked at the sun too much.
Meanwhile Skyfisher, a Natchez who has a lifelong fascination with the Sacred Place, spends the night there and is found bruised and delirious in the morning by his wife, Tell Me a Story. She realizes that her husband is a stranger to himself.
As the two men adapt to their wildly different but equally wild surroundings, they each learn how to see and communicate in new ways that have implications for our future here on earth. Without giving away too much, it is safe to say that this immensely entertaining book will take you to new heights of inner madness and well as delight. Sacred Mounds explores the human psyche in ways reminiscent of Huxley and sparkles with satire that brings Vonnegut to mind. I highly recommend taking the ride.
October 15, 2020
Jim Metzner’s historical fantasy Sacred Mounds opens with a man who has lost time and gained a tattoo on the palm of his hand. Meet Salvador Samuels, a middle-aged man of no particular distinction, except for being the “only Jew on the planet answering to this name.” But don’t call him Salvador; call him Lewis.
Nine months previously, Lewis had awoken from a coma in Mississippi with no idea how he got there, a chunk of his memory missing, and the tattoo of an eye on his right hand. He is now driving home to Kingston, New York when he hears a call for help over the car radio on behalf of a public radio station fundraiser gone awry in the Hudson River. The chapter ends with a cliffhanger to propel the reader into the mystery of Lewis’s lost time.
I particularly admire the way this first chapter set up the major themes of the novel without my even being aware of it until I went back to the beginning of the book to write my review. This is a true sign of a writer in full command of his craft.
Sacred Mounds is a novel about perception: perception of self, perception of others, perception of nature, history, culture, and consciousness, both individual and collective. It is no accident, then, that in the first chapter, Salvador/Lewis is introduced as a Baby Boomer, a member of the generation who experienced “a glowing moment of collective conscience [as] hippies, consciousness pioneers, lifestyle pioneers, not to mention freedloaders, gadflies, and socialists.” A member of the turn on, tune in, drop out generation.
And drop out he does, right into the body of a blind sixteenth-century member of the Natchez Nation named Skyfisher. He is found dazed and bleeding by Skyfisher’s wife Tell Me a Story, who tends to his wounds and gives him something to eat. And what of Lewis’s own body? Skyfisher finds himself in the naked body of an older sighted man with a thudding headache. He, too, is rescued by a young woman, a former archaeologist whose area of study was the tribes of the lower Mississippi Valley, including the Natchez.
Metzner deftly handles the dual storylines as each man must learn to navigate the language and day-to-day necessities for living in a world not his own. Both storylines are well-informed by research into the Natchez people, the twenty-first century storyline focusing on language, the sixteenth-century storyline focusing on customs and ritual.
The book’s primary conflict involves Skyfisher and Lewis's dual role in restoring and strengthening the collective consciousness of the Natchez people, tied to the sacred mounds their prehistoric ancestors left behind. This conflict is developed through a fast-paced plot with plenty of violence and just the right seasoning of wry humor. As the conflict intensifies, so does the suspense of wondering how Metzner will return each man to his rightful body.
In the end, this highly-imaginative and thought-provoking novel leaves me wondering what it will take for the indiginous people of North America to be restored to their rightful place not only in history but in current society as well.
Nine months previously, Lewis had awoken from a coma in Mississippi with no idea how he got there, a chunk of his memory missing, and the tattoo of an eye on his right hand. He is now driving home to Kingston, New York when he hears a call for help over the car radio on behalf of a public radio station fundraiser gone awry in the Hudson River. The chapter ends with a cliffhanger to propel the reader into the mystery of Lewis’s lost time.
I particularly admire the way this first chapter set up the major themes of the novel without my even being aware of it until I went back to the beginning of the book to write my review. This is a true sign of a writer in full command of his craft.
Sacred Mounds is a novel about perception: perception of self, perception of others, perception of nature, history, culture, and consciousness, both individual and collective. It is no accident, then, that in the first chapter, Salvador/Lewis is introduced as a Baby Boomer, a member of the generation who experienced “a glowing moment of collective conscience [as] hippies, consciousness pioneers, lifestyle pioneers, not to mention freedloaders, gadflies, and socialists.” A member of the turn on, tune in, drop out generation.
And drop out he does, right into the body of a blind sixteenth-century member of the Natchez Nation named Skyfisher. He is found dazed and bleeding by Skyfisher’s wife Tell Me a Story, who tends to his wounds and gives him something to eat. And what of Lewis’s own body? Skyfisher finds himself in the naked body of an older sighted man with a thudding headache. He, too, is rescued by a young woman, a former archaeologist whose area of study was the tribes of the lower Mississippi Valley, including the Natchez.
Metzner deftly handles the dual storylines as each man must learn to navigate the language and day-to-day necessities for living in a world not his own. Both storylines are well-informed by research into the Natchez people, the twenty-first century storyline focusing on language, the sixteenth-century storyline focusing on customs and ritual.
The book’s primary conflict involves Skyfisher and Lewis's dual role in restoring and strengthening the collective consciousness of the Natchez people, tied to the sacred mounds their prehistoric ancestors left behind. This conflict is developed through a fast-paced plot with plenty of violence and just the right seasoning of wry humor. As the conflict intensifies, so does the suspense of wondering how Metzner will return each man to his rightful body.
In the end, this highly-imaginative and thought-provoking novel leaves me wondering what it will take for the indiginous people of North America to be restored to their rightful place not only in history but in current society as well.
September 22, 2020
A good measure of an author is his or her ability to take you into another world, and feel like you are really there. By that measure, author Jim Metzner succeeds beautifully. His characters time travel between the land of the Natchez hundreds of years ago and present day America, and it's all wrapped up in the spirituality of the Natchez, where not only is time travel possible, but so is ESP and mind control. The leader believes this is all possible because the characters believe it is possible. The characters are real and likable (my favorite is the woman "Tell Me a Story"), and the reader gets caught up in their stories. There were times where I didn't care for his "head-jumping" POV, but that is simply my style preference. Bottom line: Jim is an excellent story teller.
February 27, 2021
An ancient ritual binds the bodies and spirits of two men living centuries apart. The souls of Skyfisher, a Natchez living in what would be Mississippi in the 1600's and Salvador, a man in present day New York are switched in order to fulfill a mission to heal the world. Complete strangers to each other's world and way of life, the two men are helped along by two women who believe their wild claims and help them to understand the world they have found themselves in.
Sacred Mounds is a mysterious journey that connects Natchez traditions and beliefs with the state of our planet today. The introduction pulled me in with the mystery behind Salvador's memory lapse and tattoo that he does not recollect receiving. After that, the writing bounces back and forth between Salvador and Skyfisher's worlds creating an almost dizzying sense of place as the two men switch bodies through time. I enjoyed reading about the Natchez traditions, way of life, religions and use of the mounds. I was surprised to learn that the mounds once extended all the way up through the Northeast as well as the fact that much of the Natchez people's heritage has been erased. Skyfisher and Salvador were compelling characters, especially once they were in one another's bodies. Even more captivating were Inez and Tell Me a Story, the women that served as guides for the men in mismatched bodies. While I'm not quite sure if the men succeeded on the journeys, I feel like there is definitely more in this story to unfold.
This book was received for free in return for an honest review.
Sacred Mounds is a mysterious journey that connects Natchez traditions and beliefs with the state of our planet today. The introduction pulled me in with the mystery behind Salvador's memory lapse and tattoo that he does not recollect receiving. After that, the writing bounces back and forth between Salvador and Skyfisher's worlds creating an almost dizzying sense of place as the two men switch bodies through time. I enjoyed reading about the Natchez traditions, way of life, religions and use of the mounds. I was surprised to learn that the mounds once extended all the way up through the Northeast as well as the fact that much of the Natchez people's heritage has been erased. Skyfisher and Salvador were compelling characters, especially once they were in one another's bodies. Even more captivating were Inez and Tell Me a Story, the women that served as guides for the men in mismatched bodies. While I'm not quite sure if the men succeeded on the journeys, I feel like there is definitely more in this story to unfold.
This book was received for free in return for an honest review.
October 3, 2020
This could not have been an easy novel to write (though, no good novel is). I genuinely wonder if Metzner spent far more time doing research than he did at a keyboard. To author such an engaging and poetically descriptive story steeped in the culture and mythos of the relatively unknown Natchez Indian tribe is something somewhat beyond an impressive literary feat.
The title of the book was on my mind as I began reading, naturally, and as I came to the first time warp scene I kept seeing the word "scared" used in several places--and yes, there are some scary scenes that will keep you on edge. The sacred/scared anagram was likely not intended by the author (why would it be?) but such is the way my mind works. With that thought I settled in for what was clearly going to be an exciting and interesting ride. And it was.
Jim Metzner's captivating style kept me in the book. I am not one to read for hours on end, but I found myself so invested in the characters (Skyfisher, Tell Me A Story, Lewis Samuels) and the back-and-forth time of traveling and body-switching, that I did and easily so. Don't think this is just another fantasy thriller, however. There are serious underlying themes woven in throughout, notably the importance of understanding of self and relationship searching. If you are looking for a magnificently different and captivating story, look no further than Sacred Mounds.
The title of the book was on my mind as I began reading, naturally, and as I came to the first time warp scene I kept seeing the word "scared" used in several places--and yes, there are some scary scenes that will keep you on edge. The sacred/scared anagram was likely not intended by the author (why would it be?) but such is the way my mind works. With that thought I settled in for what was clearly going to be an exciting and interesting ride. And it was.
Jim Metzner's captivating style kept me in the book. I am not one to read for hours on end, but I found myself so invested in the characters (Skyfisher, Tell Me A Story, Lewis Samuels) and the back-and-forth time of traveling and body-switching, that I did and easily so. Don't think this is just another fantasy thriller, however. There are serious underlying themes woven in throughout, notably the importance of understanding of self and relationship searching. If you are looking for a magnificently different and captivating story, look no further than Sacred Mounds.
December 6, 2020
Salvador “Lewis” Samuels is a baby boomer from Kingston, New York. Skyfisher is a member of the Natchez tribe in what is present-day Mississippi. Skyfisher is a Shining One, a member of the Society of Light, tribesmen who commune on a telepathic level and share visions, a “vast receptor” of “live wire circuitry.” In this time traveling, historical fantasy, they awaken in each other’s bodies and must navigate their respective realities. Lewis, as Skyfisher, learns the ways of the kuash, the Shining Ones who share one breath. Skyfisher, inhabiting Lewis’ body, learns that his people died out long ago, killed by warring French and driven west in the Trail of Tears, and that the last fluent Natchez speaker died in 1986. Skyfisher teaches his latter-day incarnation to “listen to the world itself,” and tells him to save his people, for it is too late for him. The novel speaks to our shared humanity and the need for empathy; it asks what it is like to inhabit another’s skin; it illustrates vividly the interconnectedness of all things, via the mythology of the Natchez and the kuash who commune with nature and prepare for the day when they will listen and align with the stars.
October 2, 2020
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court has nothing on Jim Metzner’s Sacred Mounds. For one thing, not only does Salvador (Lewis) Samuels, a recently divorced New Yorker find himself in an earlier century, he finds himself in another man’s body, a Native American’s body. And blind. And that man, Skyfisher, a Natchez Indian, suddenly finds himself in Lewis’s world. And sighted. Try and get your head around that.
Although I was in awe of Metzner’s meticulous research, the idea of each man finding himself in a completely different time and culture, not knowing the language or customs, not knowing if he’d ever go back to his own time and people, struck me as the most meaningful and thought-provoking. Perhaps because I, too, have lived in a foreign country where I didn’t understand the language or customs of the people. But at least I had the ability to write home or telephone. A lesson I learned during that time is that even though I didn’t completely understand the language, the essence of the people I met came through. I think Lewis and Skyfisher found the same thing—good people and bad people.
Sacred Mounds is a helluva ride. I think you’ll enjoy it.
Although I was in awe of Metzner’s meticulous research, the idea of each man finding himself in a completely different time and culture, not knowing the language or customs, not knowing if he’d ever go back to his own time and people, struck me as the most meaningful and thought-provoking. Perhaps because I, too, have lived in a foreign country where I didn’t understand the language or customs of the people. But at least I had the ability to write home or telephone. A lesson I learned during that time is that even though I didn’t completely understand the language, the essence of the people I met came through. I think Lewis and Skyfisher found the same thing—good people and bad people.
Sacred Mounds is a helluva ride. I think you’ll enjoy it.
October 19, 2020
Two men, one from modern and one from precolonial times, swop bodies in Jim Metzner’s well observed novel, Sacred Mounds. A Natchez Indian and a contemporary New Yorker, both protagonists are, in their own way, trying to save the world. A combination of historical realism and narrative fantasy. The title refers to the mysterious mounds, often called burial mounds that are found Central/Southern United States. Despite its literary category, Metzner displays some wonderfully accurate historical detail. An unusual novel with lots of surprises. Highly recommended.
March 31, 2022
“Sacred Mounds” is a historical fantasy and magical realism tale full of prose and a dual timeline with its main characters living 400 years apart. What connects Lewis and Skyfisher? Not much, and that’s the point. Skyfisher is on a quest to save his people, and the world, through strengthening the connection his people have to these sacred mounds. In order to do that, he must inhabit the body of someone in the future in order to bring those memories, appreciation, and understanding of these mounds and Natchez people to a place where they are otherwise almost forgotten. But while Skyfisher is in the future, inhabiting Lewis’ body, Lewis’ consciousness is placed into Skyfisher. Now Lewis is in the body of a blind man, with a wife he can’t communicate to, on a mission he knows nothing about, but he has to complete it if he ever wants to return to his rightful time and body.
The prose used in this book is lovely and gives it a literary feel that you don’t often see with historical fantasies, especially ones where a type of time travel is used. Sometimes that prose did get in the way of the story, in that it can take awhile to understand why Skyfisher, and the Shining Ones like him, are on this quest, or why they need to swap with people in the future to begin with. This book is full of different mysteries, and that’s just one of them! But there are machinations moving within Skyfisher’s tribe that Lewis has to navigate, as well as dealings with a crime family that wants Skyfisher for their own reasons as he inhabits Lewis’ body. There’s a lot going on in both timelines that can get confusing at times, but the clues are all there if you look for them. Which I applaud the author for being able to do in such a beautifully written way! But, personally, I would have liked some of those questions to have firmer answers.
I am not an own voices reviewer, but I believe the author did do a lot of research, and did their due diligence in speaking with the Natchez leaders so that their people and traditions were accurately portrayed in this work of fiction. I really appreciated the lengths the author went to in order to include that level of accuracy in his novel. However, because of the lyrical nature of this book (which is quite lovely, honestly) I am unsure if Skyfisher and Lewis actually succeeded come the end of the book. Which isn’t a bad thing necessarily, that’s not this kind of book, but it was hard to tell what actually had changed come the end of the story, at least for me personally. But that’s why I’m giving it 4 stars, the magical realism was amazing, there was plenty of action and intrigue, but I was still left a bit unsure come the end of Lewis and Skyfisher’s story. Maybe that means there will be a sequel? But thank you to the author for sending me an ARC for an honest review!
The prose used in this book is lovely and gives it a literary feel that you don’t often see with historical fantasies, especially ones where a type of time travel is used. Sometimes that prose did get in the way of the story, in that it can take awhile to understand why Skyfisher, and the Shining Ones like him, are on this quest, or why they need to swap with people in the future to begin with. This book is full of different mysteries, and that’s just one of them! But there are machinations moving within Skyfisher’s tribe that Lewis has to navigate, as well as dealings with a crime family that wants Skyfisher for their own reasons as he inhabits Lewis’ body. There’s a lot going on in both timelines that can get confusing at times, but the clues are all there if you look for them. Which I applaud the author for being able to do in such a beautifully written way! But, personally, I would have liked some of those questions to have firmer answers.
I am not an own voices reviewer, but I believe the author did do a lot of research, and did their due diligence in speaking with the Natchez leaders so that their people and traditions were accurately portrayed in this work of fiction. I really appreciated the lengths the author went to in order to include that level of accuracy in his novel. However, because of the lyrical nature of this book (which is quite lovely, honestly) I am unsure if Skyfisher and Lewis actually succeeded come the end of the book. Which isn’t a bad thing necessarily, that’s not this kind of book, but it was hard to tell what actually had changed come the end of the story, at least for me personally. But that’s why I’m giving it 4 stars, the magical realism was amazing, there was plenty of action and intrigue, but I was still left a bit unsure come the end of Lewis and Skyfisher’s story. Maybe that means there will be a sequel? But thank you to the author for sending me an ARC for an honest review!
September 5, 2020
Body swapping. Natchez Nation. Time travel. Mystical mounds. Guppy pride! Jim Metzner’s Sacred Mounds is a well-researched and fantastical novel took me places I’ve never been—not even in my deepest dreams. The visual qualities of this novel would be easily adaptable to film.
Salvador (Lewis) Samuels is about to start a new life. Post-divorce, he decides to spend the night on a historic site, prompted by a road sign that detours him off the main route. Atop that Sacred Mound, he is transformed, not partially but completely, swapping bodies with Skyfisher, a Natchez. No matter that the two men lived hundreds of years apart.
There’s so much happening above and below the surface of this book, real and imagined. I was prompted to research the Sacred Mounds, and they are real places. A quick search located sites in Ohio, Illinois, and Wisconsin.
While the book explores such topics as relationships, adaptation, self-realization, and tradition, the lyrical language winds like a beautiful thread throughout. “A rain of liquid golden fire, the deepest yellow imaginable, exploding into space as free – falling molten streams, golden droplets drifting…” Metzner’s descriptive passages are like stand-alone poetry. Combined, they captivate and enrich this unique story.
Salvador (Lewis) Samuels is about to start a new life. Post-divorce, he decides to spend the night on a historic site, prompted by a road sign that detours him off the main route. Atop that Sacred Mound, he is transformed, not partially but completely, swapping bodies with Skyfisher, a Natchez. No matter that the two men lived hundreds of years apart.
There’s so much happening above and below the surface of this book, real and imagined. I was prompted to research the Sacred Mounds, and they are real places. A quick search located sites in Ohio, Illinois, and Wisconsin.
While the book explores such topics as relationships, adaptation, self-realization, and tradition, the lyrical language winds like a beautiful thread throughout. “A rain of liquid golden fire, the deepest yellow imaginable, exploding into space as free – falling molten streams, golden droplets drifting…” Metzner’s descriptive passages are like stand-alone poetry. Combined, they captivate and enrich this unique story.
March 3, 2021
Sacred Mounds is a unique and vibrant Historical Fiction novel featuring two men from vastly different times in history who happen upon the magical mounds and wake up in each other's bodies and times.
Lewis Samuels is newly divorced and living in the present time. Skyfisher is a blind, Natchez Indian living centuries in the past. Both men have to learn about their new surroundings and events happening around them.
I greatly enjoyed learning more about the Natchez traditions and found Metzner's writing easy to follow and you can tell he's done his research.
While not my usual reading genre, I highly enjoyed the journey and look forward to more from Jim Metzner!
Lewis Samuels is newly divorced and living in the present time. Skyfisher is a blind, Natchez Indian living centuries in the past. Both men have to learn about their new surroundings and events happening around them.
I greatly enjoyed learning more about the Natchez traditions and found Metzner's writing easy to follow and you can tell he's done his research.
While not my usual reading genre, I highly enjoyed the journey and look forward to more from Jim Metzner!
July 5, 2020
Two men, one from modern and one from precolonial times, swop bodies in Jim Metzner’s well observed novel, Sacred Mounds. A Natchez Indian and a contemporary New Yorker, both protagonists are, in their own way, trying to save the world. A combination of historical realism and narrative fantasy. The title refers to the mysterious mounds, often called burial mounds that are found Central/Southern United States. Despite its literary category, Metzner displays some wonderfully accurate historical detail. An unusual novel with lots of surprises. Highly recommended.
August 27, 2020
Sometimes it takes a whirlwind to pull us into the center of ourselves. Jim Metzner has created two such tornados in different timeframes and two protagonists who must lose their identifies in order to find them. A Natchez Indian from the distant past and a modern New Yorker are compelled to switch more than their bodies, in this novel that is a striking metaphor for humanity’s ongoing schism with itself.
Salvador “Lewis” Samuels, recently divorced and needing to mend, drives to Mississippi to unwind, picturing himself sipping mint juleps on a porch and smelling the roses. He makes a fateful decision to pull off the road at the “Ancient Mound 7 Miles” sign, pitch his tent at the top of the Mound to spend the night. He wakes up from an intense dream and runs his hands over what is clearly not his body. Lewis’s eyes are open but what he sees are the sort of colors that appear when they are shut after having looked at the sun too much.
Meanwhile Skyfisher, a Natchez who has a lifelong fascination with the Sacred Place, spends the night there and is found bruised and delirious in the morning by his wife, Tell Me a Story. She realizes that her husband is a stranger to himself.
As the two men adapt to their wildly different but equally wild surroundings, they each learn how to see and communicate in new ways that have implications for our future here on earth. Without giving away too much, it is safe to say that this immensely entertaining book will take you to new heights of inner madness and well as delight. Sacred Mounds explores the human psyche in ways reminiscent of Huxley and sparkles with satire that brings Vonnegut to mind. I highly recommend taking the ride.
Salvador “Lewis” Samuels, recently divorced and needing to mend, drives to Mississippi to unwind, picturing himself sipping mint juleps on a porch and smelling the roses. He makes a fateful decision to pull off the road at the “Ancient Mound 7 Miles” sign, pitch his tent at the top of the Mound to spend the night. He wakes up from an intense dream and runs his hands over what is clearly not his body. Lewis’s eyes are open but what he sees are the sort of colors that appear when they are shut after having looked at the sun too much.
Meanwhile Skyfisher, a Natchez who has a lifelong fascination with the Sacred Place, spends the night there and is found bruised and delirious in the morning by his wife, Tell Me a Story. She realizes that her husband is a stranger to himself.
As the two men adapt to their wildly different but equally wild surroundings, they each learn how to see and communicate in new ways that have implications for our future here on earth. Without giving away too much, it is safe to say that this immensely entertaining book will take you to new heights of inner madness and well as delight. Sacred Mounds explores the human psyche in ways reminiscent of Huxley and sparkles with satire that brings Vonnegut to mind. I highly recommend taking the ride.
December 28, 2020
Body swapping. Natchez Nation. Time travel. Mystical mounds. Guppy pride! Jim Metzner’s Sacred Mounds is a well-researched and fantastical novel took me places I’ve never been—not even in my deepest dreams. The visual qualities of this novel would be easily adaptable to film.
Salvador (Lewis) Samuels is about to start a new life. Post-divorce, he decides to spend the night on a historic site, prompted by a road sign that detours him off the main route. Atop that Sacred Mound, he is transformed, not partially but completely, swapping bodies with Skyfisher, a Natchez. No matter that the two men lived hundreds of years apart.
There’s so much happening above and below the surface of this book, real and imagined. I was prompted to research the Sacred Mounds, and they are real places. A quick search located sites in Ohio, Illinois, and Wisconsin.
While the book explores such topics as relationships, adaptation, self-realization, and tradition, the lyrical language winds like a beautiful thread throughout. “A rain of liquid golden fire, the deepest yellow imaginable, exploding into space as free – falling molten streams, golden droplets drifting…” Metzner’s descriptive passages are like stand-alone poetry. Combined, they captivate and enrich this unique story.
Salvador (Lewis) Samuels is about to start a new life. Post-divorce, he decides to spend the night on a historic site, prompted by a road sign that detours him off the main route. Atop that Sacred Mound, he is transformed, not partially but completely, swapping bodies with Skyfisher, a Natchez. No matter that the two men lived hundreds of years apart.
There’s so much happening above and below the surface of this book, real and imagined. I was prompted to research the Sacred Mounds, and they are real places. A quick search located sites in Ohio, Illinois, and Wisconsin.
While the book explores such topics as relationships, adaptation, self-realization, and tradition, the lyrical language winds like a beautiful thread throughout. “A rain of liquid golden fire, the deepest yellow imaginable, exploding into space as free – falling molten streams, golden droplets drifting…” Metzner’s descriptive passages are like stand-alone poetry. Combined, they captivate and enrich this unique story.
March 1, 2021
Sacred Mounds by Jim Metzner is a really unique, well-researched, historical fantasy novel. Jim Metzner takes us on a fantastical adventure to such cool places. The writing is wonderful. I felt like I could use all of my senses because I was just transported into this story.
There is a lot happening in this novel, but it is followable! The book explores many themes, like adaption and relationships. It also explores fantasy elements with beautiful descriptions.
I don’t have the time to cover everything in this review. Honestly, this is a book that you need to experience. It is absolutely worth getting invested in because you will not be disappointed. I highly recommend Sacred Mounds!
*I received a free copy of this book from Historical Fiction Virtual Blog Tours to review honestly on the blog tour. All opinions are my own and unbiased.*
There is a lot happening in this novel, but it is followable! The book explores many themes, like adaption and relationships. It also explores fantasy elements with beautiful descriptions.
I don’t have the time to cover everything in this review. Honestly, this is a book that you need to experience. It is absolutely worth getting invested in because you will not be disappointed. I highly recommend Sacred Mounds!
*I received a free copy of this book from Historical Fiction Virtual Blog Tours to review honestly on the blog tour. All opinions are my own and unbiased.*
June 8, 2020
Good is the teacher with a storyteller's instinct, but far better is the storyteller with the power to teach. Metzner's narrative draws in and whirls us about, all the while helping us feel the texture of the sacred. Metzner reminds us that we all carry the power of the Sacred Mounds within us. We can find--in our blindness and our confusion--new ways to experience the beauty of the world. And new ways to name its meaning. Well done Jim Metzner!
October 24, 2020
Time Flies Reading Sacred Mounds
Salvador Samuels, aka Lewis, has memory problems. It's not just ordinary amnesia, more like a surreal condition the likes of which send him into dimensions of time and supernatural phenomenon that will keep you turning pages until you reach the surprising conclusion of author Jim Metzner's novel, Sacred Mounds.
Metzner weaves a combination of careful research mixed with imaginative imagery to create a story about two lost souls, three-hundred years apart, who's fate it is to have their identities switched. They then stumble through unfamiliar places and foreign cultures trying to find answers to their predicaments while, on another level, the future of today's world hinges on the balance of their success.
Lewis' mystical partner is a blind American Indian warrior of the Natchez tribe, named Skyfisher, the Blind One Who Sees. Each of the two displaced souls face challenges of assimilation among strangers who regard them oftentimes with skepticism and at other times open hostility. Either way, Lewis and Skyfisher are unwittingly swept into each other's worlds that leave little room for forbearance.
It takes a fertile imagination to breathe life into characters that exist in alternate planes of time and space and Metzner shows his skill bringing the two protagonists from the past and present together in a seamless narrative. Much of Sacred Mounds is built on the history of the Natchez, a proud culture that held an important position in America's indigenous population prior to the European invasion.
Metzner carefully constructs the Natchez's original way of life using scientific resources and input from members of today's Natchez community to take the reader on a roller-coaster ride through an unfamiliar landscape that is almost forgotten.
I recommend Sacred Mounds both as a fast-paced adventure story and an intelligent commentary on both native and contemporary American values, traditions and history.
Salvador Samuels, aka Lewis, has memory problems. It's not just ordinary amnesia, more like a surreal condition the likes of which send him into dimensions of time and supernatural phenomenon that will keep you turning pages until you reach the surprising conclusion of author Jim Metzner's novel, Sacred Mounds.
Metzner weaves a combination of careful research mixed with imaginative imagery to create a story about two lost souls, three-hundred years apart, who's fate it is to have their identities switched. They then stumble through unfamiliar places and foreign cultures trying to find answers to their predicaments while, on another level, the future of today's world hinges on the balance of their success.
Lewis' mystical partner is a blind American Indian warrior of the Natchez tribe, named Skyfisher, the Blind One Who Sees. Each of the two displaced souls face challenges of assimilation among strangers who regard them oftentimes with skepticism and at other times open hostility. Either way, Lewis and Skyfisher are unwittingly swept into each other's worlds that leave little room for forbearance.
It takes a fertile imagination to breathe life into characters that exist in alternate planes of time and space and Metzner shows his skill bringing the two protagonists from the past and present together in a seamless narrative. Much of Sacred Mounds is built on the history of the Natchez, a proud culture that held an important position in America's indigenous population prior to the European invasion.
Metzner carefully constructs the Natchez's original way of life using scientific resources and input from members of today's Natchez community to take the reader on a roller-coaster ride through an unfamiliar landscape that is almost forgotten.
I recommend Sacred Mounds both as a fast-paced adventure story and an intelligent commentary on both native and contemporary American values, traditions and history.
January 13, 2023
The past, the present and the future all in one! For me this book was a real page-turner. Jim's picture-painting ability is excellent, as might be expected from someone with the meticulous ear for the details of a place that he has shown in his iconic radio shows. I like the fact that there are three strong female characters in amongst all the testosterone-plagued guys. I was a bit worried about getting lost in the welter of person names in the 17th-Century parts of the story. But I mostly sorted it all out after a while and was eager to learn how the ancient and contemporary worlds interacted. It's a great romp, the pace of which increases as the drama unfolds.
April 18, 2021
This novel sucks you in and won’t let go until the last word, which I suspect is not the last at all. A historical fantasy brimming with adventure in the world of the vanishing Natchez tribes in both early America and 21st America with a dual timeline based on possession. Gritty and humorous, thrilling and captivating, I highly recommend this book and other books by Jim Metzner.
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