People of the Wolf

People of the Wolf (North America's Forgotten Past #1) by Kathleen O'Neal Gear and W. Michael Gear, dramatized by a full cast (1990) 448 pages

Hoopla has a fully dramatized GraphicAudio version split into two halves. There is music and sound effects throughout. I've read other historical fiction about ancient people of pre-history. This one is much more about mysticism, destiny, and dreams than the day to day survival of early humans using the plants and animals available to them. It is about migration patterns and reminded me of a PBS Nova program that looked at Ice Age Footprints. Archeologists are finding that humans came across to the Americas much earlier than previously thought. The story mainly concerns two brothers who compete to lead their people, their tribe. One brother is power hungry and wants to fight to destroy the "Others," who are maybe Neanderthals, or maybe just another tribe of Homo Sapiens. Classic dark versus light theme. The good brother has a dream of the wolf spirit leading the people South past the great ice. He doesn't want the responsibility of being a dreamer for the people at first. He eventually learns from an experienced dreamer named Heron about the oneness of life. I don't think I'll continue the series. It wasn't as good as the series that starts with The Clan of the Cave Bear. But it wasn't terrible either.

Lair of Dreams: A Diviners novel

Lair of Dreams: A Diviners Novel by Libba Bray, 613 pages.

Evie O'Neill is back in the second Diviners novel. She and all her friends battle a strange ghost that traps people in their dreams. The city is paralyzed by this sleeping sickness. Bray does a good job of presenting a diverse cast of characters, but they all lean somewhat towards melodrama. I had listened to the first diviners novel back in 2013 while I was wandering around Xian, so I have fond memories of that book. I listened to this one too, but it never really brought me in. I am kind of surprised that I listened to the third book too.
Capably narrated by January Levoy.

Fallen/Lauren Kate

Fallen by Lauren Kate; young adult; 452 pages

When you have a book called "Fallen," with characters like Gabrielle, Luce, Daniel Grigori, and "Cam" Briel, it's not too hard to figure out the plot. So the fact that the main character couldn't figure out she was surrounded by angels really got to me. I spent most of the book silently snarling at her to wake up, which didn't happen until the very, very end (last 40 pages). Ugh. Otherwise, this is a good read, but clearly riding on Twilight's success. Most of the book is the two main characters being Mysteriously Drawn to One Another, but unable to be together, for theirs is a Forbidden Love. Yeah , okay, I'm getting kind of snarky as a think about it. I read it quickly, and I enjoyed it, but I enjoyed it in the way you really enjoy s'mores: a little is good, but too much and the sugar overwhelms. Also, it's the first in a series, so there's more to come.