Once There Was Fire: A Novel of Old Hawaii

by Stephen Shender

Overview

The Hawaiian people lived in an isolated Eden and fought over it for centuries. When pale strangers with 'pointed heads', strange 'skins', and magical weapons came from beyond the horizon on 'floating islands', the Hawaiians thought they were gods. One man understood these 'gods' were men, and that their arrival had changed everything for his people. He would go on to defeat his rivals, unite the Hawaiian Islands, and found a new kingdom at the crossroads of the Pacific Ocean. His name was Kamehameha. Once There Was Fire brings a little-understood, historically remote era to life through the words and actions of its memorable characters: Kamehameha, his strong-willed and rebellious consort, Ka'ahumanu, his favorite brother, Keli'imaika'i, and Kamehameha's sons, nephews, comrades in arms, haole advisers, and bitter enemies. The novel invites readers to see Hawaii of the mid-18th and early 19th centuries as the old Hawaiians themselves might have seen and experienced it on the cusp of their passage from splendid isolation to the wider world.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9798218150143
Publisher:	Pai'ea Press
Publication date:	06/23/2023
Pages:	548
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.19(d)

About the Author

Stephen Shender worked for nearly 30 years as a journalist, political and corporate speechwriter, and marketing communications writer. Once There Was Fire is his first novel. A frequent visitor to Hawaii, Mr. Shender lives with his wife, cat, and blue and gold macaw on California's Central Coast. Once There Was Fire is his first novel.

Editorial Reviews

07/06/2020

Shender’s eye-opening chronicle of the Hawaiian kingdom is narrated by Nāmākeha’okalani, nephew of King Kamehameha. In 1858, Nāmākeha’okalani sits down to record the stories of Kamehameha as told by his father, Kalanimālokuloku, determined to preserve a record of the time before the haole (foreigners) came to the islands. Nāmākeha’okalani begins with the king’s birth and isolated early years in the 1730s, his development as a warrior and leader, ascendance to power, and his determination to unite the islands into a single kingdom. Filled with constant intrigue and internal wars that were “as certain to come as the daily rains in Hilo,” Shender’s take on Hawaiian history and culture includes fascinating details, such as meetings with haole visitors like Captain Cook, and the kapu ali‘I, laws of the chiefs, which the penalty for disobeying was often death. Though the writing can be stilted (“It is too late to go to Father’s side, and he would not want you to risk your life only to mourn his death”), Shender’s depiction of Hawaiian mythology and folklore is entirely convincing. Readers will be rewarded with a strong impression of early Hawaii. (Self-published)

Publishers Weekly

2017-10-30
In Shender's debut historical novel, an 18th- and 19th-century Hawaiian ruler unites the island's people through war, diplomacy, and intrigue in the years before, during, and after the arrival of European explorers.Benjamin Namakeha, a contemporary of Kamehameha I (circa 1736-1819), tells of the events of the story after the fact, with the perspective of age and in the very different culture of mid-19th-century Hawaii. When Kamehameha was a youth, Namakeha says, he exceled at training in the arts of war; he gained strength and sharpened his wits, which served him well when navigating court intrigue, including multiple attempts to poison him. As Shender traces the Hawaiian hero's life, he seamlessly integrates Hawaiian words, making the language easy for readers to pick up while also adding realism and flavor: "The older boy hurled the insult at Kamehameha like a short ihe spear." In 1778, British captain James Cook lands in Hawaii; his arrival coincides with the foretold return of the god Lono. This coincidence, and the new arrivals' advanced technology, convinces many Hawaiians that the foreigners (or "haoles") are divine. Kamehameha is skeptical, however, and learns as much as he can about their weaponry, and he uses this knowledge in future battles. Shender's delightful depictions of the first exchanges between strange cultures are spot-on, as when an interpreter for the British says, "he will pay generously in cloth and iron," and a Hawaiian asks what iron is: "Ailon'e? What is ailon'e?" Although Cook is killed in a confrontation with islanders, Kamehameha and his people continue their trade with Europeans. In time, Kamehameha consolidates his power, dealing not only with military enemies, but also family problems. The story shows the engaging parallels between Kamehameha's story and European mythology as well as religious tales. For example, when Kamehameha is born, his mother has a dream that frightens the island's rulers, who then try to have him killed. Later, in a story that mirrors King Arthur's, Kamehameha moves the Naha Stone—a deed that prophesies his destiny as ruler. Overall, this novel should gratify historians and general readers alikeA thoughtful, well-written work that breathes new life into past personalities and events.

Kirkus Reviews