River's Child

by Mark Daniel Seiler

Overview

Trapped underground in the Svalbard Seed Vault, Mavin Cedarstrom is rescued by a band of strange women dressed in furs. The Peregrine scout Simone Kita was sent to recover seeds from the top of the world and bring them south to the floating gardens of Kashphera. Conjuring myth and magic, this fun, action-packed novel is a delight. River’s Child is a wild ride into an ancient future. Fasten your seat belt as our spirited heroes ride icebergs from the frozen north, battle wild men, and fall in love while they race to prevent world war.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781947003392
Publisher:	HOMEBOUND PUBN
Publication date:	04/03/2018
Pages:	312
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Mark Daniel Seiler is a writer, poet, and musician who lives on the island of Kauài. His debut novel, Sighing Woman Tea was a winner at the Pacific Rim Book Festival 2015 and was nominated for the Kirkus Prize. Mark’s second novel, River’s Child was recently awarded the Landmark Prize for fiction. He is currently working on a murder mystery set in Hawaii. Mark worked alongside Masters from Japan and Taiwan to build the Hall of Compassion in the Lawai Valley. He describes himself as a life-long learner, who got a very late start. Visit Mark at www.sighingwomanteas.com

Editorial Reviews

“Seiler presents a strange and ingenious mix that is part The Road, part Dune. . .This book delivers an inventive and eerie future.” –Kirkus Reviews

“River’s Child carries forward a reverence for the wisdom of older women found in Sighing Woman Tea. While the protagonist of River’s Child carries the Y chromosome, the reader finds that accidental genetics power this romp through a post-apocalyptic earth where women wield the power, the past is invisible, famine is the enemy, and seeds might just save the world.”

-J.D. Smith, editor/writer Whole Earth Catalog

“River’s Child had me thinking deeply about humanity, our past, and our future, all while being caught up in the story of Mavin, a Zuni Indian who travels the starkly altered landscape of a future Earth and stumbles into a pivotal role. On the one hand the story feels like science fiction; on the other the protection of seeds and the urgent quest for abundant growth doesn’t read like a far cry from the state of our planet. Underlying the often turbulent story is a steady current of ancient wisdom—a welcome balm. The story plants a seed, in more ways than one."

-Katherine Hauswirth, author of The Book of Noticing

“Mark Seiler has conjured a tale that feels simultaneously ancient and prophetic, plunging readers into a frozen landscape in which both timely and nearly fantastical events take place. One is hard-pressed not to take note of a tale in which the preservation of our future food source and human survival are front and center, especially as the ‘Super storms’ of which he speaks are roiling outside our windows.”

-Karen Levy, author of My Father’s Gardens

"Deep under Norway’s Svalbard mountain, the world’s plant seeds are preserved in a vault designed to withstand global crises, including the apocalypse. Biologist Mavin Cedarstrom, a long way from his home on the Zuni reservation in New Mexico, is the only human in the vault when that terrible day arrives. After he awakens from cryogenic sleep nearly a thousand years later, the world has changed dramatically. No trees grow taller than three feet, no written histories and technology from Mavin’s time remain, and there is widespread famine. But humanity has adapted. Mavin is rescued by Simone Kita, a warrior of a matriarchal society charged with returning seeds to her city in the south. While Simone feels a growing obligation to keep Mavin safe, he struggles with survivor’s guilt and a millennium of unanswered questions. Together, the duo travel south into a world of new myths, magic, and intrigue. VERDICT: Winner of the publisher’s 2016 Landmark Prize for Fiction, Seller’s (Sighing Woman Tea) eco-novel is a thought-provoking dive into a future after the dystopia gives way to hope. Strong storytelling makes this a solid choice for book clubs interested in complex characters, environmental discussions, and gender issues." - Library Journal

From the Publisher

“Mark Seiler has conjured a tale that feels simultaneously ancient and prophetic, plunging readers into a frozen landscape in which both timely and nearly fantastical events take place. One is hard-pressed not to take note of a tale in which the preservation of our future food source and human survival are front and center, especially as the ‘Super storms’ of which he speaks are roiling outside our windows.”

author of My Father’s Gardens Karen Levy

“River’s Child had me thinking deeply about humanity, our past, and our future, all while being caught up in the story of Mavin, a Zuni Indian who travels the starkly altered landscape of a future Earth and stumbles into a pivotal role. On the one hand the story feels like science fiction; on the other the protection of seeds and the urgent quest for abundant growth doesn’t read like a far cry from the state of our planet. Underlying the often turbulent story is a steady current of ancient wisdom—a welcome balm. The story plants a seed, in more ways than one."

author of The Book of Noticing Katherine Hauswirth

“River’s Child carries forward a reverence for the wisdom of older women found in Sighing Woman Tea. While the protagonist of River’s Child carries the Y chromosome, the reader finds that accidental genetics power this romp through a post-apocalyptic earth where women wield the power, the past is invisible, famine is the enemy, and seeds might just save the world.”

editor/writer Whole Earth Catalog J.D. Smith

02/15/2018
Deep under Norway's Svalbard mountain, the world's plant seeds are preserved in a vault designed to withstand global crises, including the apocalypse. Biologist Mavin Cedarstrom, a long way from his home on the Zuni reservation in New Mexico, is the only human in the vault when that terrible day arrives. After he awakens from cryogenic sleep nearly a thousand years later, the world has changed dramatically. No trees grow taller than three feet, no written histories and technology from Mavin's time remain, and there is widespread famine. But humanity has adapted. Mavin is rescued by Simone Kita, a warrior of a matriarchal society charged with returning seeds to her city in the south. While Simone feels a growing obligation to keep Mavin safe, he struggles with survivor's guilt and a millennium of unanswered questions. Together, the duo travel south into a world of new myths, magic, and intrigue. VERDICT Winner of the publisher's 2016 Landmark Prize for Fiction, Seiler (Sighing Woman Tea) eco-novel is a thought-provoking dive into a future after the dystopia gives way to hope. Strong storytelling makes this a solid choice for book clubs interested in complex characters, environmental discussions, and gender issues.—Jennifer Beach, Longwood Univ. Lib., Farmville, VA

Library Journal