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Sacred Mounds Kindle Edition

by Jim Metzner (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 36 ratings
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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 two remarkable women and 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.
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  1. Print length
    384 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publication date
    April 30, 2022
  5. File size
    3738 KB
  6. Page Flip
    Enabled
  7. Word Wise
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From the Publisher

SACRED MOUNDS: An Historical Fantasy Thriller with Roots in First Nation Culture

The Black Drink

The Rattlesnake Disc

The Serpent Mound

The Black Drink

"They were served with vats of a steaming, acrid liquid, ladled into bowls and cups. The Black Drink. It tasted like bat [urine], bringing visions, making men battle-crazy."

Image: Sixteenth century etching by Theodore de Bry, one of the first western artists to depict First Nation peoples in the southeastern U.S.

The Rattlesnake Disc

"Skyfisher drew a circle with an outer ring of rattlesnakes, and inside the ring, the palm of a hand with an eye in its center. Inez recognized the design and shook her head in disbelief. There was no sane way to account for this.”

Image: The Rattlesnake Disc, found at a mound site in Alabama

The Serpent Mound

"From on high, it resembled a huge, curving snake with a coiled tail. The serpent either had a large oval head or else its open jaws were about to consume an oversized egg; you could imagine it either way. Lewis had treated the card as an oddity, akin to pictures of fur-bearing trout and antlered rabbits. Except the mound was real, begging the question of whether the first settlers knew it was a serpent without the benefit of a polar view. Like the blind men with the elephant. Why had the Indians, or whoever had made it, constructed something that could only be fully appreciated by birds in flight?”

Image: Postcard, Serpent Mound

Editorial Reviews

Review

"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
"The mysteries of the universe are peeled back one chapter at a time in a story that will keep readers spellbound until the final page. This is novel writing at its best." Reader's Favorite
"Readers who look for action-centered fiction that drives its characters to reconsider the realities of their world will find much to like in Sacred Mounds...Highly recommended for fans of Tony Hillerman, Dan Brown, and other fiction which walks the line between metaphysical and real-world experience." Midwest Book Review
"A witty and inventive historical fantasy that seduces with twists and turns, accompanied by lively street wise contemporary dialogue. It will keep you magnetically amused right up to the surprise ending." Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, Member, Confederated Salish and Kootenai Nation, MT
"A rich, complex and historically accurate tale of supernatural heroism. The novel folds ancient traditional wisdom into the seams of its story ... mingling times and cultures with ease and aplomb. The book is hard to put down and left this reader hoping for a sequel." Parabola Magazine

From the Author

The mounds beckon! They represent what might be oldest place of spiritual practice in North America. And they're a mystery - a metaphor worthy of pursuit.  
One of the most rewarding aspects of working on this novel has been learning about the Natchez first-hand from Hutke Fields, principal chief of the Natchez Nation. It has been a privilege to witness and participate in some of their celebrations and ceremonies. 
Many of the historical details in the novel are real, from the Great Sun and the Tattooed Serpent to the Black Drink!  There's a taste of contemporary Natchez, Mississippi here as well. Chapter 27 takes place entirely in the Grand Village of the Natchez, complete with an inter-tribal stickball game, "a wilding blend of tackle football, rugby, Lacrosse, and a World Wrestling Federation melee."
A confession: Sacred Mounds was written with Baby-Boomers in mind - talking about my generation!  A question for Boomers who have read at least the first chapter. What do you think? Guppy Power T-shirts? Coffee mugs? 
I sincerely hope that younger readers will dive into this Historical Fantasy as well. It's an adventure story with a worthy quest and some feisty young heroes, as you will see.   
 

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B09K5XR164
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ PHiR Publishing; 2nd edition (April 30, 2022)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ April 30, 2022
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 3738 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 384 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 36 ratings

About the author

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Jim Metzner

Jim Metzner

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Jim studied acting at Yale Drama School and enjoyed a brief career working as a singer-songwriter in London, opening for TRex, Free and Pink Floyd! He has been producing sound-rich audio programs since 1977, including Pulse of the Planet, which has been on the air since 1988 and is now heard widely as a podcast. Sacred Mounds, his first novel, is a Finalist in Screencraft's Cinematic Book Writing Competition.

For many years, Jim produced features and commentaries for All Things Considered, Marketplace, Weekend Edition and other pubic radio programs. He has recorded all over the world and received major grants from the National Science Foundation, NASA, the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Grammy Foundation. Stories about his work have appeared in Audio Magazine, the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Christian Science Monitor, National Geographic, the Today Show and the CBS Evening News. His forty year archive of sounds is now reposited in the Library of Congress in Washington, DC.

An avid fly-fisherman, Jim resides in New York’s Hudson River Valley with his wife Eileen.

For more information visit jimmetznerproductions.com and sacredmoundsnovel.com

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
36 global ratings
A Remarkable Vision
5 Stars
A Remarkable Vision
It's rare that a story can weave so many qualities; history, great ideas, adventure, nuanced humanity, murder, time travel, sensitive social commentary and more into a rich, wonderfully organized and compelling read. (Did I mention ancient First Nation people and contemporary mobsters?) I couldn't put it down and will probably read it again for the feelings it elicited. I might ask that Mr. Metzner publish more–say every two years or so! That said, Sacred Mounds feels so organically complete that a series would be very challenging. I need more books like this.
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Top reviews from the United States

Katie B.
5.0 out of 5 stars An engaging, time-traveling fantasy
Reviewed in the United States on December 6, 2020
Verified Purchase
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.
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Lavinia Plonka
4.0 out of 5 stars A Rip Roaring Mythical Adventure
Reviewed in the United States on September 20, 2020
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It's rare these days to find a book that can be profound, exciting and hilarious at the same time. Metzner is a consummate storyteller, spinning a fantastic yarn that combines time travel, Native American rites, the Mafia, alternate realities and so much more, all with an easy and delightful flow of language that makes the book hard to put down. He keeps an exciting pace, with well written action scenes, eccentric characters (with a few entertaining stereotypes) and a unique premise regarding humanity's role in the cosmos (yes, spoiler alert, they do save the world.) I found Metzner's need to list cultural references from the 1950's and '60's got a bit tedious. The protagonist was described as in his 50's but the references - Pinky Lee, Little Ricky, Howdy Doody, etc, were a stretch for my memories and I'm pushing 70. It would have been richer to have real memories instead of TV memories. Still, I would have given the book five stars if he had not ended the book in a corny and improbable fashion that made no sense to me. Enjoy the rest of the book, and create your own ending.
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DJ Stram
5.0 out of 5 stars Lyrical fantasy!
Reviewed in the United States on August 30, 2020
Verified Purchase
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.
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J Yarrow
5.0 out of 5 stars Brings Huxley's explorations of consciousness and Vonnegut's satire to mind.
Reviewed in the United States on June 16, 2020
Verified Purchase
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.
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Keith H Madsen
5.0 out of 5 stars A Fascinating Trip to Another World
Reviewed in the United States on September 22, 2020
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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.
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