Death Song
A Novel
by
Book Details
About the Book
Out of the deserts of the Southwest rides a band of renegade Apaches. Led by the mysterious warrior and holy man, Juliano, they have fled the reservation in a last-gasp effort to unite with other bands of free Indians in a violent uprising against the hated white man. In a remote corner of Utah Territory, a small company of Mormon settlers crosses the canyon of the Colorado, blasting a treacherous road through a steep, narrow notch in the imposing sandstone cliff s. Sent by command of their prophet, they hope to befriend the Indians and establish a new settlement near the San Juan River. And hidden deep in the labyrinthine, red rock canyons lives a mysterious and ancient people who inhabit the graceful cliff dwellings of their long-dead ancestors. Three widely different cultures will collide in a whirlwind of violence and betrayal; Philo Hatch and his Mormon brethren, in search of their abducted children; Juliano and his followers, seeking a sacred treasure once spoken of in ancient tribal legends; and the Recordkeepers, an ancient indigenous tribe isolated for centuries in the twisting canyons of the southwestern desert, a people who only wish to preserve their dying way of life and the sacred records they were entrusted with in a distant age.
About the Author
Jeff W. Manship was born in Boise, Idaho and has lived most of his life in the Western United States. After serving a two-year mission to Mexico for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) he attended Boise State University where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Geology. His multi-generational Mormon heritage, and an interest in the geography, history, and culture of the American West are all major influences in his writing. He and his wife, Robbin, are the parents of three children. Jeff and his family currently reside in Idaho Falls, Idaho. Death Song is his first novel.