Kathleen O'Neal Gear & W Michael Gear

Welcome to the online home of best selling authors Kathleen O'Neal Gear and W Michael Gear.

W. Michael Gear and Kathleen O’Neal Gear are best selling authors & award winning archaeologists who have published over 90 novels.

In People of the Canyons, award-winning archaeologists and New York Times and USA Today bestselling authors Kathleen O'Neal Gear and W. Michael Gear bring us a tale of trapped magic, a tyrant who wants to wield its power...and a young girl who could be the key to save a people. In a magnificent war-torn world cut by soaring red canyons, an evil ruler launches a search for a mystical artifact that he hopes will bring him ultimate power—an ancient witch’s pot that reputedly contains the trapped soul of the most powerful witch ever to have lived. The aged healer Tocho has to stop him, but to do it he must ally himself with the bitter and…
On the shores of the sparsely populated American wilderness, a small group of intrepid settlers have landed, seeking freedom to worship and prosper far from the religious strife and political upheaval that plague a war-ridden Europe . . . 500 years before Columbus set sail. While it has long been known that Viking ships explored the American coast, recent archaeological evidence suggests a far more vast and permanent settlement. It is from this evidence that archaeologists and early American history experts Kathy and Michael Gear weave their extraordinary tale. People of the Songtrail is the saga of the first European settlers to land on the shores of the…
 Almost a thousand years ago, the North American continent was dominated by the great civilization known as Cahokia, which ruled a wide swath of land from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico. Cahokian settlements and Cahokian traders carried the people and the culture far and wide. But this magnificent expansion, like the empire of Rome, did not happen without conflict and battle. In Copper Falcon by co-authors W. Michael Gear and Kathleen O'Neal Gear, a young warrior, Flint Knife, and his father travel to the legendary capitol city, ruled by the living god known as the Morning Star, to ask for military aid to drive back…
By 1300 AD, the Sky Hand people had crushed and enslaved the Albaamaha people and built their high-walled capital, Split Sky City, to dominate towns up and down the Black Warrior River. But a violent wind is brewing that may topple the city's mighty walls. Great armies are on the march, and a cunning new leader, Smoke Shield, has risen. He will lead the Sky Hand people either to stunning triumph or to bloody doom. Old White, Trader, and the mystical Two Petals are journeying across the Choctaw lands straight into the chaos. Old White, the Seeker, must play a delicate game of espionage. For Trader the slightest indiscretion--let…
This is Book 1 of the NEW Iroquois series. Set in war-torn fifteenth century New York and New England, PEOPLE OF THE LONGHOUSE chronicles the lives of two of the greatest heroes in American prehistory. The story begins when they are children: Born in a time of violent upheaval, young Odion and his little sister, Tutelo, live in fear that one day Yellowtail Village will be attacked. When that day comes and Odion and Tutelo are marched away as slaves, Odion's only hope is that his parents are tracking them, coming to rescue them. They are. But War Chief Koracoo and Deputy Gonda think they are tracking an…
This is Book 2 of the NEW Iroquois series. Young Wrass is still being held captive, along with several other children, in Gannajero’s camp. Wrass knows he can’t wait to be rescued. He has to organize the children for an assault on Gannajero’s warriors. Even if he dies, someone has to escape, to carry the story back to their Peoples. It’s the only way to stop the evil old woman. But Koracoo and Gonda have not abandoned their search. They’re coming for the children, and they have allies: a battle-weary Mohawk war chief and a Healer from the People of the Dawnland. Together, they will find the children…
In this third book of the People of the Longhouse quartet, dangerous sorcerer Atotarho sets into motion a cataclysmic battle that threatens to destroy the Iroquoian world. Only three people are brave enough to challenge him: a disgraced warrior known as Sky Messenger; his friend War Chief Hiyawento; and a powerful clan matron named Jigonsaseh. To stop the madman, they must find a way to bring five warring nations together.   Books are available from:
Dekanawida has become known as “The Sky Messenger,” a prophet of immense power, and Hiawento is his Speaker. Thousands now believe in the Great Law of Peace and have joined the League. But they are still being harassed by marauding warriors from the People of the Mountain who steadfastly refuse to adopt the Great Law. Dekanawida has prophesied destruction if the warfare continues. As one by one, portents start coming true, Dekanawida has one last chance to convince the People of the Mountain to join the League and save their world from utter destruction.   Books are available from:
The towering saga of prehistoric North America begun in People of the Wolf and People of the Fire continues in this powerful new best seller - the gripping tale of a young woman with the gift of prophecy, destined to lead her people to a new way of life. Kidnapped from the Earth People as a child, White Ash learns the way of the Sun People as she grows into a beautiful woman. But the disturbing dreams that made her an outcast in her old tribe are becoming stronger, and they foretell a frightening future of bitter cold, war and famine. When a hostile tribe massacres her adopted…
The gripping new saga from these best-selling novelists takes us to the Mississippi valley, and to the trading people now known as the Mound Builders. Blending expert knowledge of the past with passion, tragedy, and triumph, People of the River takes us to the capital, Cahokia, where Tharon is chief of a troubled people. The corn crop is failing again, and even the warriors - including Badgertail, the war leader, and Locust, the warrior woman he cannot have - are disgusted by Tharon's lust for Tribute from Cahokia's many subject villages. Worst of all, the gods have closed the Underworld to Cahokia's seers, and even the most powerful…
A spellbinding tale of life and love, death and adventure, in North America eleven thousand years ago, when mammoths roamed the continent. Award-winning archaeologists Michael and Kathleen Gear, using the best archaeological information, have created a stunning vision of our pre-history, and of the men and women who lived in this rapidly changing world. The great glaciers that cover the Sierra Nevada mountains are melting, destroying the habitats of the great elephants, lions and short-faced bears - and giving birth to the rich land that will become California. The few thousand people who have settled along the coast struggle to understand as the world around them changes. Where…
Award-winning archaeologists and master storytellers Kathleen and Michael Gear spin a provocative tale of the perils and passions of the lives of the Hopewell tribes in the early North America. Star Shell, the privileged daughter of a prominent Hopewell chief, must save her people from the corrupting influence of an evil totemic mask. No one will be able to recover it if she carries it northward across the Great Lakes and throws it into the torrents of Niagara Falls. Otter, one of the finest Traders on the great rivers of North America, finds himself in the middle of Star Shell's race against time. Accompanied by the mighty warrior,…
People of the Lightning takes us to ancient Florida, to a village of fisher folk who must face their deepest fear: Pondwader, now a lanky boy of fifteen summers. He is the White Lightning Boy - the first of his kind to be born in tens of tens of summers. His white hair, pink eyes, and pale skin make him fearsome enough, but legends foretell that a Lightning Boy will make Sister Moon bury her face in the clouds and weep falling stars - and the winds of destruction will be unleashed. The folk manage to trade him in marriage to Musselwhite, a woman warrior who does not…
By A.D. 1150 the Anasazi had created an empire in the Southwest that would never again be equalled in North America. Master astronomers, traders, and architects, they built extraordinary roads linking thousands of square miles. Their Great Houses stood five stories tall and contained hundreds of rooms. Yet at the height of their civilization, cataclysm struck; the Anasazi began to destroy themselves from the inside out.… On his deathbed the Great Sun Chief discovers that, fifteen summers before, his wife bore a child to another man, and to protect it from his wrath, she hid the infant girl in a village far to the north. The Great Sun…
People of the Mist takes us to the Chesapeake Bay of six hundred years ago, when the unprovoked and brutal murder of a young woman on the eve of her wedding threatens to turn the entire Algonquin Nation against itself in a war that could destroy it as a people. No ordinary woman, Red Knot was the heir to the Greenstone Clan and the future leader of the independent villages. Her marriage to Copper Thunder of the upper Potomac villages would have created a lasting bond between two of the more powerful clans, providing peace and stability in the region for many tears to come. High Fox, the…
In People of the Masks, the Gears take us to the northeastern region of North America, to the homeland of the Iroquois, in what is now known as New York and Ontario. Their skilful weaving of anthropological fact and human drama brings to life this ancient culture with a tale of greed and the lust for power that began nine winters earlier with the birth of a child who will change the fate of his people forever. His name is Rumbler, though the Elders call him False Face Child, the name the prophets gave him when they foretold the birth of this powerful child. As he nears maturity…
Michael and Kathleen Gear, bestselling authors and award winning archaeologists are famous for writing novels about prehistoric America that are fast-paced, steeped in cultural detail, and smart. Here, in their most ambitious work to date, they combine their distinctive trademark of high action with a rich psychological drama. Four thousand years ago, in what centuries later will be the southern part of the United States, a boy is thrust into manhood long before he's ready. Young Salamander would much rather catch crickets and watch blue herons fish than dabble in the politics of his clan. But when his heroic brother is killed, Salamander becomes the leader of America's…
Award-winning archaeologists Michael and Kathleen Gear spin a vivid and captivating tale around one of the most controversial archaeological discoveries in the world, the Kennewick Man---a Caucasoid male mummy dating back more than 9,000 years---found in the Pacific Northwest on the banks of the Columbia River!A white man in North America more than 9,000 years ago? What was he doing there? With the terrifying grandeur of melting glaciers as a backdrop, People of the Raven shows animals and humans struggling for survival amidst massive environmental change. Mammoths, mastodons, and giant lions have become extinct, and Rain Bear, the chief of Sandy Point Village, knows his struggling Raven People…
They were called the Chaco Anasazi. They built thirty-foot-wide roads that crossed miles of mountains and mesas and constructed five story buildings which had more than 800 rooms. Their priests and warriors presided over the conquered populations of Chaco Canyon via an extensive system of signal towers that could send messages across the vast distances day or night. Messages could be sent easily, and warriors could be dispersed to quell any rebellion within hours of the start of an uprising. The Anasazi believed their destiny was charted in the paths of the moon, sun, and stars. The moon had reached its maximum three times since the Chacoans conquered…
This is the sweeping saga of a visionary boy who leads his people out of the path of one of the worst disasters in the history of the world... It has been a thousand years since Wolf Dreamer led his people up through the dark hole in the ice to a rich, untouched continent bursting with game. Since that time, the world has changed. Most of the magnificent animals are gone, and the last of the great glaciers is melting, forming a huge freshwater lake around the edges of the ice. When a young boy named Silvertip receives a vision from Wolf Dreamer that his world is going…
People called Old White the "Seeker," a man never long with any people or place. For years he had wandered, leaving a trail of war, wonder, and broken love in his wake. Now he is headed home, called back by visions of chaos, blood, and fire. But there is more to the Seeker than most know. He is a man driven by a secret so terrible it may topple the greatest city in North America. When the far-off Katsinas told Old White it was time to go home, he had no idea that his journey would take him to the head of the Mississippi, where he would encounter the…
In the dawn of history, a valiant people forged a pathway from an old world into a new one. Led by a dreamer who followed the spirit of the wolf, a handful of courageous men and women dared to cross the frozen wastes to find an untouched, unspoiled continent. This is the magnificent saga of the vision-filled man who led his people to an awesome destiny, and the courageous woman whose love and bravery drove them on in pursuit of that dream. A sweeping epic of prehistory, People of the Wolf brings the true story of the ancestors of today's Native American peoples to life in an unforgettable…
The passionate adventure begun in the best-selling People of the Wolf continues with People of the Fire, the second novel in the majestic saga of America's pioneers. It is a time of fire. In a drought-stricken and unforgiving land, a small band of men and women struggle valiantly to keep their ancestors' dreams alive. Little Dancer - The young dreamer whose awesome powers would change the course of history. White Calf - The ancient medicine woman who taught Little Dancer how to harness his dreams. Elk Charm - The beautiful maiden who won Little Dancer's heart, but feared she would lose him to his destiny. Heavy Beaver -…
Dekanawida has become known as “The Sky Messenger,” a prophet of immense power, and Hiawento is his Speaker. Thousands now believe in the Great Law of Peace and have joined the League. But they are still being harassed by marauding warriors from the People of the Mountain who steadfastly refuse to adopt the Great Law. Dekanawida has prophesied destruction if the warfare continues. As one by one, portents start coming true, Dekanawida has one last chance to convince the People of the Mountain to join the League and save their world from utter destruction.Praise for People of the Black Sun Praise for Kathleen O’Neal Gear and W. Michael…