Niswander's first novel, part of the Shaman trilogy, draws heavily on Native American mysticism and Arizona locales, evidently the author's strengths. A demon t... » 

Niswander's first novel, part of the Shaman trilogy, draws heavily on Native American mysticism and Arizona locales, evidently the author's strengths. A demon traveling as a dust devil is accidentally released from its ancient prison and attacks villages in New Mexico and Arizona. As their ancestors once did, the medicine men of the Southwest Indian tribes must unite to recapture the demon. They are aided by a weatherman who uses radar to track the dust devil and an archaeologist who finds the Charm--the key to the demon's recapture. Unfortunately, the plot desperately needs some tightening: most of the novel is spent gathering the medicine men, while the demon's rampage is brief and unfrightening. Southwestern residents may enjoy the local color and points of reference, and devotees of Native American culture may appreciate the author's pains with his subjects, but they are small rewards for getting through the narrative. «