People of the Morning Star: A Novel of North America’s Forgotten Past

W. Michael Gear · Kathleen O'Neal Gear

Oct 2020 · Morning Star Book 1 · Tantor Media Inc · Narrated by Charlie Thurston

About this audiobook

Award-winning archaeologists and New York Times and USA Today bestselling authors W. Michael Gear and Kathleen O'Neal Gear begin the stunning saga of the North American equivalent of ancient Rome in People of the Morning Star. The city of Cahokia, at its height, covered more than six square miles around what is now St. Louis and included structures more than ten stories high. Cahokian warriors and traders roamed from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico. What force on earth would motivate hundreds of thousands of people to pick up, move hundreds of miles, and once plopped down amidst a polyglot of strangers, build an incredible city? A religious miracle: the Cahokians believed that the divine hero Morning Star had been resurrected in the flesh. But not all is fine and stable in glorious Cahokia. To the astonishment of the ruling clan, an attempt is made on the living god's life. Now it is up to Morning Star's aunt, Matron Blue Heron, to keep it quiet until she can uncover the plot and bring the culprits to justice. If she fails, Cahokia will be torn asunder in warfare, rage, and blood as civil war consumes them all.

Ratings and reviews

I like how they use their experiences in the field to write these books. Makes it feel authentic.

About the author

W. Michael Gear is the New York Times and USA Today author of more than fifty published novels, many of which are coauthored with his beloved wife, Kathleen O'Neal Gear. Both an anthropologist and archaeologist, he brings extraordinary depth and complexity to his characters and settings.

Kathleen O'Neal Gear is a nationally award-winning archaeologist who has been honored by the United States Congress. She is also a New York Times bestselling author with forty-eight books and over 200 nonfiction articles in print.

Charlie Thurston has appeared on stages across the country, including Trinity Repertory Company, Arden Theatre Company, Baltimore Center Stage, Intiman Theater, Chautauqua Theater Company, and Riverside Theatre. Charlie holds an MFA in acting from Brown University/Trinity Rep.