Facing Rushmore
David Lozell Martin
Simon & Schuster, Nov 2005, $2395
ISBN: 0684853493

How did the St. Louis Memorial Arch turn black has puzzled scientists and FBI Agent Charlie Hart. Lakota Sioux ghost dancer John Brown Dog claims he caused it to happen and also insists the only way to return it back to its former state is to wash the arch with non-pasteurized milk. Still Charlie interrogates John to learn more about what chemicals he used and how dangerous they pose to the public. Instead of direct responses or even ignoring the Fed, John rambles all over the place including weird references to meeting God’s whore Elena in Tennessee. Charlie admits he has no idea what John is telling him especially about controlling shape shadows.

Frustrated Charlie gives up and assumes the guy is a lunatic. That is until John conjures up the shape shadows. Meanwhile a freed John heads west to vandalize other American monuments and warns the descendents of the founding fathers that unless DC cedes all public forests and other Federal/State lands to the Native American population, no newborn will grace the country except the offspring of a select small band of Indians.

Readers will agree with Charlie and the power mongers that no way will a biblical level disaster occur like John claims will happen. Yet somehow David Lozell Martin locks in his audience who follows the suspenseful goings on to observe what impossibility will next occur because hooked fans will start to accept that John has the power through the shape shadows to enact revenge on those who have destroyed the Indian way of life. This action-packed thriller is a cautionary tale that asks humanity “What’s Going On?” as we destroy the planet and head towards extinction.

Harriet Klausner