elyse guttenberg

A novel of life in Ancient Alaska, Book One.

On the frozen shores of Alaska’s distant past, a young woman yearns to be a shaman.

From award winning Alaskan author Elyse Guttenberg comes SUMMER LIGHT a pre-history alive with the magic that was abundant when time was new.

Spirit Singer and Shaman. Elik was not like the others. She could not sew a seal skin with the tiny stitches that would make a kayak watertight. She could not set a trap as silently as drifting snow. Or throw the weighted strands of a bola into a flock of birds, or predict the weather. But this she could do: She could sing the spirit songs, almost like a shaman.

This was a high calling for young woman born into a poor family with a selfish father and Elik longs for the chance to prove herself. The Real People lived in a world of myth and magic, hunger, enemies and danger. A world where every animal and stone spoke to those who knew how to listen.

Desired by a powerful shaman and in love with a stranger cast out of his home, Elik fights for a way to save her people and reach her destiny. But will the old shaman relinquish his claim? Will the spirits reveal their secrets?

"Anyone interested in Alaska's Natives will find much to like in this book, and anyone interested in good, factually correct fiction will find it irresistible." Alaska Magazine