The Apparition Trail

The Apparition Trail, Lisa Smedman, Tesseract Books, 2004

This book is set in 1880s Canada, eh? But in this world, the moon has acquired a slow orbit on its axis, due to being struck by a comet several years previously. Also, the secret of perpetual motion machines and magnetic locomotives have been discovered and put to practical use.

Corporal Marmaduke Grayburn of the Northwest Mounted Police is one of those building the western frontier. For much of his life, he has been plagued by prophetic dreams and "hunches," one of which saved his life. He is assigned to the new and secretive Q Division, a unit of paranormal investigators.

With help from an eccentric psychic researcher named Arthur Chambers, Grayburn investigates the sudden disappearance of a Methodist missionary and his family. Also gone is an Indian artifact of great power called the Manitou Stone.

These are tough times for the local Indian tribes. The buffalo, on which they depend, are almost gone. The Canadian Government is doing what it can to make things worse. A Cree sorcerer, Wandering Spirit, plans to use the power of the Stone to bring about the long-prophesied Day of Changes, where the natives of western Canada will reclaim their stolen lands. Also included in this story are underground tunnels where time and space work very differently than aboveground, and the spirit of a white buffalo forced into the body of a newborn child too early.

This novel is really good. Much of it is based on actual history. It"s just weird enough to be interesting, the characters are real people, and it"s very well done. It is well worth reading.</p>