I was on South Osborne Street because Sounding Stone was closing their retail store and I wanted to go in one last time. While I was there I thought I would wander down the street to Burton Lysecki Books and see if there was any book I had to have. After reading the following on the back of the book I knew I had to buy it:
Alert Bay B.C. Canada In the remote west coast Nimpkish Reserve, a group of five youths, all born of a spiritualistic heritage, will do anything to hide their secret. One that the international intelligence community will stop at nothing to possess. Michael Potter, a big city physician, discovers the five and unwittingly triggers a deadly ancient prophecy.
Washington, D.C. In a totally unprecedented and unplanned move, the newly elected Russian President, Feder Vasikov, responding to urges beyond his comprehension, leaves his motorcade and walks out into the crowd... A deep cover Soviet military intelligence operative known by the code name of "Reggie" is about to unleash the ultimate weapon, the Patriots of the Raven.

I'm going to take this book with me on vacation and will probably release it if I finish it.

NOTE: Seven years later this is still on my TBR pile.

I picked this book up over 7 years ago because I liked the description of the plot on the back cover. The author was a complete unknown but he sounded like he had an interesting background as a marine biologist, environmental consultant and inventor. The book was published in 2000. As I was reading it I couldn't help but marvel at how things had changed. The most obvious change is how easy it was for Canadians to cross into the US then. No passports, no third degree, no questions almost. There were cell phones but they weren't "smart phones" and no-one is Googling or texting. There was even one change that was out of date before publication; someone went to Eaton's to purchase clothing but by 2000 Eaton's was out of business.

Dr. Michael Potter decides to take a posting in the community of Alert Bay, a small mostly native community a ferry's ride from Port McNeil on Vancouver Island. His mentor, Dr. Harry Warner, knew the resident doctor was finding it hard to cope by himself and suggested Michael give it a try. At first it seems pretty routine but then he gets to know five young people who have extraordinary powers. They can move items by mind suggestion, speak telepathically to each other and see the future. One of the young people, Beebo, suffers debilitating head-aches and general weakness. Michael is concerned enough to take him and the other four to Vancouver to see Dr. Warner who is a neurological specialist. Michael and the kids agree that they will keep the special powers a secret because other people might want to harness their abilities. Then it becomes obvious to Dr. Warner that Beebo has very unusual brain activity and Michael feels he has to tell him something about their special skills. It would have been better to keep the secret because the kids come to the attention of a Russian spy who decides to use them for terrorist activities against the USA. The last part of the book is a thrill a minute.

The TV program The X-Files is referenced a number of times and this book could easily have been an episode for Scully and Mulder. If you were a fan of that program you would probably like this book. I just wish the writer and editorial team had spent more time checking grammar and spelling.

I'm a bit late to journal this book because first it took several days before I unpacked all the books I brought home from Canada and then Christmas and New Year got in the way. I received this book from gypsysmom about 3 weeks ago when we met over lunch in Winnipeg - hopefully not our last meeting! The book will have to wait a bit. But the author is from Canada and the story looks interesting. So I'll probably read it before this year's Canada Days Release Challenge.

I finally managed to read this book. The plot was interesting and it had a lot of suspense. I liked reading the book. However, I feel uncomfortable because of the fact that it was written by a white author. He thanks the people of Alert Bay and the Nimpkish Reserve in the acknowledgements. I would like to know what those people think about the story, if they approve of the book...
Reserved for the Canada Days Release Challenge 2020.

Canada Days Release Challenge 2020