Maori: A Novel

Written by Alan Dean Foster

Narrated by Bruce Mann

A sweeping historical novel set in nineteenth-century New Zealand from the New York Times bestselling author.

The only son of a poor British coal miner, Robert Coffin sets sail for the far ends of the Earth in search of his fortune, leaving his young bride and infant child behind in England. In the sordid and dangerous South Pacific port of Kororareka, on the sprawling island the native Maori call "the Land of the Long White Cloud," Coffin builds a successful new life as a merchant. He gains an unwavering respect for the aboriginal people and their culture, and finds comfort in the arms of his fiery Irish mistress, Mary.

But the unexpected arrival of a China-bound clipper bearing his wife, Holly, and son, Christopher, throws Coffin's world into turmoil-compounded by the ever-increasing tension between the Maori tribes and the mistrusted "pakehas" who are plundering their land. As the years of a volatile nineteenth century progress, the indomitable family of the stalwart adventurer the Maori have named "Iron Hair" will struggle, sacrifice, and endure through war, chaos, catastrophe, and change.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tantor Media, Inc
• Release date: Sep 18, 2019
• ISBN: 9781515945154

Alan Dean Foster

Alan Dean Foster’s work to date includes excursions into hard science fiction, fantasy, horror, detective, western, historical, and contemporary fiction. He has also written numerous nonfiction articles on film, science, and scuba diving and produced the novel versions of many films, including such well-known productions as Star Wars, the first three Alien films, Alien Nation, and The Chronicles of Riddick. Other works include scripts for talking records, radio, computer games, and the story for the first Star Trek movie. His novel Shadowkeep was the first ever book adaptation of an original computer game. In addition to publication in English his work has been translated into more than fifty languages and has won awards in Spain and Russia. His novel Cyber Way won the Southwest Book Award for Fiction in 1990, the first work of science fiction ever to do so.

Reviews for Maori

[Christine Stead · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

This is a Terrible book that's all I want to say

[Nigel Hadfield · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Easy to read. Historically accurate. Well written. Pronunciation not great

[delta61 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book is what you expect - white men, natives, a clash between their cultures. It is not up to par with other epics I have read. It is a sum of facts overrun by fiction. There were some interesting parts about the Maori culture but it was mainly about English settlers and greed. I found that most of the characters had a violent ending. When I attempted to anticipate where the story was heading, I was always on the wrong track. The story moves along at a fast pace, right up to a disaster at the end.