Dance of the Owl Woman by K.M. Huber is the sequel to Call of the Owl Woman. Previously, in sixth-century Peru, the Nasca sustained the desert valleys through ritual and irrigation as droughts fueled conflict among priests, sorcerers, and water stewards. After her grandmother’s death, fifteen-year-old Patya rejects a healer lineage. An earthquake forces her into service, awakening gifts as she maneuvers her power to shield her brother and the community. Now, in the aftermath of drought and unrest, Patya becomes a public target after High Priest Achiq accuses her of causing a destructive fire set by his followers. Cast out, she seeks allies once connected to her grandmother, discovering inherited authority tied to the land and kinship. As violence escalates toward communal rites, she works to restore an ancient sisterhood while safeguarding her brother and a new bond.

Dance of the Owl Woman by K.M. Huber is a spectacular story with possibly the best first-person point of view I've come across in the speculative history genre. Every experience is shaped by Patya’s wary intelligence and keen senses, placing us inside her decision-making over time. Huber excels in the details of tribal life through action and speech, so ritual and belief appear in lived moments. The tinku, offerings, and ceremonial rules emerge through conversations and behavior, allowing the reader to grasp their function and controversy organically. The vision sequences are amazing, altering Patya’s sense of body and time, and tree memory and owl sight tie it all together. Overall, this is an elegantly written novel that stays rooted in Patya’s mind, producing a heroine whose emergence is earned and satisfying. Very highly recommended.

Dance of the Owl Woman: Patya's Journey by K.M. Huber is set in sixth-century Peru, ravaged by disaster, especially the drought. Patya is a teenage girl who draws attention by standing up against the evil high priest Achiq and defending her little brother. She establishes herself as Achiq’s enemy, and the high priest does everything to make her life a living hell, portraying her as the enemy of the community and blaming her for some of the mishaps that befall them. But Patya is determined to honor the path of her grandmother, resurrecting the sisterhood and walking the path of the orca. She leads her people down a new path, risking a love she never thought possible.

I loved the adventures of the young heroine and her companions, the rituals, and depictions of the natural elements. There is something elegiac about the writing that kept me turning the pages. The relationships between the characters and the animals, the sea, and natural elements are cleverly developed in the story. I enjoyed the symbolism and the fully-drawn cultural setting. Patya is single-minded, and it was inspiring to follow her as she took the role of leadership and brought her people together for a new destination in their history. I enjoyed the magic, the drama, and the setting that is exotic and vividly depicted. Dance of the Owl Woman: Patya's Journey by K.M. Huber is like a spiritual song; the prose is lyrical, and the intimate first-person narrative voice makes the story even more compelling.