I was never really interested in Maori culture until I read this book. David Hair takes ancient places and beliefs and blends them with a modern world. His story takes place in a world where reality and myth collide, where spirit world and modern world mix and there are 600 year old people at our rugby games.
The main character is Matiu Douglas, a young and confused Maori boy and a victim of living in a broken home. When Matt goes to his Auntie Wai Aroha’s funeral, he takes an ancient Tiki and suddenly his life spirals out of control. With the mysterious and evil Tohunga Puarata chasing him to reclaim the Tiki, Matt teams up with Kelly and the dog Fitzy. Together they seek the answers to the problems that they come across and strive to find out the secret that the Tiki possesses.
The Bone Tiki is a book that was written using a third person narrative. The other thing was that it was using a lot of Maori language as well as English, so this made it bilingual.
The real theme of the book is that Justice will always prevail in the end. Also that you should never be ashamed of not knowing much about you’re culture. It also show that with enough loyalty to do the job, the right tools to do the job, the right friends to do the job and the willpower to do it. It can be done no matter what you’re up against.
I would rate this book as one of the best that I have ever heard. David Hair is truly a magician with his words and so highly descriptive, that I think it could so easily be made into an Oscar winning move. With Peter Jackson and David Hair’s magic combined it could turn into the best New Zealand movie ever. David Hair is so descriptive in his scenes and his fights, It almost convinced me that there was a spirit world next to ours and that there are Taniwha, Ghost warriors and people of legend. This book is Intriguing and Fantastic.
