FICTION

STAR WOMAN: WE ARE MADE FROM STARS AND TO THE STARS WE MUST RETURN by Lynn V. Andrews; illustrated by David Tamura (Warner: $16.95; 246 pp.). Southern Californian Lynn Andrews has once again journeyed to the Canadian wilderness, and the result is “Star Woman,” the author’s fourth in a series of books on Native American medicine women.

As in earlier works, Andrews seeks to “. . . reclaim (her) original female nature” through the shamanistic teachings of Agnes Whistling Elk and previously established characters. They are joined in “Star Woman” by Arion, a magical white stallion and Twin Dreamers, an ancient and ethereal female entity.

Together they direct their apprentice into the “heava” of the “dark side” of consciousness to conquer fear and “self-constructed limitation” and to discover that the essence of “power is peace within.” Twin Dreamers agrees to share her metaphysical secrets and relentless paranormal adventure ensues.

Finally, starlight caught by an ancient crystal ignites the “inner-spirit flame,” and Andrews eludes the boundaries of physical form.

Although the author tends, occasionally, to bend the ancient teachings, perhaps to better accommodate contemporary attitudes, she continues to offer an adventurous firsthand account of tribal lore with one notable exception: the evil and completely predictable male sorcerer Red Dog. Hopefully, the “sisterhood” will triumph if only to rid him from the pages of a seemingly inevitable sequel.