Mauna Kea: A Novel of Hawai‘i

"In Mauna Kea, Hawaiʻi-based author Tom Peek develops his craft far beyond his first novel, the award-winning Daughters of Fire. Peek's down-to-earth storytelling voice speaks to a broad audience—national, global, and local—no small feat. His compelling and deftly woven plot lines, keen sense of pacing, and finely-etched, authentic characters combine to bring to life the world of the Mauna Kea Protectors Movement while also offering a particularly intimate perspective on those who trace their ancestry to this sacred mountain."—Susan Najita, Associate Professor of Literature and Asian/Pacific Islander American Studies, University of Michigan

“The novel is a compelling, extremely entertaining story that encompasses ancient Hawaiian concepts and American thought patterns. The authentic characters are perfect. It’s a Hawaiian cultural primer, a gift that lifts the spirits high! ʻIolanaʻoe! (You soar like a hawk!)” — Kaluna West, Native Hawaiian artist, educator, and former Kahoʻolawe activist

“An authentic, eye-opening novel that lifts the veil on the ancient traditions and modern political intrigues that underlie the longstanding controversy over telescopes on Mauna Kea.”—Nelson Ho, Sierra Club leader and longtime Mauna Kea activist

“In this age of countless battles, whether over indigenous resources in the Americas or territory in Ukraine, here’s a novel that offers a deeper way to think about conflict, a hopeful book sorely needed in these often-disheartening times.”—Michael Osmera PhD, retired cultural anthropologist, Linfield University in Oregon

“Tom Peek is an organic intellectual in the tradition of Mark Twain.”—Poet Jaime Jacinto, author of Heaven is Just Another Country

 

“This novel is medicine for the world.” —Arnie Kotler, editor of Peace Is Every Step by Thich Nhat Hanh

“If youʻre interested in Native Hawaiian culture, or in the community politics of Hawaiʻi, or in deep-universe astronomy, you should read this book. You likewise may wish to read it if you followed the epic 2019 protest in which an improvised village of mostly Native Hawaiians blocked construction of one of the worldʻs largest telescope on Hawai`i Island . . . Author Tom Peek is an insider to this story. He has stepped back to give us a novelistʻs view from high in the heavens of what the next protest might look like. He hooks you on his multiple characters, who variously collude and collide, as people have and will continue to do so in real life over this sacred mountain.”—Tom Coffman, writer/director of the film Mauna Kea, Sacred Conduct/Sacred Mountain, and author of Nation Within: The History of the American Occupation of Hawaiʻi
“Majestic, deep, compelling . . . a feat of high literary skill and imagination. . . . [Peek’s] love for both the Hawaiian people and their land (‘aina) is as pervasive as it is palpable. I expect it to cement his place as a fine chronicler of the archipelago and culture he loves so much. A great read, well-written, compelling, Mauna Kea is a sword cut performed by a master, both fast and deep at the same time. I highly recommend it.”—Monk Yun Rou (Arthur Rosenfeld), award-winning author of numerous Taoist books, including Nautilus Award winner Mad Monk Manifesto: A Prescription for Evolution, Revolution, and Global Awakening, the novels Wasp Warrior and The Jade Boy, and his memoir The Monk of Park Avenue
“Mauna Kea has authority on every page. I admire very much about all of it, but perhaps especially the way Tom Peek shows the simultaneity of past and present on the mountain, and by implication in all of Hawaiian history. It is both so true and so hard to do believably—and yet he does it."—Elinor Langer, author of The Nation Special Issue on Hawaiian History, Famous Are the Flowers: Hawaiian Resistance Then—and Now