Hawaiian Rebellions, Book Three of the John Tana novel trilogy, completes the dramatic story of the native Hawaiian hero, John Tana, as he tries to comprehend and adapt to the Western takeover of the Hawaiian Islands in the 19th century. It begins when a sugar baron kicks him off his farmland on Maui in 1867. The trilogy records the story of the end of the communal lifestyle of the Hawaiian Kingdom, overthrown by Western capitalists and religion in 1893, and how he turns into a freedom fighter. In the first two books of the trilogy (John Tana, An Adventure Novel of Old Hawaii and Gods, Ghosts and Kahuna on Kauai) the young orphan hero is unaware of the impending destruction of his culture by Western business and religious interests when a sugar baron kicks him off his inherited farmland (kuleana)in 1867. He sails his canoe to Lahaina where whalers and seamen torment him but he also finds distant family - an aunt, and two cousins, David and Leinani. David succumbs to the temptation of liquor. John quickly learns that the new religion forbids romantic relationships with relatives. As he struggles to understand and survive, he meets a Chinese man and wife who he helps, eventually bringing them to the island of Oahu to escape rioting sailors. John is forced to leave Maui when he learns the sugar baron has hired a killer, and an angry sea captain seeks revenge for John's rescue of Leinani.Oahu is more complicated. The new city of Honolulu is growing under the control of the Western business interests which makes it hard for John to survive. He meets a future king, a French girl, studies the forbidden martial art of lua, continues his friendship with Leinani, and helps a Chinese man facing a murder trial. When the sugar baron's hired killer finds John he once again turns to his canoe and sails north to the island of Kauai.In Book Two, Gods, Ghosts and Kahuna on Kauai, John finds work as a plantation security guard and marries Mahealani whose strong traditional beliefs challenge John's new Christianity when death strikes.The swirling clouds on mountain peaks, rainbows, plunging waterfalls, and pounding surf sounding like voices of gods create an air of mystery on the island. John meets a queen, visits the leper colony on Molokai, and raises a family on new farmland.Book Three, Hawaiian Rebellions, completes the well-researched historical trilogy. The late 19th century is a time of increasing political power of Western business interests who push their political agenda to overthrow the Hawaiian Kingdom. John is squeezed between the capitalism of plantations and traditional Hawaiian values of sharing. He accepts the new religion, Christianity, which creates marital tension. John finally succeeds in creating a farm and raises a family. Tattooed men attack his family, the water supply for his farm is threatened, and lepers, mostly Hawaiians, rebel against forced isolation. John witnesses the brutality of artillery used against them in Kalalau Valley on Kauai. Native Hawaiians begin to feel pushed to the brink of extinction and seek to restore the monarchy, an effort John joins. While recovering from wounds, Leinani enters his life again. The John Tana historical novel trilogy will become a classic in Hawaiian literature because it is based on actual events and people overtaken by a complex new world which rejects Hawaiian values and religion but fails to offer a better society. This struggle leads to the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom monarchy and suppression of Hawaiians and their communal values which is still felt in modern times. Based on historical events and characters, the John Tana trilogy fills a void in Hawaiian fiction.
About the Author: Half-native Hawaiian Bill Fernandez was born and raised on the island of Kaua'i in the Hawaiian Islands before statehood. Barefoot, he made kites from newspaper and poi paste, explored the ocean with a spear he made from fence wire and tire rubber, and was urged to read a book a day as a young child recovering from asthma. Bill graduated from Kamehameha Schools for children of Hawaiian ancestry, and Stanford University and its law school. He practiced law in Sunnyvale, CA, the future home of Silicon Valley, and was elected to its City Council, serving as Mayor for one term. He was appointed to a judgeship in Santa Clara County Courts where he served for over twenty years. Bill and his wife Judith returned to his old family home on Kaua'i where he turned to writing memoirs of his unusual childhood on an isolated Pacific island, exploring the ocean, shining GI shoes during World War Two, and enjoying the family movie theater, Roxy. He then turned to novel writing, featuring native Hawaiian heroes in historical settings and events. The first series is: Grant Kingsley (Cult of Ku and Crime & Punishment in Hawaii) and the second series is John Tana;Rebellion completes the trilogy of the impact of Westernization on native Hawaiians which is still felt today. Bill was appointed by the governor to the Juvenile Justice State (Hawaii) Commission, was President of the Kauai Historical Society, and serves on a social service agency board, Hale Opio. Bill continues to write novels focused on the experience of being native Hawaiian. As a half-native Hawaiian, he has unique insight into the impact of Westernization, including Christianity, on native Hawaiians whose values of communal sharing and well-being are often ignored.