It’s not hard to seer why readers would be attracted to Coates’ debut novel. He populates “The Water Dancer" with memorable characters of his own creation, as well as a sprinkling of historical figures. Set largely in pre-Civil War Virginia, it’s a first-person account of the life of Hiram Walker, born a slave, yearning to be free, struggling to gain control of a mystical power he barely understands, but one that could free both him and those he loves. Beginning with the early, faded memories of a mother he lost, Walker is determined to become his own master, despite living at a time when that’s not only near-impossible, but in many places illegal.