Deborah J. Ross's Blog, page 57
December 16, 2019
Winter 2019 Newsletter
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Winter 2019 Newsletter
It's winter in the redwoods. Rain alternates with mist and occasional bursts of sun. Forest and garden rest and renew themselves. It's a time for reflection and the deep, slow workings of the imagination.
Freya, who came to us a year ago as a tiny kitten, is now a magnificent young adult. She's a mackeral-striped, dilute tortoiseshell tabby (what a mouthful), who is athletic even with only one eye. Fearless when with the family, she disappears at the first hint of visitors. Some of our friends believe she is mythical.Book News
The Laran Gambit (working title):. My editor says it's on her list. Stay tuned!
Arilinn. I'm just about halfway through the first draft, discovering more connections and conflicts and even an unexpected love story as I go.
Collaborators. I will be reissuing my Lambda Literary Award science fiction novel in March 2020, complete with maps and blog posts about the city, gender-fluid characters, and a bunch more goodies. It will come in ebook (mobi, epub) and trade paperback formats. Read an excerpt below...
Lace and Blade 5 and Citadels of Darkover were my final editing jobs for the MZB Literary Works Trust. While it's unlikely the Trust will authorize further Darkover anthologies, I've talked to a few interested parties about finding a new home for the Lace and Blade series. It's like a little vagabond project, having been through three publishers so far. But readers love these stories and my favorite authors love writing them, so who knows? Stay tuned!
Holiday Book Giveaway
'Tis the season to express our gratitude for friends and family, and to share many wonderful things -- gifts, memories, fun times...books! I offer my readers a selection of my books in thanks for their enthusiastic support. I'd likely keep writing even if no one every read a word, but there's immense satisfaction in hearing that my stories have touched the hearts of my readers.
The deal:
1. Send me an email (deborah@deborahjross.com) with your choice of books and a mailing address. In your email, let me know if or how you'd like the book signed (to you or someone you're giving the book to, or just a signature).
2. I'll pay domestic mail, although contributions ("Donate" button waaaay down on the lower left of my blog) for postage are most welcome.
3. Autographed bookplates (great if you already have my books!) - let me know how many you'd like.
4. Should you feel moved to review the book, that would be most welcome.
The books:
Thunderlord (hardcover or paperback)
The Children of Kings (hardcover)
Hastur Lord (hardcover)
Zandru's Forge (Clingfire #2 but works as standalone) (hardcover)
Collaborators excerpt Prolog Miraz: SPACE SHIPS SIGHTED OVER CHACARRE, Report by Talense. Throughout northern Chacarre, hundreds have reported sighting unknown airborne objects believed to be alien space ships. Kreste’s representative declined comment until the official science report is completed, but clan sources indicate a flurry of communications between the Helm offices and their counterparts in Erlonn. We have received one report, quickly denied as rumor, that troops have been secretly stationed near the Erlind border.
Hoax or sensation? Conspiracy or political gambit? No one is willing to say. Meanwhile, the people of Chacarre are watching and waiting for answers.~o0o~Hayke and his two children had carried blankets out to the hills beyond their farm near the Erlind border. They ate leftover potato rolls while the light faded from the sky. Early summer heat hung in the air, sweet with the smell of the ripening hay. The world softened into shadow, tone upon tone of layered gray except for the ghostly white of Hayke’s fur. Night-hoppers chittered; the grass rustled with the passage of a snake.
Torrey, the older child, had been out in the fields all day. Sun had bleached the downy fur on his face to platinum, probably his last season of that pure, shimmering color. He was growing fast. Little Felde played his pipe to any living thing that would sit still and listen.
Slowly the first pale stars emerged: the Archer, the Water-Dove, and the Serpent, which Wayfolk called the Grommet. Felde loved hearing the story of the little grommet who sang such wonderful music to the stars that when he died, they could not bear to lose him. Torrey insisted he was too old for such tales. Tonight he was hunting other quarry in the skies.
Hayke, lying back on the blanket and gazing up at the stars, felt an absurd sense of tenderness. He loved both his children, but Felde, the one he had not carried...Felde was special. Perhaps because Felde was the last child he and Rosen would ever have, perhaps because it was Rosen who had borne him. Loss, still poignant after five years, pulsed through Hayke.
“There it is!” Torrey pointed to the northeast at the unwinking mote of light.
“Sharp eyes,” Hayke said.
Felde snuggled close, curling his arms around Hayke’s chest. “Are they really people from another star?”
“That’s what they say, little one.”
“Adso says it’s all an Erlind plot,” Torrey said. Adso was fourteen and Torrey’s closest friend.
“I’m not saying Adso’s wrong-minded,” said Hayke, “but imagine if you’d never set foot off this farm, never seen anything but hens and woolies, and then one day someone told you about the great city of Miraz. Thousands of people, all eight clans living together in one place. Towers and bridges and museums. Trams and temples. You’d think he was making it up.”
“I’d think his brains were corked!”
“But he’d be telling the truth, wouldn’t he?” said Hayke.
“Dim-Dim, what’s corked?” Felde piped up.
Torrey choked on his own laughter. Hayke hushed him.
Felde lifted his head. “I’d like to meet the star people.”
“You, grub?” Torrey said. “What would you do if you did meet one? Run away howling?”
After a moment, when the night had fallen quiet again and the stars seemed even closer, Felde said in his child’s voice, “Do you know what I’d do if I met the star people, Dimmie?”
“No, little one. What would you do?”
“I’d play my music for them.”
Hayke tightened his arms around Felde, felt the child’s bones like a delicate sculpture. The heartbeat, soft and light against his own. His crest fluttered with a tenderness he could not speak. He had no words for how very precious this child was to him. Rosen…Rosen would have loved him very much.
He wished with all his heart that Rosen might have lived to see this night, this unwavering star of hope.
Winter 2019 Newsletter
It's winter in the redwoods. Rain alternates with mist and occasional bursts of sun. Forest and garden rest and renew themselves. It's a time for reflection and the deep, slow workings of the imagination.Freya, who came to us a year ago as a tiny kitten, is now a magnificent young adult. She's a mackeral-striped, dilute tortoiseshell tabby (what a mouthful), who is athletic even with only one eye. Fearless when with the family, she disappears at the first hint of visitors. Some of our friends believe she is mythical.Book NewsThe Laran Gambit (working title):. My editor says it's on her list. Stay tuned!
Arilinn. I'm just about halfway through the first draft, discovering more connections and conflicts and even an unexpected love story as I go.
Collaborators. I will be reissuing my Lambda Literary Award science fiction novel in March 2020, complete with maps and blog posts about the city, gender-fluid characters, and a bunch more goodies. It will come in ebook (mobi, epub) and trade paperback formats. Read an excerpt below...
Lace and Blade 5 and Citadels of Darkover were my final editing jobs for the MZB Literary Works Trust. While it's unlikely the Trust will authorize further Darkover anthologies, I've talked to a few interested parties about finding a new home for the Lace and Blade series. It's like a little vagabond project, having been through three publishers so far. But readers love these stories and my favorite authors love writing them, so who knows? Stay tuned!Holiday Book Giveaway
'Tis the season to express our gratitude for friends and family, and to share many wonderful things -- gifts, memories, fun times...books! I offer my readers a selection of my books in thanks for their enthusiastic support. I'd likely keep writing even if no one every read a word, but there's immense satisfaction in hearing that my stories have touched the hearts of my readers.
The deal:
1. Send me an email (deborah@deborahjross.com) with your choice of books and a mailing address. In your email, let me know if or how you'd like the book signed (to you or someone you're giving the book to, or just a signature).
2. I'll pay domestic mail, although contributions ("Donate" button waaaay down on the lower left of my blog) for postage are most welcome.
3. Autographed bookplates (great if you already have my books!) - let me know how many you'd like.
4. Should you feel moved to review the book, that would be most welcome.
The books:
Thunderlord (hardcover or paperback)
The Children of Kings (hardcover)
Hastur Lord (hardcover)
Zandru's Forge (Clingfire #2 but works as standalone) (hardcover)
Collaborators excerpt Prolog Miraz: SPACE SHIPS SIGHTED OVER CHACARRE, Report by Talense. Throughout northern Chacarre, hundreds have reported sighting unknown airborne objects believed to be alien space ships. Kreste’s representative declined comment until the official science report is completed, but clan sources indicate a flurry of communications between the Helm offices and their counterparts in Erlonn. We have received one report, quickly denied as rumor, that troops have been secretly stationed near the Erlind border.
Hoax or sensation? Conspiracy or political gambit? No one is willing to say. Meanwhile, the people of Chacarre are watching and waiting for answers.~o0o~Hayke and his two children had carried blankets out to the hills beyond their farm near the Erlind border. They ate leftover potato rolls while the light faded from the sky. Early summer heat hung in the air, sweet with the smell of the ripening hay. The world softened into shadow, tone upon tone of layered gray except for the ghostly white of Hayke’s fur. Night-hoppers chittered; the grass rustled with the passage of a snake.
Torrey, the older child, had been out in the fields all day. Sun had bleached the downy fur on his face to platinum, probably his last season of that pure, shimmering color. He was growing fast. Little Felde played his pipe to any living thing that would sit still and listen.
Slowly the first pale stars emerged: the Archer, the Water-Dove, and the Serpent, which Wayfolk called the Grommet. Felde loved hearing the story of the little grommet who sang such wonderful music to the stars that when he died, they could not bear to lose him. Torrey insisted he was too old for such tales. Tonight he was hunting other quarry in the skies.
Hayke, lying back on the blanket and gazing up at the stars, felt an absurd sense of tenderness. He loved both his children, but Felde, the one he had not carried...Felde was special. Perhaps because Felde was the last child he and Rosen would ever have, perhaps because it was Rosen who had borne him. Loss, still poignant after five years, pulsed through Hayke.
“There it is!” Torrey pointed to the northeast at the unwinking mote of light.
“Sharp eyes,” Hayke said.
Felde snuggled close, curling his arms around Hayke’s chest. “Are they really people from another star?”
“That’s what they say, little one.”
“Adso says it’s all an Erlind plot,” Torrey said. Adso was fourteen and Torrey’s closest friend.
“I’m not saying Adso’s wrong-minded,” said Hayke, “but imagine if you’d never set foot off this farm, never seen anything but hens and woolies, and then one day someone told you about the great city of Miraz. Thousands of people, all eight clans living together in one place. Towers and bridges and museums. Trams and temples. You’d think he was making it up.”
“I’d think his brains were corked!”
“But he’d be telling the truth, wouldn’t he?” said Hayke.
“Dim-Dim, what’s corked?” Felde piped up.
Torrey choked on his own laughter. Hayke hushed him.
Felde lifted his head. “I’d like to meet the star people.”
“You, grub?” Torrey said. “What would you do if you did meet one? Run away howling?”
After a moment, when the night had fallen quiet again and the stars seemed even closer, Felde said in his child’s voice, “Do you know what I’d do if I met the star people, Dimmie?”
“No, little one. What would you do?”
“I’d play my music for them.”
Hayke tightened his arms around Felde, felt the child’s bones like a delicate sculpture. The heartbeat, soft and light against his own. His crest fluttered with a tenderness he could not speak. He had no words for how very precious this child was to him. Rosen…Rosen would have loved him very much.
He wished with all his heart that Rosen might have lived to see this night, this unwavering star of hope.
December 13, 2019
Short Book Reviews: A Female Sorceress Sherlock Holmes
The Affair of the Mysterious Letter, by Alexis Hall (Ace)A delicious mash-up of Sherlock Holmes (Shaharazad Hass, with her companion, alchemist and military veteran Captain John Wyndham), Lovecraftian mythos, Dracula, and The King in Yellow by Robert W. Chambers. Shaharazad Hass, a consulting detective as well as sorceress, accepts a commission from an old flame, who is threatened with blackmail unless she breaks off her engagement. The list of possible enemies is long, but as Shaharazad and John focus on the most likely suspects, one after the other is eliminated, including the vampire Contessa, another of Shaharazad’s many, many ex-lovers. I found the prose delightful in its replication of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s narrative, transported into a world of magic, demons, mind-altering drugs, and a sideways-in-time journey into the mysterious, menacing world of Chambers’s Carcosa and The King in Yellow. Weird and shiveringly wonderful reading!
December 11, 2019
Today's Moment of Art
Artist: Peder Mork Monsted (1859-1941)
December 9, 2019
Author Interview: R.A. McCandless on The Clockwork Detective, Writing, and Life
Recently I reviewed R.A. McCandless's excellent steampunk novel, The Clockwork Detective, here. I said, The last couple of years have brought a slew of wonderful steampunk adventures with resourceful, kick-ass heroines, and this one by McCandless is a worthy addition.Here I chat with the author about his inspiration, his future projects, and his advice for aspiring writers.
Deborah J. Ross: Tell us a little about yourself. How did you come to be a writer?R.A. McCandless: I came out writing, which was a weird delivery for the doctor. But really, I found myself telling stories early in grade school. We'd have assignments to write a complete sentence using a set of vocabulary words, and I'd get bored with that. Instead, I'd use the words to tell a short story. From there, it was only a short jaunt to writing my own stories.
Dragons are one of my chief inspirations. I've only included one once, in a short story. But any world where dragons can conceivably exist—please and thank you! That's almost any fantasy or science fiction story, which creates a broad palette for me to enjoy. From there, it's a hop, skip, and a wardrobe journey into another world that I'm fascinated to start exploring and sharing.
DJR: What inspired The Clockwork Detective?RAMcC: I’ve always, always, always loved the steampunk/dieselpunk aesthetic. I’d been approached by a publisher to submit a horror story for an anthology they were doing featuring Kevin J. Anderson. I love Anderson, but I’m not a horror writer. I knew this might be my one chance, so I buckled down and started working on a story. At the time, I was watching a lot of “Murdoch Mysteries” and “Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries” and really enjoying that pseudo-steampunk atmosphere. It wasn’t a huge leap for me to incorporate the same setting into my story, and suddenly I had Constable Aubrey Hartmann, solving mysteries, riding airships, and going on adventures.
DJR: What authors have most influenced your writing?RAMcC: It’s not a cliché at all to say that JRR Tolkien and Terry Brooks were my earliest influences. I’d read other works before them, but that’s when I truly started to become interested in genre fantasy reading. It’s also when I started to cook up my own stories. Anne McCaffery gave me rides on the backs of dragons—my father took me to the book store and bought me her first book. Elizabeth A. Lynn showed me that storytelling could be lyrically beautiful, and didn’t have to conform to social norms. I also have to give a huge shout out to Robert Jordan, David Gemmell and my personal hero: S. Andrew Swann. I loved, loved, loved, Swann’s Moreau Series, which was so fascinating and fresh. I keep hoping he’ll go back and tell one more story from that world.
DJR: What’s the most memorable fan mail you’ve ever received?RAMcC: A few months ago, a young fan sent me a hand-drawn picture of Aubrey Hartmann, complete with her clockwork leg and walking cane. It was the most amazing thing I’d ever received. I know a number of readers have been touched by the work that I’ve done, which is nice. But to have someone go to the effort of creating fan art, it’s just wonderful to experience that.DJR: How does your writing process work?RAMcC: I’m a total fly-by-the-seat of my pants writer. A “pantser” as other writers like to call us. This is in contrast to “plotters” who plot out their book from start to finish, knowing what happens in each scene almost like a story board for shooting a movie. I’ve always admired those plotters. It seems like a really strong way to go about building a beautiful work. For myself, though, I like to have the story unfold as I’m telling it, and let the ideas and concepts take me where my subconscious dictates. My way is not better, it’s just the way it works for me.
DJR: What have you written recently? What lies ahead?RAMcC: I just finished my first series, Flames of Perdition, with the book “Company of the Damned”. I’m hard at work on my next s
DJR: What advice would you give an aspiring writer?RAMcC: Write. Write every day if you can. But write. Just keep writing. You’re a writer, and that’s quite the accomplishment, whether you’re published or not. You’re not in contention or competition with anyone else. Your voice is your own, so don’t worry about what anyone else is doing. Do your thing, and keep writing.
R.A. McCandless has been a writer both professionally and creatively for over two decades. He was born under a wandering star that led to a degree in Communication and English with a focus on creative writing. He’s the author of the steampunk novel THE CLOCKWORK DETECTIVE, called by steampunk legend James P. Blaylock, “My kind of book!” He is also the author of urban fantasy TEARS OF HEAVEN, winner of the 2014 Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Preditors & Editors Reader’s Poll and a 2015 EPIC eBook finalist, HELL BECOMES HER and COMPANY OF THE DAMNED (releasing in 2019). His shorts have appeared in IN SHAMBLES with Kevin J. Anderson, NINE HEROES, and GEARS, GADGETS AND STEAM. He continues to research and write historical and genre fiction, battle sprinklers, and play with his three boys. Follow Rob on twitter @RobRoyMcCandles, on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/RobroyMccandless and on his blog http://www.highlandrogue.blogspot.com/Drawing of Aubrey Hartmann © 2019 Abby Prewitt
December 6, 2019
Short Book Reviews: Two October Daye Adventures (with Selkies)
I've finally caught up on the "October Daye" series by Seanan McGuire. As a special treat, each novel is followed by a novella featuring one of the secondary characters.
Night and Silence, by Seanan McGuire (DAW)
I’ve loved the October Daye series since the beginning, so I’m always up for another adventure. While I highly recommend reading the books from the beginning, McGuire gives you everything you need to enjoy jumping in – or in case it’s been awhile and you’d like a memory refresher. A long time ago, Toby had a daughter with her human boyfriend. That daughter, Gillian, has been raised by her father and stepmother (whose encounters with fae are another story entirely, and not a happy one), is now a college student, and believes Toby abandoned her. Now Gillian’s life is in danger and Toby must not only rescue her but solve a succession of mysteries while convincing her daughter to let her back into her life. It’s just as entertaining and heart-touching as the previous volumes, perhaps more so because of Toby’s intensely personal emotions when it comes to her daughter.
The Unkindest Tide, by Seanan McGuire (DAW)At the end of Night and Silence, October Daye has managed to save her daughter’s life by convincing the sea witch to give Gillian one of the few precious Selkie skins, thus giving human Gillian immunity to elfshot, a poison fatal to humans but not fae. But the terrible story behind the Selkie skins and the massacre of their original owners, the Roane, is rapidly drawing to a climax. The sea witch, mother to the Roane, has vowed to re-create that race by transforming the Selkies so that they can no longer remove or pass on their enchanted skins to their children. In effect, they will become permanently fae. For this, the sea witch needs Toby’s special blood magic. Gillian’s life depends on the fae protection of her Selkie skin, so she too will lose her humanity in the process, and the mother-daughter relationship between Gillian and Toby is rocky at best. The action moves briskly along as the son of Toby’s friends, heir to another aquatic kingdom, is kidnapped and one of the Selkies turns up dead, her skin missing. More exotic locations and fascinating characters mark this latest chapter. The story, like those before it, is brimming with the warmth and humor of Toby’s personality. Despite the complexity of all that has come before (many volumes of it!) I found no difficulty in immersing myself in this tale, so skillfully does the author handle all the backstory, relationships, and personalities.
December 4, 2019
Today's Moment of Art
Winding Road, by Elsie Palmer Payne (1884 – 1971)
December 2, 2019
Europa's Water, and Other Wonders of Science
Water Vapor Was Just Found on Europa
Scientists have found evidence of plate tectonics on Jupiter’s moon Europa. This conceptual illustration of the subduction process (where one plate is forced under another) shows how a cold, brittle, outer portion of Europa’s 20-30 kilometer-thick (roughly 10-20 mile) ice shell moved into the warmer shell interior and was ultimately subsumed. A low-relief subsumption band was created at the surface in the overriding plate, alongside which cryolavas may have erupted. Image credit: Noah Kroese, I.NK
More evidence came from studying the brown splotches on Europa’s surface. Scientists hypothesized that those are chemicals from the subsurface ocean which have made their way to the surface. This shows that the sea floor might be interacting with the surface, an important consideration when thinking about habitability.
The discovery of liquid plumes raised the excitement level about Europa’s potential habitability.
Bats in attics might be necessary for conservation
For the little brown bat -- a small mouse-eared bat with glossy brown fur -- a warm, dry place to roost is essential to the species' survival. Reproductive females huddle their small furry bodies together to save thermal energy during maternity season (summer), forming "maternity colonies." In the face of severe population losses across North America, summer access to an attic or other permanent sheltered structure, as opposed to just trees or rock crevices, is a huge benefit to these bats.
[Bat image: By SMBishop - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...]
Arp 273: Battling Galaxies from Hubble
The upper galaxy is labelled UGC 1810 by itself, but together with its collisional partners is known as Arp 273. The overall shape of the UGC 1810 -- in particular its blue outer ring -- is likely a result of wild and violent gravitational interactions. The blue color of the outer ring at the top is caused by massive stars that are blue hot and have formed only in the past few million years. The inner part of the upper galaxy -- itself an older spiral galaxy -- appears redder and threaded with cool filamentary dust. A few bright stars appear well in the foreground, unrelated to colliding galaxies, while several far-distant galaxies are visible in the background. Arp 273 lies about 300 million light years away toward the constellation of Andromeda. Quite likely, UGC 1810 will devour its galactic sidekicks over the next billion years and settle into a classic spiral form.
Scientists Construct a Global Map of Titan’s Geology
Titan’s methane-based hydrologic cycle makes it one of the Solar System’s most geologically diverse bodies. There are lakes of methane, methane rainfall, and even “snow” made of complex organic molecules. But all of that detail is hidden under the moon’s dense, hazy atmosphere.
The map is based on radar, visible, and infrared images from the Cassini mission. The Cassini mission ended in September 2017 when it was directed to crash into Saturn. But even after two years, scientists are still going through Cassini’s data and producing studies like this one.
Scientists have found evidence of plate tectonics on Jupiter’s moon Europa. This conceptual illustration of the subduction process (where one plate is forced under another) shows how a cold, brittle, outer portion of Europa’s 20-30 kilometer-thick (roughly 10-20 mile) ice shell moved into the warmer shell interior and was ultimately subsumed. A low-relief subsumption band was created at the surface in the overriding plate, alongside which cryolavas may have erupted. Image credit: Noah Kroese, I.NK
More evidence came from studying the brown splotches on Europa’s surface. Scientists hypothesized that those are chemicals from the subsurface ocean which have made their way to the surface. This shows that the sea floor might be interacting with the surface, an important consideration when thinking about habitability.
The discovery of liquid plumes raised the excitement level about Europa’s potential habitability.
Bats in attics might be necessary for conservation
.JPG/800px-Little_Brown_Myotis_(cropped).JPG)
For the little brown bat -- a small mouse-eared bat with glossy brown fur -- a warm, dry place to roost is essential to the species' survival. Reproductive females huddle their small furry bodies together to save thermal energy during maternity season (summer), forming "maternity colonies." In the face of severe population losses across North America, summer access to an attic or other permanent sheltered structure, as opposed to just trees or rock crevices, is a huge benefit to these bats.
[Bat image: By SMBishop - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...]
Arp 273: Battling Galaxies from Hubble
The upper galaxy is labelled UGC 1810 by itself, but together with its collisional partners is known as Arp 273. The overall shape of the UGC 1810 -- in particular its blue outer ring -- is likely a result of wild and violent gravitational interactions. The blue color of the outer ring at the top is caused by massive stars that are blue hot and have formed only in the past few million years. The inner part of the upper galaxy -- itself an older spiral galaxy -- appears redder and threaded with cool filamentary dust. A few bright stars appear well in the foreground, unrelated to colliding galaxies, while several far-distant galaxies are visible in the background. Arp 273 lies about 300 million light years away toward the constellation of Andromeda. Quite likely, UGC 1810 will devour its galactic sidekicks over the next billion years and settle into a classic spiral form.
Scientists Construct a Global Map of Titan’s Geology
Titan’s methane-based hydrologic cycle makes it one of the Solar System’s most geologically diverse bodies. There are lakes of methane, methane rainfall, and even “snow” made of complex organic molecules. But all of that detail is hidden under the moon’s dense, hazy atmosphere.
The map is based on radar, visible, and infrared images from the Cassini mission. The Cassini mission ended in September 2017 when it was directed to crash into Saturn. But even after two years, scientists are still going through Cassini’s data and producing studies like this one.
November 29, 2019
Short Book Reviews: A Mexican Cinderella
Gods of Jade and Shadow, by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (Del Rey)From the first page, this retelling of “Cinderella” crossed with the Orpheus legend captivated me. The language is vividly evocative, the characters – both human and supernatural – are compelling, and the depiction of the culture, setting, and history, not to mention the rich folklore and language – are first-rate. I found myself reading more slowly than usual just to savor the luscious prose.
It’s 1927, and elsewhere in the world, the Roaring Twenties are in full swing, but not for Cassiopea Tun, who lives with her downtrodden mother in the small Yucatan village of Uukumil under the despotic thumb of her grandfather and the maliciousness of her vain, useless cousin. By accident, she re-animates Hun-Kamé, Lord of Shadows, the Supreme Lord of Xibalba, land of the dead, and the two embark upon a quest to retrieve the lost parts of his body (an eye, an ear, etc.) and wrest his throne from the clutches of his twin brother. Cassieopea discovers her inner strength, even as associating with her renders Hun-Kamé progressively more human. In this world populated by gods and witches, ghosts and flappers, Mexico itself becomes a character, stretched between desire for modernity and its ancient, compelling heritage.
Gods of Jade and Shadow is a brilliant, satisfying cultural fantasy that pushes the boundaries of the field while offering a sweet story of love, courage, and sacrifice.
The usual disclaimer: I received a review copy of this book, but no one bribed me to praise it. Although chocolates and fine imported tea are always welcome.
November 28, 2019
Thanksgiving Wishes for You
May your hearts be blessed with an abundance of love, this day and always.
November 27, 2019
Today's Moment of Art
Patrick Downie, 1854-1945
