Taylor's Reviews > Dark Sun, Bright Moon

Dark Sun, Bright Moon was an intriguing tale about the ancient Andean people from an author who spent a great deal of time in the area and knows what he's talking about. That much is clearly evident by the detail in which he goes into the belief system through the character, Q’ilyasisa, who is directly linked to this system not only as a believer, but as an active participant who is able to interact with the otherworldly elements.

Q'ilyasisa is a strong character who takes her new leadership roles within the religion in perfect stride and with a confidence that one would be surprised to find in such a young girl in such new surroundings.

Although I did not end up finishing the book, it was not due to poor writing or lack of intriguing characters and subject matter. Rather, Sparrow's decision-making in the telling of the story and explanation of subject matter became a bit convoluted. There was so much information about the Andean culture and specifics of the religious system, but it was not explained in a coherent way. I got the feeling that Sparrow wanted to have the characters explain the system as they continued their story and while this was a perfectly solid strategy, I feel like it could have been executed better.

There is an appendix available and perhaps reading this section first would have helped with this issue that I ran into.

Generally, this was a solid story with intriguing characters and ideas and I would recommend that anyone who has a strong interest in historical fiction give it a shot, just maybe try reading the appendix first.

***I received Dark Sun, Bright Moon for free from the author in exchange for an honest review***