On My Bookshelf: Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Title: Gods of Jade and Shadow
Author: Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Genre: Fantasy, Maya Mythology, Death
My Rating: 5/5

Casiopea Tun dreams of dancing fast, swimming in the Pacific Ocean, and driving an automobile. Instead, she is trapped in a rural Mexican town serving her hateful grandfather and the rest of his family. One day, she opens the forbidden chest in her grandfather’s bedroom and releases the god of death, Hun-Kame, supreme leader of Xibalba. Together they must journey across Mexico and complete three trials to restore Hun-Kame to his throne. If they are successful, Hun-Kame will grant Casiopea’s heart’s desire. If they fail… Casiopea will die.

This story started off slowly, with exposition about the town, the family, and Casiopea’s hopes and personality, starkly in opposition to the show, don’t tell “rule” of writing. Based on the first chapter, I was prepared to be a little disappointed; I had my eye on this book for many months and was very excited to finally be able to read it. However, once Casiopea opened the chest, accidentally releasing Hun-Kame, the story took off and took me with it. I was completely caught up in the narrative, which does feature a lot of exposition, but it works. This is part historical fantasy, part love story, but the tone solidifies it as a beautifully-told brand-new myth.

Casiopea is as real as anyone, full of dreams, bitterness, curiosity, and love. She was inspiring in her strength, but it wasn’t a self-sacrificial strength a la Cinderella. She was always determined to save herself, and did, in the end.

As the story unfolded, I knew it was going to be a bittersweet ending and Garcia-Moreno delivered. I finished reading with a knot in my throat and stars in my eyes, hoping that Casiopea and Hun Kame could find a measure of peace in their futures. I love reading about Maya history, religion, and myth and this book was exactly what I was craving. I’ll be rereading Gods of Jade and Shadow regularly.

The things you name do grow in power, but others that are not ever whispered claw at one’s heart anyway, rip it to shreds even if a syllable does not escape the lips.

Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Gods of Jade and Shadow

Short Story: The Night Harvest

No one ever returned. None before. None after. Just him.

Until now.

A figure exploded from the edge of the forest, scattering twigs and scraps of mist. Donafel let out a sharp breath, a plume of condensation. Ghostly antlers crowned the figure’s head and, for a moment, the familiar terror gripped him. But no—the antlers were merely the crisscross of branches.

He took a shuddering breath, letting his fear and disappointment dissipate into the chill morning air. The wooden porch creaked as he shifted.

The figure spotted Donafel and careened to a halt, still shadowed by the towering trees. Mud streaked his face and clothes and he cradled his wrists, scabbed with dried blood. Donafel and the boy stared at each other.

The weight of another’s gaze—a human gaze—made Donafel feel naked. For so long his companions had been the silence of the cabin walls, the forest that crouched just beyond the fence, and the unseen watchers in the trees.

The sight of the boy brought back flashes of memory.

At the center of town, the fog dissipated until a rough circle cleared around the hitching post and the child tethered there. Out of the viscous, billowing white, a figure emerged.

His old life seemed more dream than reality. But that one night remained sharp, pungent. On the days the fog crawled from the forest, so, too, did the memories.

Once, it had been yearly; the fog would slink from the east, defying wind and sun to creep from between the trees, across the fields, through the town’s main gate.

Now… now it came far more often.

Each month, at the dark of the moon, the scars around Donafel’s wrists started to throb. The pain heralded the wall of white that oozed from the forest and occluded the cabin. When the ache in his left wrist extended to his elbow, he knew the fog had reached the town, and preparations had begun—quietly, so as not to alarm the children.

Donafel remembered the fear in his parents’ eyes. The children would be scared anyway.

The townsfolk would lock their doors, keep the children hidden beneath beds. Livestock would huddle in the farthest corner of each barn. The main gate would stand open to the abandoned streets: an invitation.

Donafel whimpered, throat too raw to scream anymore. He tugged at his bonds, frantic, until his wrists bled down his arms, but the hitching post was set deep into the ground. The figure stepped forward...

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On My Bookshelf: Abhorsen by Garth Nix

Title: Abhorsen
Author: Garth Nix
Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult
My Rating: 5/5

Abhorsen is a continuation of the previous book, Lirael, and picks up where the last one left off. The Destroyer, an ancient and terrible evil, has been released and is intent on the destruction of the world. Lirael, sent away from her home in the mountains, has just discovered that she is the Abhorsen-in-waiting, charged with laying the dead to rest and protecting the Kingdom. She and her friends the Disreputable Dog, Prince Sameth, and Mogget, the talking cat/imprisoned magical beast, continue on their journey to rescue Sam’s friend and defeat the Destroyer before it obliterates the world.

Like Lirael before it, Abhorsen is not a standalone book. These are basically parts one and two of the same story and cannot be read independently of each other. Abhorsen continues with a quick pace, starting in media res, and the action piles on until the very end. Lirael and Sam are much more likable in this book, as they’ve started to grow into their powers.Their companions, the Dog and Mogget, have strong personalities and mysterious backgrounds that come into play towards the end. Like threads being woven together, all major and minor storylines join beautifully in the conclusion. I have read Abhorsen dozens of times and I cry at the end every single time. A worthwhile read. 

…It is better to do something than nothing, even if the cost is great.

Abhorsen, Garth Nix

Full disclosure: I photoshopped the photo of the book for the this post because I’m still in the process of moving and wasn’t able to take a picture. So I reused an old photo and inserted a picture of the cover over top.

On My Bookshelf: Lirael by Garth Nix

Title: Lirael
Author: Garth Nix
Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult
My Rating: 4/5

Lirael is a daughter of the Clayr, a matriarchal society in the northern mountains. All the Clayr have the gift of Sight–except Lirael. Abandoned by her mother when she was a child, she feels alone and irreconcilably different from the rest of her kin. She finds solace in her position as a librarian where she meets–or creates?–her dearest friend, the Disreputable Dog. However, when the Clayr See an ancient enemy that threatens the entire world, they also See that Lirael is the only one who could stop it. They send her out of the mountain with only her own skills and the help of the Dog to face this terrifying evil.

Lirael is the sequel to Sabriel, but doesn’t feature the characters from the previous book much at all. The pace in the beginning is a little slow and Lirael often comes across as mopey and childish. Initially, she is fourteen, so this is fairly forgivable, as long as you can make it through the first section. Lirael has a great character arc, however, and grows into her own strength. She meets Prince Sameth towards the end of the book, who has similar issues but also grows out of them. While Lirael isn’t as strong a book as Sabriel, it’s very enjoyable. However, it is NOT a standalone book. It should have been combined with the third book, Abhorsen, and just been released as one huge volume. Don’t read Lirael without also having Abhorsen ready to read!

I am the Disreputable Dog. Or Disreputable Bitch, if you want to get technical. When are we going for a walk?

Lirael, Garth Nix

Full disclosure: I photoshopped the photo of the book for the this post because I’m still in the process of moving and wasn’t able to take a picture. So I reused an old photo and inserted a picture of the cover over top.

On My Bookshelf: Sabriel by Garth Nix

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Title: Sabriel
Author: Garth Nix
Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult
My Rating: 5/5

Sabriel is eighteen and about to graduate from private school in the country of Ancelstierre. However, she is from the Old Kingdom across the Wall, where magic runs wild and necromancers can command the dead to rise. Her father is the Abhorsen, sworn to combat necromancers and lay the dead to rest. When he sends a message from beyond death, Sabriel must cross the Wall into a land she hasn’t visited since she was five. With help from Mogget, a talking cat who is actually a deadly magical beast, and Touchstone, a man she frees from an enchanted sleep, Sabriel must take on the mantle of the Abhorsen to find her father and defeat a great Enemy who seeks the destruction of the entire kingdom.

I don’t think I can ever review Sabriel as an unbiased reader. It will always be dear to me as one of the books I read annually (along with Lirael and Abhorsen) and as a paragon of the types of stories I want to write. Nix writes Sabriel as a down to earth, intelligent, strong, emotional lead. She was written as a person who happens to be female, rather than as a tropey “strong female character” or, even worse, as a sex object. As a result, she felt more real to me than many female fantasy characters who often come across as caricatures. Sabriel’s companion Mogget is an absolute delight. Will he kill Sabriel? What even is he? It doesn’t matter because you end up liking him regardless. Touchstone takes getting used to because he is overly servile in the beginning, although his motivation for his behavior soon becomes clear. Perhaps the love story between him and Sabriel was a little quick, but I buy it because Sabriel and Touchstone work well together and people who go through great trials together bond deeply and quickly. The pace of Sabriel is quick but not rushed, the worldbuilding is one-of-a-kind (in fact, it wasn’t until many years and many rereads later that I realized this is essentially zombies with magic), and the characters feel real. Sabriel has a permanent spot on my top ten list of favorite books.

Let this be my final lesson. Everyone and everything has a time to die.

Sabriel, Garth Nix

Full disclosure: I photoshopped the photo of the book for the this post because I’m still in the process of moving and wasn’t able to take a picture. So I reused an old photo and inserted a picture of the cover over top.