Silvia Moreno-Garcia has created a beautiful book for fans of American Gods and cultural mythology. In her new book Gods of Jade and Shadow, readers follow the adventures of Cassiopeia Tun, a young woman who releases a trapped Lord of Xibalba by accident. For those who are not deeply into Mesoamerican mythology, Xibalba translates as “place of fear” and was the land of the Mayan Gods of death. Cassiopeia is the disrespected granddaughter of a man who disowned his own daughter and has her work in his kitchen. After a cruel punishment from her grandfather, Cassiopeia breaks the rules and opens a special box in his room. Inside are the bones of the Lord of Xibalba, Hun-Kame, and he is out for revenge against his brother. Unfortunately, a shard of his bones lodges in Cassiopeia’s finger and they two are bonded together, with Hun-Kame slowly draining her life force until he becomes whole again. With Hun-Kame’s twin brother creating traps, the Cassiopeia and the god she is accidentally bonded to go on a tour of Mesoamerica to return him to his rightful place among the gods of the dead.
Moreno-Garcia has an incredible imagination and uses a whole host of gods, demons, and creatures from Mesoamerican mythology. It is rare to see them used in literature in the United States and I found it thrilling to get to know more. The detailed descriptions play out a movie in the reader’s mind. The book follows a good chunk of fairly dark mythology and death culture, which may not be suitable for younger or very sensitive readers, but for fans of works like American Gods, the reader will feel right at home. The book follows a definite theme of tradition vs. change in the 1920s, but also feels fresh and relateable to modern day readers. Gods of Jade and Shadow covers large portions of history and culture from the Yucatan to Baja California, but it never feels like a forced history lesson. I absolutely adored this book and I definitely will be reading more of her work.
Gods of Jade and Shadow is available July 23rd from Del Rey Publishing.
