Gods Of Jade And Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Author : Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Title : Gods Of Jade And Shadow
Published : 2019
Publisher : Jo Fletcher Books
Pages : 352
Genre : Historical Fiction / Fantasy

     The Jazz Age is in full swing, but it's passing Casiopea Tun by. She's too busy scrubbing floors in her wealthy grandfather's house to do anything more than a dream of a life far from her dusty, small town in southern Mexico. A life she could call her own. This dream is impossible, distant as the stars - until the day Casiopea opens a curious chest in her grandfather's room and accidentally frees an ancient Mayan god of death. He offers her a deal: if Casiopea helps him recover his throne from his treacherous brother, he will grant her whatever she desires. Success will make her every dream come true, but failure will see her lost, forever.

     I have had a passing interest in the idea of the Mayan afterlife since I played a game called Grim Fandango as a kid. It is something that plays on my mind from time to time, most recently with the film Coco, so when I saw this book I knew I would have to give it a go. There was also the choice of settings for the book. I suppose it probably wasn't as we now imagine it but there is this idea of the ninety twenties as this magical time where so much seemed possible, we do like to forget the worst of it. But with these two elements in place, it would seem like the perfect fit for me. 

     Casiopea fits the part of any good fairy tale, she is stuck in a life that she does not want. Working for cruel people who will one day see her drop dead. She dreams of a better life far away. This is a girl who refuses to let her upbringing dampen her lust for life. As we know though sometimes all it takes is one good dose of magic to rip them from this path and set them off on the adventure of a lifetime. So enters Hun-Kame, all be it a god but also someone who has been trapped in their current situation by another. Between them, they must put right what once went wrong and restore balance back to not only Casiopea's slice of the world but restore harmony to the afterlife.  These two bounce of each other well with Casiopea bringing a much-needed dose of humanity to the ego of one of the gods of death. The author also brings some interesting family dynamics to this story of fantasy. We see that much like in real life family's fight and just because we are bonded by blood does not mean that we are close or even liked by one another. 

     This book truly embodies those high adventures of the twenties, With a need to race at terrific speed from one point to the next in a mad race against time. Every moment feels like a do or die and the world is spinning so very fast. All you can do is hold on by the tips of your fingers and see how it will all end for these two. The author has created an amazingly magical world for her leads to play in. It skirts around our own world dipping in and out of the fantastical at just the right moments. The is a certain element of glee as experience just how fallibility these Mayan gods are. Unlike those of the Judeo Christian religions who serve from up on high. These are far more down to earth, they make mistakes and boy do they ever fight with each other. It allows for a certain am mount of humor at there expense. It is one of those books that allows for escapism in its purest forms. We are transported to another time and place for a book that is a hoot from start to finish. 

      With everything going on in the world right now this is probably the book you need to take a break for a couple of hours. It has adventure, peril, romance, and thrills and spills galore. And most of all I had fun reading it.