Gods of Jade and Shadow

Product Information

The most enjoyable aspect of Gods of Jade and Shadow is the romance between Casiopea and Hun-Kamé. All the excitement and starry-eyed ardour of a first love affair is magnified ten-fold by the fact that the object of Casiopea’s affection is a literal god. Moreno-Garcia writes some rapturous scenes for the two of them, and although the ending of their courtship is somewhat preordained, it’s still a lot of fun to get swept up in the swoony, over-blown romanticism of it all. Yet this new life seems as distant as the stars, until the day she finds a curious wooden box in her grandfather’s room. She opens it—and accidentally frees the spirit of the Mayan god of death, who requests her help in recovering his throne from his treacherous brother. Failure will mean Casiopea’s demise, but success could make her dreams come true. A magical novel of duality, tradition, and change . . . Moreno-Garcia's seamless blend of mythology and history provides a ripe setting for Casiopea's stellar journey of self-discovery, which culminates in a dramatic denouement. Readers will gladly immerse themselves in Moreno-Garcia's rich and complex tale of desperate hopes and complicated relationships." -- Publishers Weekly (starred review) An evocative and moving modern Indigenous fairy tale filled with quiet moments of vulnerability and honesty. Oh, my heart!” —Rebecca Roanhorse, Hugo and Nebula award winning author of the Sixth World series

Casiopea is the eighteen-year-old granddaughter of a town elder. Despite his privileged status, questions over her paternity lead him to treat her like a slave, with his bullying grandson Martín adding to her misery. Simultaneously heartbreaking and heart-mending, Gods of Jade and Shadowis a wondrous and magical tale about choosing our own path. I felt weepy and happy and hopeful when I finished—everything you want to feel at the end of a great story.” —Kevin Hearne, New York Timesbestselling author of The Iron Druid Chronicles and A Plague of GiantsThe Mayan god of death sends a young woman on a harrowing, life-changing journey in this dark, one-of-a-kind fairy tale inspired by Mexican folklore. Had Casiopea possessed her father’s pronounced romantic leanings, perhaps she might have seen herself as a Cinderella-­like figure. But although she treasured his old books, the skeletal remains of his collection—­especially the sonnets by Quevedo, wells of sentiment for a young heart—­she had decided it would be nonsense to configure herself into a tragic heroine. Instead, she chose to focus on more pragmatic issues, mainly that her horrible grandfather, despite his constant yelling, had promised that upon his passing Casiopea would be the beneficiary of a modest sum of money, enough that it might allow her to move to Mérida.

Silvia Moreno-Garcia is a Canadian author, who was born and raised in Mexico. Her debut novel, Signal to Noise, won the 2016 Copper Cylinder Award, which recognizes works of speculative fiction. In the company of the strangely alluring god and armed with her wits, Casiopea begins an adventure that will take her on a cross-country odyssey from the jungles of Yucat n to the bright lights of Mexico City--and deep into the darkness of the Mayan underworld. A dark, dazzling fairy tale . . . a whirlwind tour of a 1920s Mexico vivid with jazz, the memories of revolution, and gods, demons, and magic." --NPR The Mayan god of death sends a young woman on a harrowing, life-changing journey in this dark,one-of-a-kindfairy tale inspired by Mexican folklore. The country was supposed to be secularist after the revolution, something that sounded fine when it was printed as a decree, but was harder to enforce once push came to shove. Cristero rebellions bubbled down the center of Mexico whenever the government tried to restrict religious activity. That February in Jalisco and Guanjuato all priests had been detained for inciting people to rise against the anti-­Catholic measures promoted by the president. Yet Yucatán was tolerant of the Cristeros, and it had not flamed up like other states. Yucatán had always been a world apart, an island, even if the atlas assured Casiopea she lived on a verdant peninsula.So, while women in other parts of the world cut their hair daringly short and danced the Charleston, Uukumil was the kind of place where Casiopea might be chided if she walked around town without her shawl wrapping her head.