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A Star in the Sky
The day is 9.9.1.0.18 4 Etz'nab' in the great Maya city of Palenque, and in a luxurious mountain villa a man lies dying.
Taah Tiwoh had been feared and disliked in life, and was almost entirely unlamented in death. Many had prayed for him to meet an untimely end, but had someone taken matters into their own hands?
Having failed to save him, his doctor, the Royal Physician Lady Tz'unun, is determined to find out how he died. Her honour, her reputation and possibly her life will depend on her ability to track down the poisoner who successfully defeated her most sophisticated cures. However, danger lurks among the fog-shrouded mansions of the city's elites, and the more Tz'unun investigates, the more she realises that almost everyone involved would prefer for Taah Tiwoh's death to remain a mystery. As she and her assistants work to eliminate suspects from her list before the terrifying city magistrates can take over the case, the lies and deceptions of the high aristocracy are thrown open to the light of day. In such uncertain times, no one is above suspicion, and the good doctor is not without secrets of her own...
A Star in the Sky is a magical murder mystery set among the glories of classical Maya civilisation.
Taah Tiwoh had been feared and disliked in life, and was almost entirely unlamented in death. Many had prayed for him to meet an untimely end, but had someone taken matters into their own hands?
Having failed to save him, his doctor, the Royal Physician Lady Tz'unun, is determined to find out how he died. Her honour, her reputation and possibly her life will depend on her ability to track down the poisoner who successfully defeated her most sophisticated cures. However, danger lurks among the fog-shrouded mansions of the city's elites, and the more Tz'unun investigates, the more she realises that almost everyone involved would prefer for Taah Tiwoh's death to remain a mystery. As she and her assistants work to eliminate suspects from her list before the terrifying city magistrates can take over the case, the lies and deceptions of the high aristocracy are thrown open to the light of day. In such uncertain times, no one is above suspicion, and the good doctor is not without secrets of her own...
A Star in the Sky is a magical murder mystery set among the glories of classical Maya civilisation.
256 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 2, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
December 5, 2016
Two weeks spent in the 7th century Palenque and its surroundings left me craving for more.
I could have read this book in a day or two, but I kept slowing down because I simply didn't want this story to end. The complex politics, the Palace's intricate not to say devious intrigues, the daily life and its joys and hardships and mysteries, the three-dimensional characters with their private small dilemmas and choices and the big ones the life-changing decisions - all these and more made me feel as though I was there alongside those characters, liking some of them enormously, falling in love with ones, getting annoyed by the others, sympathizing with the rest.
Three Rabbit, the main character and the most likable rascal one can wish to meet in a real life or literature alike, had my motherly feelings awoken most of the time. Not so with Siyah Ak'ab', the Queen's closest of advisers and a shady bureaucrat in a way, the head of Palenque KGB-like thing. But did I fall for this particular character, his witty no-bullsh*t attitude, his sarcastic humor, his unperturbed acceptance of facts of life and human nature, his kinder sides that he seemed to wish to hide desperately. By definition I should not have liked this character at all, and yet I managed to fall for him and hope to see more of him in the sequel that I sincerely hope will be coming soon.
The Queen Sak K'uk managed to charm me as well, having somewhat similar qualities to her adviser - well, naturally, or she would have promoted someone else in his stead, with him having no aristocratic blood whatsoever. She was not a natural queen in herself, a highly noble person but not of royal family, having taken the throne after quite a bloody struggle and enough moons of civil war. Having taken nothing for granted, she made me like her and her no-bull attitude a great deal!
The Doctor, Lady Tz'unun and her equally noble-blood assistant Mu'yaal-of-a-long-name were as likable and I certainly wish to see them in the continued books, but not like Three Rabbit (and Yaxuun, preferably) or the aforementioned and much-lauded in this review Siyah Ak'ab' - those are my all time favorites for now.
Having read the rest of this author's books, I must say that I love the author's style, a mix of a wonderful storytelling in a well-researched historical setting that feels incredibly authentic, with the best of the Monty Python's humor/sarcasm that makes one understand and sympathize with the characters yet more intently. I certainly hope for the continuation of this story to come out soon.
I could have read this book in a day or two, but I kept slowing down because I simply didn't want this story to end. The complex politics, the Palace's intricate not to say devious intrigues, the daily life and its joys and hardships and mysteries, the three-dimensional characters with their private small dilemmas and choices and the big ones the life-changing decisions - all these and more made me feel as though I was there alongside those characters, liking some of them enormously, falling in love with ones, getting annoyed by the others, sympathizing with the rest.
Three Rabbit, the main character and the most likable rascal one can wish to meet in a real life or literature alike, had my motherly feelings awoken most of the time. Not so with Siyah Ak'ab', the Queen's closest of advisers and a shady bureaucrat in a way, the head of Palenque KGB-like thing. But did I fall for this particular character, his witty no-bullsh*t attitude, his sarcastic humor, his unperturbed acceptance of facts of life and human nature, his kinder sides that he seemed to wish to hide desperately. By definition I should not have liked this character at all, and yet I managed to fall for him and hope to see more of him in the sequel that I sincerely hope will be coming soon.
The Queen Sak K'uk managed to charm me as well, having somewhat similar qualities to her adviser - well, naturally, or she would have promoted someone else in his stead, with him having no aristocratic blood whatsoever. She was not a natural queen in herself, a highly noble person but not of royal family, having taken the throne after quite a bloody struggle and enough moons of civil war. Having taken nothing for granted, she made me like her and her no-bull attitude a great deal!
The Doctor, Lady Tz'unun and her equally noble-blood assistant Mu'yaal-of-a-long-name were as likable and I certainly wish to see them in the continued books, but not like Three Rabbit (and Yaxuun, preferably) or the aforementioned and much-lauded in this review Siyah Ak'ab' - those are my all time favorites for now.
Having read the rest of this author's books, I must say that I love the author's style, a mix of a wonderful storytelling in a well-researched historical setting that feels incredibly authentic, with the best of the Monty Python's humor/sarcasm that makes one understand and sympathize with the characters yet more intently. I certainly hope for the continuation of this story to come out soon.
May 20, 2017
The first book I read by this talented author was a contemporary mystery titled "People Like Us," which blew me away because it was so witty, smart, and entertaining. "A Star in the Sky" is also a murder mystery, but it's set in the early 7th century Mayan empire. I enjoy mysteries, but historical fiction is my favorite genre. To read a literary work by this gifted author combining both was pure pleasure.
Here is a partial description of Palenque: "At dawn, when the mist rises from the jungle into the purple of the morning sky, the streams appear gradually, cascading through and around the clouds. Like the dream serpent Och-Kan emerging from the smoke of burnt offerings, so the waterfalls wreathe the flanks of the mountain. Finally, the pale towers, the mansions of the gods and the great noble families, unveil themselves to the waiting watcher: a city and a vision and a chimera."
From here we are introduced to the "waiting watcher," Three Rabbit, a resourceful character who leads his "raiding party" - renowned physician Lady Tz'unun and her assistant, Ch'ok Muyaal - through early-morning quiet streets, on through secret paths in the jungle, and finally up to the old K'awiil Temple for an illicit rendezvous with an apprentice priest. The trio is quickly drawn into a murder mystery which, by command of the Queen, they are to thoroughly investigate and solve before war threatens to split the kingdom apart.
This is a wondrous read. Highly recommended.
Here is a partial description of Palenque: "At dawn, when the mist rises from the jungle into the purple of the morning sky, the streams appear gradually, cascading through and around the clouds. Like the dream serpent Och-Kan emerging from the smoke of burnt offerings, so the waterfalls wreathe the flanks of the mountain. Finally, the pale towers, the mansions of the gods and the great noble families, unveil themselves to the waiting watcher: a city and a vision and a chimera."
From here we are introduced to the "waiting watcher," Three Rabbit, a resourceful character who leads his "raiding party" - renowned physician Lady Tz'unun and her assistant, Ch'ok Muyaal - through early-morning quiet streets, on through secret paths in the jungle, and finally up to the old K'awiil Temple for an illicit rendezvous with an apprentice priest. The trio is quickly drawn into a murder mystery which, by command of the Queen, they are to thoroughly investigate and solve before war threatens to split the kingdom apart.
This is a wondrous read. Highly recommended.
December 19, 2016
I think there are certain authors you always feel safe with, ones that you trust. Deng is one of those authors. While none of Deng’s stories are settled in my favorite genre, I can nevertheless be guaranteed an interesting read, and when offered up this book, I eagerly accepted.
While I missed the banter and wild exploits of Keszthelyi and Estrade in Deng’s other books, I was instead handed an exciting setting and a murder that needed solving.
Now, I will openly admit that I’m not a murder mystery reader. Never have been. But that’s not why I pick up Deng’s books. It’s being transported to another place, realistic but fun, with a lot going on, that I enjoy. So for those avid murder mystery readers, I cannot say if you would enjoy this or not. If I loved it, I’d like to think you would as well.
The setting is the city of Palenque, a real Mayan city, and I felt the author did more than enough research to transport me there. Matter of fact, it felt authentic even down to the names, which I found myself tripping over often. For those picking up this book, skip to the back where you can find some handy notes on how to read the names. Even so, I’m a fast reader, and as such I don’t absorb every letter of a name, so I found this quite challenging as the names started running together for me. I advise any that tend to read names the same to take the time in the beginning to sort them all out.
I didn’t latch on to any one character in this book. I like them all, but I think the setting and culture stole the show here, which isn’t a bad thing at all. It definitely moves. You’re discovering along with the characters, and it makes it interesting. Because I’ve never written a review for a murder mystery, I’m hesitant to go into details about how I felt in regards to the who-done-it or how our characters explored the clues. All I’ll say is, for me, it was satisfying. And as always, Deng’s voice is confident and the writing smooth and hypnotizing.
If you read this and at all enjoy it, I cannot recommend this author’s works enough.
While I missed the banter and wild exploits of Keszthelyi and Estrade in Deng’s other books, I was instead handed an exciting setting and a murder that needed solving.
Now, I will openly admit that I’m not a murder mystery reader. Never have been. But that’s not why I pick up Deng’s books. It’s being transported to another place, realistic but fun, with a lot going on, that I enjoy. So for those avid murder mystery readers, I cannot say if you would enjoy this or not. If I loved it, I’d like to think you would as well.
The setting is the city of Palenque, a real Mayan city, and I felt the author did more than enough research to transport me there. Matter of fact, it felt authentic even down to the names, which I found myself tripping over often. For those picking up this book, skip to the back where you can find some handy notes on how to read the names. Even so, I’m a fast reader, and as such I don’t absorb every letter of a name, so I found this quite challenging as the names started running together for me. I advise any that tend to read names the same to take the time in the beginning to sort them all out.
I didn’t latch on to any one character in this book. I like them all, but I think the setting and culture stole the show here, which isn’t a bad thing at all. It definitely moves. You’re discovering along with the characters, and it makes it interesting. Because I’ve never written a review for a murder mystery, I’m hesitant to go into details about how I felt in regards to the who-done-it or how our characters explored the clues. All I’ll say is, for me, it was satisfying. And as always, Deng’s voice is confident and the writing smooth and hypnotizing.
If you read this and at all enjoy it, I cannot recommend this author’s works enough.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews