Sky Knife

This book is an excellent, enjoyable fantasy that is built on a solid foundation of historical and anthropological research. Ms. Sands' thorough understanding of the Mayan culture is what helps to draw the reader in and allows him or her to go along with the more fantastical aspects of the story. I learned a few things about the Mayan world while at the same time enjoying the magical elements of the plot. The fantasy integrated seamlessly with the framework of cultural information that the author provides. One of the reasons we read books with a fantasy element is to transcend and escape the everyday world. Since _Sky Knife_ was not proffered as a historical account of the Maya, the magical facet of the book only enhanced it in my mind, reifying the worldview of the characters. The reader lives the protagonist's experiences with him and is drawn into the adventure as he encounters it. Sands pays careful attention to character development and detail so that you see, hear, feel, taste, smell-- and sometimes recoil in horror from-- the world she has created. What more can you ask from a fantasy novel other than to be drawn completely into it for a while? _Sky Knife_ is well-written, well-researched, fun reading.

But who really cares. It is a fun, fast paced, light on the mind read.

I had the opportunity to visit the Yucatan a few years ago and Belize after that and came away with a fascination for the Mayan culture which has not died. This book is one of the best fiction accounts of the time and culture that I have read. The Mayan culture is very alien to our ways and mores, and yet the author has managed to make it very accessible. While one may cringe at the idea of someone voluntarily going to a bloody and painful death in order to bring good fortune to the city, this book does an excellent job of portraying the necessity and the response of the people involved. Sky Knife, the hero, takes on the roll of the Detective who must search out the root of the bad luck the city is suddenly plagued with in order to restore order and harmony. A naieve young man at the beginning, he must learn to think outside the cultural box, as the reader must as well to fully appreciate this book. I haven't read the sequel yet, but I've ordered it and am awaiting it breathlessly.

This is simply a terrific book. Ms. Sands has a professional anthropologist's knowledge of the historical Maya. She knows the details of their architecture, their government, and their artifacts. But that doesn't begin to describe the range of this novel. Moving beyond stones and ruins, she reveals a people wholly entangled with their intricate religious system. The result is a land where gods and humans intercourse in a way that seems like fantasy to modern eyes -- and like everyday life to the people of Tikal. This is one of the most fleshed-out views of an "alien" culture you're likely to find. Highly recommended.