9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Part3: Light of Machu Picchu + a general view of the trilogy, March 16, 2004
After reaching the end of the third book of this trilogy, I was left with the following impressions:
1. The most interesting thing about this trilogy is that it focus on a subject that is almost forgotten in historical fiction: the Inca civilization. That alone is reason to buy the trilogy, for those who are interested in the subject.
2. The books are a blend of accurate history and a somewhat corny and water-and-sugar clicheed love story; there are better books on similar subjects, like Gary Jennings' "Aztec" and Collen MacCullough's "First man in Rome" series.
3. The authors chose to portrait too many characters, sometimes confusing the readers, especially when concerning Inca characters. Excluding the Sapa Incas, the other native pre-columbian characters are almost always variations on the same one.
4. When Gabriel, the spanish central character, is not part of the plot, the chapters just drag along, many times boring and tiresome. Anamaya, the main Inca character, lacks strenght.
5. As I read the books, I realised the trilogy starts very well, but ends badly. This should not be a trilogy, but only one book, better edited, with a better-developed plot. The authors focused too much on dead-end fictional characters, while historical figures, when they appeared, were always portraied as evil people.
The third part is very similar to the first two, and the three books should be read as one.
After closing this third book, I felt I liked the trilogy, but could have enjoyed it more, due to the reasons stated above. But as this is the only (as far as I know) fictional account of the Inca civilization, it should get the attention of historical-fiction addicts.
Grade 8.0/10
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Superb, August 16, 2002
This review is from: Incas : Book One: The Puma's Shadow (Paperback)
Volume one of this translation from the French is a sparkling story set against the conquest of Peru and the Inca Empire by Pizarro. The Puma's Shadow tells the story of the blue-eyed - and therefore mystical - Anamaya who was abducted by the Incas when her village was razed as a child. An outcast she becomes the wife of the Sun King's Huayna Capac Sacred Double after he passes the secrets of the ancient Incas to her on his deathbed.
Her life at the Inca Court becomes fraught with danger as the warring family factions seek to become the new Sun King as the prince designate Atahualpa refuses the crown. With the attentions of Manco, Guaypar and Inti Palla she is mentored, begrudgingly at first, with pride later, by the High Priest Villa Oma as her visionary abilities begin to flower. A world away, a dashing Don Gabriel is freed from Spanish prison of the Inquisition, disavowed from his family inheritance and joins Capitan Pizarro petition to conquer the New World and find the endless rivers of gold of Peru.
As each's fate comes closer together, the lives of Don Gabriel and Anamaya are intricately woven into a powerful tale of mystery, romance and breathtaking exhilaration as the fate of a peoples is unravelled in this novel.
The author has created a gripping historical fantasy at the time when old and new worlds collide and has certainly ensured reading the next volumes.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Better Inca book, March 14, 2009
Anyone who wishes to read a better novel about the Incas might want to try 'The Incas' by Daniel Peters - more action, better characterization, less soppy romantic cliche.
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