Customer Reviews

Inkarri

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Inkarri, the first book of Ryan Miller, is a wonderful start to what promises to be a writing career full of potential should Mr. Miller choose to continue (and the book screams out for a sequel!).

Set in our time, in the jungles of Peru from where the Incan empire once ruled over much of South America, we find ourselves tagging along with an unlikely protagonist, James, and some of his equally unlikely friends; Manuel, and William.

This book pulls us deep into a world of ancient mythology, where Incan religion and Norse religion collide, while all at the same time, we have the whole lot conflicting against the modern world, and its spirituality (represented by Christianity).

This book is quite like Neil Gaiman's _American Gods_ in some ways, and yet very different. There is still room for growth in Mr. Miller's writing style and such, but overall, a wonderful and enjoyable read that makes you think.

Like many modern novels, Inkarri reads like an adaptation of a movie. The story is very straightforward but with enough mystery to keep the reader's interest. The characters are instantly recognizable as convenient stereotypes from various other books and movies - the limp, pacifist missionary, the ex-military man who is lost in life, the hispanic pilot who is a dumpy would-be lothario and the enigmatic, exotic, and appealing Inca leader fighting an apparently evil leader.

The problem with Inkarri (and many other novels that seem aimed at recognition from movie makers) is that what plays out well on a movie/TV screen doesn't always work as well in a novel. For instance, a descriptive scene where a character investigates some important detail will last seconds on a movie screen. The movie viewer won't have time to deeply consider the action because the next scene will come before he or she can fully digest it. In a novel, such scenes offer too much information and tell the reader the outcome of a mystery or solve a puzzle too soon. By the time the writer actually "reveals" the information, the reader is bored.

Regardless of these types of annoyances, Inkarri is a good, light story which readers who enjoy Dan Brown's work (which similarly is written like a movie adaptation but suffers from the problem of trying so hard to convince you of one thing that you know the opposite is true) might enjoy.

I expected more from one of the Miller's after having read the D'ni (MYST) series of novels by his brothers but perhaps that was an unfair burden to place on a first time author. If Ryan Miller can start thinking like a novelist and stop thinking like a script writer, I think his next novel will be dandy. There are a lot of good elements in Inkarri and a lot of interesting history. I hope to see the inclusion of similar elements in his next book.

I've enjoyed reading this first published work of Ryan Miller and would definitely recommend it to anyone, especially if one is interested in South American cultures/religions. There are Christian religion themes as well as themes relating to ancient Inca religions. The dilemma of one man having faith versus another who has lost his faith versus a man who believes that he is an Inca god reincarnated makes for a climatic resolution.