Light of Machu Picchu (Incas 3) [Hardcover]

A B Daniel (Author)

Book Description

Series: Incas 3 | Publication Date: April 7, 2003

Third volume in the bestselling Incas trilogy, set in C16th Peru. This magnificent epic of the forbidden love between an Incan princess with supernatural powers and a Spanish nobleman reaches its stunning climax in THE LIGHT OF MACHU PICCHU. After three years of foreign occupation, the Incas are finally ready to launch their counter-offensive against the Conquistadors. The Spaniards, who consider their conquered foe to be wholly cowed and beaten, are unprepared for this massive counter-attack. The ensuing conflict will be apocalyptical, with Anamaya on one side and her lover, Gabriel Montelucar y Flores on the other. But on whose side will love fight?

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

What Gary Jennings did for the Aztecs, Daniel attempts to do for the Incas. Based on the solid storytelling and lean, vivid prose of this first volume of a proposed trilogy (already a bestseller in France and Italy), he's on the right path. The novel's plot juxtaposes the adventures of two outsiders half a world away from each other but destined to meet: in South America the delicate mystic Anamaya, and in Spain the black sheep nobleman Gabriel Montelucar y Flores. Orphaned when the Incas decimated her tribe, Anamaya lands in the court of the Emperor Huayna Capac as a childhood companion to his spoiled daughter, Inti Palla. Anamaya's unique blue-eyed beauty convinces the emperor that she has been divinely sent. She becomes the guardian of the empire and chief confidante of Huayna Capac and later of his successor, the majestic warrior Atahualpa. Gabriel, meanwhile, endures nearly a year of imprisonment and torture at the hands of the Spanish Inquisition. His wealthy father pays for his release, then abruptly disowns him. Gabriel joins the nascent quest of adventurer Francisco Pizarro, who's lured by extravagant tales of Inca gold. Disease and in-fighting are just two of the ills plaguing the expedition. The book's spectacular climax is both an ending and a beginning (not since The Magic Mountain have star-crossed soul mates taken so long to get together); the opening chapter of volume two is included as a tease. Daniel's rich historical detail is in perfect proportion to his narrative, always enhancing and never slowing down the action, which is considerable. This is a robust and well-balanced adventure.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: French --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 400 pages
• Publisher: Pocket Books (April 7, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743207238
• ISBN-13: 978-0743207232
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,968,867 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

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

By 

J R Zullo (São Paulo, Brazil) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Incas : Book 3: The Light of Machu Picchu (Paperback)

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

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb, August 16, 2002

By 

ilmk "ilmk" (UK) - See all my reviews

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.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Better Inca book, March 14, 2009

By 

M. Hoyt - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Incas : Book 3: The Light of Machu Picchu (Paperback)

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.