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I love books that utilize archeology as the basis for their story line. The history, the intelligence, the people. It is all captivating. Even more so when a book, though it may be fiction, is based upon good, solid scientific knowledge.
Paty Jager has put in the study, with Secrets of a Mayan Moon, that is required to make a spectacular modern archeological novel. Set in the jungles of Guatemala, Jager weaves Mayan history with the modern problems of drug runners and the looting of historical sites for profit.
Isabella Mumphrey is a genius. She has worked harder than anyone else in her field, battered by others jealous of her brilliance and dedication to her studies of Mayan history. Desperate for funding for her studies, due to be cut from her university, she jumps at the chance to take her first field trip out of the country, and save her work. Lured to Guatemala by her mentor and old family friend, she travels far into the jungle with a guide, supposedly sent by her mentor. Little does she know, things are not as they seem. Not only is the jungle dark and deep, but also the truth of her ‘Welcome To The Jungle’ is darker than she could have ever imagined.
There is a realistic tone to the book, with just a bit of mysticism and a thread of romance. Neither the mysticism nor the romance was overdone, which I appreciated.  Too many novels seem to lean heavily on the romance bits to cover for a lack of writing skills. With this first Isabella Mumphrey book, I am happy to say that this was not the case. The point was the story, and a grand adventure it was. There are multiple layers to Secrets of a Mayan Moon. The archeology, of course, as well as the drugs, the looting, and the mystery of why Isabella is truly there. But there is also the truth of who Isabella, herself, really is. IS she who she has always thought? And why have her parents never loved her? All in all, a very well developed and enjoyable book. I had never read any of Paty Jager’s work before, so this book was quite an enjoyable surprise. You may see her other works at GoodReads. Ms. Jager writes a great deal of “Petticoat Western” style romance books, so if that is your thing, I would recommend those to you also. That genre isn’t to my taste, and makes me wonder why Ms. Jager decided to write these books on archeological adventure – but I am certainly glad that she did!

Click cover to go to Good Reads page.

I received this book for review, but have already bought the next book, Secrets of an Aztec Temple. I greatly look forward to reading it.
Highly recommended!

Edible Gardening Denver: Heirloom Fruit Trees

Edible Gardening Denver: Heirloom Fruit Trees

The beginnings of Urban Fantasy

Who among you remembers the first book you read? Or, shall we say the first which made a real impression on you? For me, I grew up on a household that didn't read, and didn't really provide books for a budding bibliophile. So, I did what I could, mostly snitching school books to read from my older cousins. The first I really remember? Being six years old and sneaking my cousin's high school mythology books from her room. The ideas there absolutely fascinated me. Gods and monsters. Far distant lands with strange languages and customs. I was truly hooked on mythology, fantasy and reading itself. It was an epiphany of massive personal proportions.


Back in the middle/late 80's, I was gifted with "Moonheart." Another epiphany of massive personal proportions. I fell into the story, into it's world of myth and legend, and became an Urban Fantasy fan for life. Moonheart's story was, for it's time, groundbreaking. While most mythology of the time retained the ancient characteristics of other myths and legends, Moonheart brought the stories into the modern day, creating the modern Urban Fantasy genre. Of course, Emma Bull's "War For The Oaks" winner of the Locus Award for Best First Novel , Terri Windling's "The Wood Wife" The Wood Wife and Ellen Datlow's various compilations of UF helped cement my love at the time. I spent years collecting all the works I could get my hands on, including a rare, signed copy of de Lint's "The Buffalo Man," The Buffalo Man illustrated by Charles Vess, that I cherish.

Moonheart is perfect for anyone who wants to study the beginnings of UF, but it is a tremendous story for what it is - a beautifully written tale combining music (another of my passions), fairie, mystical forests, mythical artifacts and beings and layers upon layers of worlds. De Lint is a musician himself, and his writing is a paean to the musical heart of myth and mystery.

A living house which straddles two worlds, a cast of characters who I love dearly. Moonheart is a beautiful story I return to over and over again.

http://www.librarything.com/home/Leiahc

The Gunslinger (The Dark Tower Book 1)

The Dark Tower The Gunslinger

"The Man In Black fled across the desert, and the Gunslinger followed. The desert was the apotheosis of all deserts, huge, standing to the sky for what looked like eternity in all directions."

Back in the 80's, before "The Dark Tower" became the huge hit it is today, I lucked out, coming upon this jewel of modern American writing in a tiny little used book store in a tiny little town in Texas. King dreamed up the story from a reading of "Childe Roland To The Dark Tower Came" by Robert Browning, and carries all of the angst, pain an despair which fills that poem.

The series centres around Roland Deschain, The Last Gunslinger, who may be a creature of myth and legend, or simply a man, as he tracks the Man In Black across a bleak and hopeless desert - a desert of reality and of the soul.

"My first thought was, he lied in every word,
That hoary cripple, with malicious eye
Askance to watch the working of his lie
On mine, and mouth scarce able to afford
Suppression of the glee that pursed and scored
Its edge, at one more victim gained thereby. " Robert Browning

The Gunslinger immediately gripped my attention and refused to release me. Poetry, mythology, pain and loss, a searching of the mind soul and body. As a Browning fan, the concept touched me deeply.

Over the years, I was thrilled every time a new Tower came out, and was never disappointed. This is King stretching himself, moving outside his "horror" boundaries, while still remaining true to his writing style in many ways. The world of the Tower is desolate, painful and digs deep into archetypes of the human soul.

Is this another world, somewhere lost among the tides and times of the Universe, old beyond measure and dying? Or is this our world, old itself beyond measure, stretched thin and worn, fading into the universe with a whimper, rather than a bang.

The story grows and develops over the subsequent editions, building and expanding on its mythos, its archetypes, its heart. A serialized novel of depth and power, of heartbreak and redemption, with characters unlike any others, The Tower is a blend of poetry, art and prose unlike any other. Read "The Gunslinger." Then gift your soul with the rest of the series. And think - - - what is real? Are we? Is Roland? Is the world of Roland just on the other side of our own reality?

George Guidell does his normal, spectacular job as the voice of the Audible.com edition of the series. His voice, which has narrated over 900 audio books, and won two Audie Awards for Excellence in audio book narration, is perfect for the part and never deviates from its power and perfection.

http://www.audible.com/pd/ref=sr_1_1?asin=B0036IN942&qid=1368069419&sr=1-1

Freebies!

I started a new Goodreads group!

http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/103429-freebies-and-low-cost-books

If you know places to go for great new (or established!) authors who are giving away or making their books available for a low cost for a period of time, Please post!

Mark's newest blog post is out!

Check out the newest in Amber's Life!

http://henwick.wordpress.com/