She was but a girl from nowhere. Let the heroes save the world, save kings who must regain their crowns. Live, live, she wanted to live, and there was a way.

Casiopea is a young woman stuck as the looked down upon, basically a servant cousin of her family. So when, one day, she opens a mysterious chest in her grandfather’s room only to find a pile of bones…

Well, that’s when things get interesting.

Words are seeds, Casiopea. With words you embroider narratives, and the narratives breed myths, and there’s power in the myth. Yes, the things you name have power.

As soon as Casiopea and Hun-Kamé run away on their journey, we have a fairly standard ‘fetch quest’. Finding a few lost bits and pieces, meet some interesting characters on the way, and perhaps… fall in love? (It’s that kind of story.)

It’s written like a fairy tale–Cinderella writ Mayan–and the writing style flows like that. It’s beautiful writing, in a dark fantastic / fairytale sort of way.

I also really did enjoy the setting, especially the descriptions of Xibalbla and the hints of the few remains of a more magical touch on the modern (well, 1920s) world. If anything, I wanted more of each! The story moves along quickly enough that I never quite got a perfect feel for anything.

“Dreams are for mortals."
“Why?”
“Because they must die.”

Worth a read/listen.

Personally, I think I enjoyed Mexican Gothic slightly more, but they’re really quite different. They may share the Mexican aesthetic and a lyrical, magical writing style, but with a rather different feel.

Onward!