Gods of Jade and Shadow

By: Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Narrated by: Yetta Gottesman

Length: 11 hrs and 4 mins

Publisher's summary

The Mayan god of death sends a young woman on a harrowing, life-changing journey in this dark, one-of-a-kind fairy tale inspired by Mexican folklore.

"A spellbinding fairy tale rooted in Mexican mythology...Gods of Jade and Shadow is a magical fairy tale about identity, freedom, and love, and it's like nothing you've read before." (Bustle)

Nebula Award Finalist 

Named one of the Best Books of the Year by NPR • Tor.com • The New York Public Library • BookRiot

The Jazz Age is in full swing, but Casiopea Tun is too busy cleaning the floors of her wealthy grandfather’s house to listen to any fast tunes. Nevertheless, she dreams of a life far from her dusty small town in southern Mexico. A life she can call her own.

Yet, this new life seems as distant as the stars, until the day she finds a curious wooden box in her grandfather’s room. She opens it - and accidentally frees the spirit of the Mayan god of death, who requests her help in recovering his throne from his treacherous brother. Failure will mean Casiopea’s demise, but success could make her dreams come true.

In the company of the strangely alluring god and armed with her wits, Casiopea begins an adventure that will take her on a cross-country odyssey from the jungles of Yucatán to the bright lights of Mexico City - and deep into the darkness of the Mayan underworld.

Praise for Gods of Jade and Shadow

"A dark, dazzling fairy tale...a whirlwind tour of a 1920s Mexico vivid with jazz, the memories of revolution, and gods, demons, and magic." (NPR)

"Snappy dialog, stellar worldbuilding, lyrical prose, and a slow-burn romance make this a standout.... Purchase where Naomi Novik, Nnedi Okorafor, and N. K. Jemisin are popular." (Library Journal starred review)

"A magical novel of duality, tradition, and change.... Moreno-Garcia’s seamless blend of mythology and history provides a ripe setting for Casiopea’s stellar journey of self-discovery, which culminates in a dramatic denouement. Readers will gladly immerse themselves in Moreno-Garcia’s rich and complex tale of desperate hopes and complicated relationships." (Publishers Weekly starred review)

©2019 Silvia Moreno-Garcia (P)2019 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"Casiopea is not a damsel in distress, but rather a young woman coming of age in a time where music, myth, art and exploration thrum colorfully around her.... Readers will be floored by Moreno-Garcia’s painstaking attention to detail. Her descriptions of the emotionally charged interactions between realistic human characters and otherworldly gods, witches and demonic forces are unforgettable, as are the fairy-tale and folktale aspects of the plot." (BookPage starred review)

"Set in a lushly rendered and gorgeous world, this is historical fantasy at its best: a fresh, feminist coming-of-age tale that lets the ancient and the new meld and clash in a tale you can't put down." (S. A. Chakraborty, author of The City of Brass and The Kingdom of Copper)

"An evocative and moving modern Indigenous fairy tale filled with quiet moments of vulnerability and honesty. Oh, my heart!" (Rebecca Roanhorse, Hugo and Nebula award-winning author of the Sixth World series)

I can’t finish this

The performance is terrible. It’s like a reluctant high school student was chosen to read aloud. It’s stilted and devoid of all emotion and personality. Are there different characters speaking? I don’t know, maybe. The narrator barely changes her voice in a single conversation. Sentences aren’t read with normal inflection, which is confusing. This isn’t a textbook. Why does it sound like one. Seems a decent story, too.

Room for improvement

The story was decent. It felt to me a little uneven. Dialogue of struck me as anachronistic. The narration was reminiscent of an adolescent doing a “cold-read aloud”. Awkward inflection and odd phrasing detracted from what might have been an entertaining novel.

Fun book but a bit goofy...

I enjoyed the story although I was not expecting a teenage type romance novel.. Was thinking there would be more story line about the mythologies of Mexico.. Still... Pretty good

LOVED this tale!! Gorgeous, vivid and bittersweet.

So glad they got a Spanish speaker for the audiobook. In the beginning, you couldn't really tell who was speaking because the narrator did not change the inflection of her voice, but I think she did great as the main character and she clearly knew the language, which is imperative when you have so much Spanish in a tale like this.

The story itself was wonderful, very much a modern day fairy tale with Mexican folklore. Loved it so much, very proud to see my such a wonderful book representing my culture!

Expected much more

I just kept waiting for this to be over. I increased the speed to 2.5 to finish faster. I listen to tons of books but books like this make my mind wander not keeping my attention very well. I listened to the whole book but would not recommend or listen to it again. I'm giving it a 3 because it wasn't really bad but wasn't really good either.

Narrator was not a good fit

The narrator was not a good fit for this story. Not enough emotion or inflection. Also no difference between the characters voices. But the story was enjoyable.

Shallow

Well, I’m back from the netherworld and this book is a tale of a quest and champions of the gods of darkness...I wanted something different and this filled the bill! Certainly not my favorite and light on story and character development! I’m on to other things!

what a wonderful Journey

where to start on my goodness, there's so much that I loved about this book, first of all the characters, the places, and that plot. and I'm such a sucker for romance especially the fact that she was willing to forgive one of her family members that was a butt hole.. I thought it was well written and I see this possibly being a re-read(or listen) absolutely beautiful

It was ... ok I guess.

I GREATLY enjoyed Mexican Gothic, it easily is one of my favorite books. So I thought I might enjoy this too. The verdict? Meh.

I didn't even have any interest in finishing it. I got halfway into it when I realized I honestly simply didn't care about the main character nor what happens to her. I didn't want to slog my way through to know how it ends because I had literally no investment in anything about the story or the characters. I didn't feel any sort of connection to her, and I constantly forgot her age because the narrator made her sound like a child. She may have been, she acted like one, but the details are so forgettable. In fact, I didn't like ANY of the characters. they felt so lifeless and dull. The only thing I liked about the book was the descriptions of the various places in Mexico.

The premise is interesting, but the execution felt flat. which pains me to say because I REALLY wanted to enjoy this book.

Interesting story dragged down by narration

Very enjoyable story, kept me engaged and wanting to know what happens nexts. The narration though… the narrator reads this like a middle schooler reading their school play lines for the first time. The inflection is all over the place but also somehow monotone. I have the physical copy of the book and I think I might just finish this story by reading instead. The convenience of listening while I work is great but this might not be worth it. A cool story being dragged down by an awful audio execution.