Book Review: Harbinger of the Storms

I suppose this review would not be complete without first telling how I came by the book itself. And having just finished reading the story in its entirety, it feels like the beginning matches the ending. I came across this book on the last day of the Borders stock sale. The store having shut its doors down rapidly, and the final offload of its remaining stock held in an Expo Centre. The final rites of a dead company. 

I suppose the insolvency lawyers of today are the priests of the dead for companies. Black ink replacing the red blood of the usual sacrifices. The chants still remain though, in their modified form. According to statute, passed in 1974 Insolvency Act, State of... bankruptcy... pursuant to sections 4 through to .... 

And the linkage? This book is about the High Priest of the Dead, Acatl in the Mexica Empire investigating a series of gruesome and mysterious deaths that come at a inopportune time. The Emperor (Revered Speaker) has died and now a new one must take his place before the protection of the old Emperor fades and the star demons descend to destroy all life. 

And throughout the story, told through the perspective of Acatl we are given a look into the everyday life of a South American civilization. One that is very much fuelled on blood, sacrifices and appealing to gods, so other gods don't kill you, and also watching out for demons, some with a taste for human eyeballs. 

The images are well woven, appropriately disturbing, and I must say, right around halfway into the book I suddenly couldn't put it down as intrigue wove itself into more and more intricate patterns around the storyline. All the while politics moved in the shadows, unworried by the fact that if they didn't get a leader chosen soon, star demons were going to descend and solve all those issues permanently. I suppose the snide comment at this point would be to observe that it seems the majority of politics hasn't changed much since that time either. 

One thing I did have trouble envisioning was the way many priests slashed their ears for the daily blood offerings to their gods. Well, the ones that would accept blood anyway. Everyday, day in day out, cut the earlobes. That can't be healthy in jungle climates. But then again, I'm reading a book where a man gets torn apart by a goddess with wings made of obsidian shards. Living in a world like that, infection is probably the least of your worries. 

I recommend this book for anyone looking for a horror/detective story set in a rather unusual setting. The author has done her work well and it was quite a fascinating tour through a culture, where gods and magic ruled, and humans had a very tangible experience with the supernatural.