On today’s show we discussed Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s 2019 novel, Gods of Jade and Shadow. Author of 11 novels, 4 short fictions and a series of anthological essays and editing credits. Moreno-Garcia’s works include elements of historical fiction, simultaneously bringing more Mexican, Mayan and Aztec histories and mythos to the forefront in the science-fiction, horror and fantasy genres.
Moreno-Garcia received the Sunburst Award and Ignyte Award in 2020 for Gods of Jade and Shadow; the book was also a Nebula Award Finalist, and named one of the best books of the year by NPR, Tor-DOTCOM, The New York Public Library and BookRiot, and it stands with a reputable 3.89 stars on Goodread’s. – This novel is available in print at 352 pages, and the audio book is just under 11 hours long, delicately and beautifully narrated by Yetta Gottesman.
SPOTIFY PLAYLIST
Included in the show was a biographical excerpt regarding our author from her website silviamoreno-garcia.com, as well as the following excerpts from the 2019 book Gods of Jade and Shadow, they were quoted in the order listed here.
Excerpts:
- “Xibalba can be a frightful place, with its House of Knives and its House of Bats and many strange sights, but the court of the Lords of Death also possessed the allure of shadows and the glimmer of obsidian, for there is as much beauty as there is terror in the night.”
- “Mortals have always been frightened of the night’s velvet embrace and the creatures that walk in it, and yet they find themselves mesmerized by it.”
- “In her spare time, she looked to books or the stars for company.”
- “You did not rescue me,” Casiopea replied. “I opened that chest. Besides, I wasn’t a princess in a tower. I knew I’d get away one way or another, and I was not waiting for a god to liberate me.” and
- “She had a knack for quiet insurrection.”
- “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.”
- “Fear is generous and does not exclusively lodge in the hearts of mortals.”
- “The imagination of mortals shaped the gods, carving their faces and their myriad forms, just as the water molds the stones in its path, wearing them down through the centuries.”
Thanks for joining me for an adventure in reading!
I’ll be back Saturday the 18th at 17:00/5pm for our next NOVEL FREQUENCY.
Love,
Page Turner