The Sacrifice Game
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4.5 • 6 Ratings
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- $8.99
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- $8.99
Publisher Description
TO THE WORLD OF ANCIENT MAYA, AND FAR BEYOND…
In the Courts of the Sun introduced Maya descendent Jed De Landa, a math prodigy with rare knowledge of an ancient divination tool called the Sacrifice Game. But now there are two Jeds—one existing at the height of the ancient Maya civilization in AD 664, and another in the present who—for an unusual but compelling reason—is about to bring about the destruction of humanity. And only one self can win the game…
With illustrations by the author
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The overly long second volume of D'Amato's apocalyptic trilogy (after 2009's In the Courts of the Sun) opens on a note of doom. Ethnic Mayan Joachim Carlos Xul Mixoc DeLanda, who's able to use his expertise with an ancient divination game, the Sacrifice Game, to anticipate the future, describes his decision to end all human life in time to fulfill the Mayan prophecy that the world will end in December 2012. DeLanda believes that "over 99.8 percent of , now, in the future, and always, is and will be sheer unrelieved agony." DeLanda's justification for his horrific act and his description of what's led up to it make compelling reading, but the initial momentum and tension peter out in the middle section set in seventh-century Mexico at the Mayan empire's peak. While explicit descriptions of mutilation and cannibalism highlight the cultural differences between the Mayan civilization and our own, some readers may feel less would have been more.
Customer Reviews
Bring on the third!
Finally the second installment of D'Amato's trilogy begun with In the Courts of the Sun - I have been waiting for this book for two years now. Great, dense read, I enjoyed it, however, it suffers from the middle child of the trilogy syndrome. Loads of development, tons of interesting Mayan detail, but like The Two Towers, you need to be involved with the story line to appreciate it, and it leaves you feeling unresolved - I want the third volume now!