In the Courts of the Sun (edition 2009)

I'm very reluctant to admit that I did not finish this book. I rarely do not finish books that I start. The premise of returning a "conciousness" back to Mayan time to try and learn the Sacrifice game in its original form, then to be use the game as a way to predict what might happen on/around Dec 21, 2012, was enough to get me interested; but I could not stay interested the farther I got into the book. Although by far not a bad book, it took too much effort for me to concentrate on. The main charcter is a savant and I have to give the author credit for writing the character as he did, but the exact characteristics that defined the main character Jed also put me off of the story. The character was hyper, distracted, sometimes disoriented, and many times his train of thought was hard to follow. I work in a technical field day in and day out, it's not usually what I choose to read for leisure. Some of the technical descriptions (physics, etc.) in the book caused the story to drag. Maybe someday I will go back to the book and pick up where I left off - I really would like to see where the story leads - just too tired to concentrate on it right now. ( )

I got ten pages deep In the Courts of the Sun before I decided that the book is soporific. The author seems familiar with what modern archaeology suspects of ancient Mayan culture. He may even write good histories. But if Courts of the Sun is his best shot, he can't write fiction worth a hoot.

Solomon sez: Next time I go to the supermarket, I'll swing by the library and drop Mr. D'Amato's doorstop in the "donations" box. If the world is really gonna end on Dec. 21, 2012, there are a few good books I'd like to read before the apocalypse.

To use an old expression, this book is gonna blow your mind! Take an uber hip polymath, whose probably best at playing games (Go, Chess, Video).Combine with corporate greed and an ancient Mayan game that predicts the end of the world. Solution, get more information from people who have been dead for near two millennia. Written as if the author was a columnist for a pub in Neuromancer, this is mostly compelling stuff. Only problem is he gets too overwehelmed by detail and the narrative slows. Cutting from past to present to past doesn't help sustain flow either. Huge book at 684 pages, first in a trilogy. I skimmed last two hundred pages. But you've never read a book so hip, so erutdite in Mayan ethnography that it's worth the time. ( )

The story of stopping the end of the world sounds incredibly exciting...and at times, this book really was. There were parts of the book that had me so sucked in I couldn't put the book down. At one point I was scared of ever going to Disney World again. But then there were parts that just dragged on and on. It took me about 4 months to get through this book, and I think that I will probably read the whole trilogy, it just may take me to the end of the world to finish it. ( )

"In the Courts of the Sun" is an interesting novel, built Frankenstein-like from the elements of a Michael Crichton techno-thriller, Gary Jennings' "Aztec" series, and one of Stephen Baxter's novel spins on time travel. I enjoyed the book, but it's uneven. The book was written by artist Brian D'Amato and is being publicized as the first of three books in a Sacrifice Game trilogy.

The story is heavily character-driven, led by Jed DeLanda, a supremely intelligent, anti-social, hard-core gamer...of Mayan descent. DeLanda is one of the few people in the world who can play an ancient Mayan game used to help see into the future. Capitalizing on the real-world 2012 doomsday popularity, D'Amato's story places Jed in position to help decipher a recently discovered Mayan codex, and play his game to help unravel mysterious clues about the end of the world as predicted to take place on December 21, 2012.

Jed, connected through an insanely rich man and organization, is given a chance to go back in time to find the author of the codex which predicts this 2012 doomsday. He's not actually going back in time himself, but his consciousness is transferred to an individual in 664 AD. The original target for Jed's consciousness is the ruler of the Mayan city of Ix. Instead, Jed2 (as the consciousness part of Jed is referred to) misses the target and is placed in Chacal, a champion Mayan ball player who's been selected as a sacrifice in place of the Mayan ruler.

About one-third of the story takes place in 664 AD in Central America and Mexico with Jed2 narrating his search for the author of the codex and how he might be able to play the game and determine the details surrounding the foretold 12/21/12 holocaust. Jed2's narration is sandwiched between Jed's narration leading up to the consciousness time travel and its aftermath.

The story is carried by a heavy amount of Jed's inner monologue, which at times is quite good and insightful. I was particularly appreciative of his well-stated rants of self actualization, and his introverts' perspective on other personality types. Jed's very snarky, which at times was wonderful at lightening the mood but at other times a little grating and rambling. He spends a good amount of time detailing the Game.

The conclusion is disappointing. I don't know how else to put it. Part two is due later in 2010 and I'm finding myself only moderately interested in finding out what happens next. As a big fan of Gary Jenning's "Aztec", I'd like to see a return to the world of ancient America, and perhaps D'Amato will keep to a crisper storyline. ( )