SON OF THE SEA, DAUGHTER OF THE SUN
by Marc Graham
A prophecy guides a 7th-century prince-turned-pirate across the seas to the New World, where his destiny lies with a Mayan princess and her gods.
Off the coast of Spain in the year 610, a merchant ship carrying 12-year-old Visigothic Spanish prince Iudila is captured by pirates. Over the next few months, the captain repeatedly rapes the boy, until Iudila, a natural leader, gains allies among the crew and absorbs their “lessons of sky and sea, as the stars—the heavenly guides and weavers of men’s fates—made their slow, inexorable night-walk through the heavens.” Thoughts of regaining his rightful place as royalty fade after an encounter with a prophesying monk and a fraught voyage, guided by a map of mysterious origin. The ship’s destination: a Mayan kingdom and, it turns out, Iudila’s heart’s desire. Graham (Song of Songs, 2019, etc.) then goes back in time to tell the story of Mayan princess Chakin’s eventful childhood and adolescence. She and Iudila have their fated meeting in a kingdom that’s threatened by a twisted shaman’s powers and shaped by a connection to Iudila’s own history. In this richly immersive novel, images of brutality and beauty propel the plot as the author digs deep into historical, anthropological, and religious source materials. The book’s closing notes offer Graham’s compelling insights into how his research shaped the story and its characters—Chakin’s father, Uti-Chan, and Iudila himself are among several real-life figures that he’s woven into the plot. The author also explains the inspiration for two vividly imagined elements that readers may find controversial—the founding of a family dynasty by a semidivine Jesus (here known by the Aramaic name Yahshua), and a long-ago visit to the New World by ancient Hebrews who leave a mystical mark on Mayan culture. Graham also includes a helpful glossary of names and places, a list of recommended works by historians and anthropologists, and a hint of a sequel to come.
A heady, deeply researched mix of history, myth, and imagination.