Eighteen Rabbit: The Intimate Life and Tragic Death of a Maya God-King Paperback – April 11, 2013

Janice Van Cleve take you in the live of the halach unic, in a way that you live the historic moment as human, as king, as winer and looser, at the same time very well documented, this is the book, for the people interested in the Mayan

The author is a wonderful story teller. She does a beautiful job of putting together what could be considered a complicated tale, with a number of different characters. She is also very good at painting mental pictures for the readers. At the same time, she has a vast knowledge of the culture of which she writes, having studied Copan in great depth over a number of years. The very idea of taking real characters that have been a part of her research related to this great city-state and writing historical fiction about them is clever. (She has also written The Founder, a fictional novel about another Copan king, Yax Kuk Mo.)For the most part, I loved the book, especially given my own interest and reading about Copan. What I didn’t like was how the author structured it.She starts with a chapter focused on the end of Thirteen Rabbit’s life, as he awaits his death. Then the next chapter starts with the beginning of the story, 56 years earlier. The first chapter is too out of context and the reader is left hanging as the scene suddenly focuses on an earlier time, with no transition whatsoever. If Ch. 2 had started with words like, “Our story begins long before this great leader faced this painful end of his life,” I might have felt better about the radical shift.To aid the reader in understanding the Maya world, the author has placed short sections titled “Archaeologist’s Notebook” throughout the book. This is an interesting idea, and the sections are very informative, but for me, they disrupt the rhythm of just reading a fascinating novel. Every few chapters, the reader is asked to stop reading the story and engage in an intellectual explanation of some aspect of the Mayan culture. Some of these could have been incorporated into the text (for example a description of Maya “living quarters.”) Others could have been endnotes or appendices at the end of the book. The question is, how deep does the author want the reader to be immersed in the story as a living, felt experience? The author wants to tell an engaging story AND educate the readers (in part to enhance their understanding of the story). The way the author achieves the later compromises the former, at least for me. At same time, I realize that her approach might work for others. I can only share how it did not work for me.In addition, there were a few terms like “censer,” “stela,” and “pom” that either needed to be explained in the text or put in a glossary. (Stela is defined in one of the “Archaeologist’s Notebooks” [p.64] but long after the term is first used in the book [p.30]). The author does give brief descriptions of the many characters at the end, which is very helpful.Aside from these concerns, the book is well written and the story very entertaining. The author obviously draws on a vast knowledge of Copan and the Mayan culture. Even without the “Archaeologist’s Notebook” sections, the book is quite educational for young people and adults. It is a book I would definitely recommend.

I really enjoyed the book not only for personal reasons but for the fact that it had archeological perspectives to go along with the story line.

Imagined dialogue from Mayan times...please just the facts Ma"m is what we want to hear...not lesbian scenes and anguish.put into Mayan mouths...we had little or no idea of their thoughts so why put this into the book.Like a " 50 shades of grey" Mayan style .Book should be sold as "fiction" frankly.