Scan barcode
drakaina16's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Thank you to Cemetery Dance for providing a review copy.
I really wanted to love this book. The intersection of Mayan legends and horror really piqued my interest. The parts with the Mayan culture was the best part to me. The story is well-written it just ended up falling apart and falling flat for me. The ending was not my favorite. But I did enjoy most of the book, hence the 3 stars. I enjoyed Braum's short story collection quite a bit more, and would recommend that.
I really wanted to love this book. The intersection of Mayan legends and horror really piqued my interest. The parts with the Mayan culture was the best part to me. The story is well-written it just ended up falling apart and falling flat for me. The ending was not my favorite. But I did enjoy most of the book, hence the 3 stars. I enjoyed Braum's short story collection quite a bit more, and would recommend that.
jasonsweirdreads's review
4.0
The Serpent’s Shadow takes place at a vacation resort in Cancun, Mexico. It is told in first person by David, an 18-year-old college student who, with his sister and parents, are vacationing there. David and his sister, Regina, sneak out at night to hit the clubs. While doing so they meet Anne Marie who is also vacationing there.
They hit it off in a way that one, including myself, might criticize as insta-love, but Braum handles this very well by using Anne Marie’s incredible beauty as a strong motivation for David’s falling for her. She seems pretty smitten with him as well. It is how the young ones tend to act, so it didn’t hamper my suspension of disbelief at all.
Things get weird when they leave the resort together one day to investigate an old Mayan pyramid and find a cult of Mayans practicing the old arts, so to speak. Through a cab driver they learn of a secret war between the Mayans and Mexicans over an ancient power that holds the potential to destroy humanity, and David has found himself stuck in the middle of its dark and strange depths.
The Serpent’s Shadow is a fun romp through Cancun and Mayan culture. It’s weird and manages to remind me of my own adolescence . I recommend this one as it’s short and goes by quickly, but what solidified my enjoyment of this one were the characters, especially of David and Anne Marie.
They hit it off in a way that one, including myself, might criticize as insta-love, but Braum handles this very well by using Anne Marie’s incredible beauty as a strong motivation for David’s falling for her. She seems pretty smitten with him as well. It is how the young ones tend to act, so it didn’t hamper my suspension of disbelief at all.
Things get weird when they leave the resort together one day to investigate an old Mayan pyramid and find a cult of Mayans practicing the old arts, so to speak. Through a cab driver they learn of a secret war between the Mayans and Mexicans over an ancient power that holds the potential to destroy humanity, and David has found himself stuck in the middle of its dark and strange depths.
The Serpent’s Shadow is a fun romp through Cancun and Mayan culture. It’s weird and manages to remind me of my own adolescence . I recommend this one as it’s short and goes by quickly, but what solidified my enjoyment of this one were the characters, especially of David and Anne Marie.
kkehoe's review
2.0
What seemed a promising concept just sort of stalled about halfway through and never really seemed to go anywhere, the author seeming just as tied up between the two factions in his version of Cancun as the protagonist. Although the question of good vs good (who decides evil?) was an interesting one to ponder, the outcome felt stilted and random.
More...