The Puma's Shadow

In this epic tale set in 16th century Peru, young Anamaya is spared when a band of Inca warriors attacks her small jungle settlement. The girl has always been an outsider; her eyes, blue as the sacred waters of Lake Titicaca, mark her out for a different destiny. In the court of the Emperor Huayna the child lives in fear, waiting for the day when she will be offered as a human sacrifice to The Sun God. But her unusual beauty overwhelms the Emperor. He's convinced Quilla, the Moon Goddess, has sent her to him. On his deathbed Huayna confides vital secrets to her, and commands the child to become the guardian of his Sacred-Double. Meanwhile, in Spain, Francisco Pizarro asks the king for permission to conquer this new land in the name of Christianity. Anamaya, now a young woman, is forced into political intrigues and the heart of a ferocious civil war, with a vital role played by Spanish nobleman Gabriel Montelucar y Flores. Just how Atahualpa, the tyrannical Inca ruler, deals with the sophisticated conquistadors makes for enthralling reading in this retelling of Pizarro's daring assault. Daniel interestingly evokes the differences between the rival civilizations of the Spaniards and the Incas - both arrogant, war-like and spiritual, but in very different ways - and depicts love across cultural boundaries with a rare grace and sensitivity. (Kirkus UK)