This review is brought to you as part of the Virtual Book Tour for The Night of the Moon Serpent, hosted by Sage’s Blog Tours.
The Night of the Moon Serpent was first published in 2013 and is the debut novel of Amaia S. Li. It is a fantasy novella, set in Peru and heavily influenced by the country’s history and mythology. The story is intended to be the first part of the First Passage to the World Beyond series but at the time of writing no further instalments have been announced.
David Luke is initially unhappy when his mother has to relocate to Lima to accept a new job. School is far stricter and he can’t even listen to his iPod in public in case it gets stolen. The locals even warn him to stay away from the Huaca de San Mateo – an ancient religious site next to his school – as they fear that disturbing it could evoke the wrath of vengeful spirits.
While David does not initially believe the legends he soon suffers a strange turn in the presence of renowned archaeologist, Dr Máximo Rojas, and afterwards begins to have strange dreams in which he is attacked by a giant owl. It is not long before his visions begin affecting him while he is awake as well and he nearly drowns at school when he sees a vision of a silvery serpent.
As the visions worsen, David finds himself growing sicker. It becomes rapidly apparent that Rojas needs him for something terrible and even goes as far as to kidnap David’s mother in order to lure him into the Huaca. David follows him in the hope of saving her but does not realise the danger that he will face. Rojas knows a terrible secret about him – something that his mother has kept from him for twelve years – and the time has come for David to learn who he truly is.
Arkham Reviews 