Skip to main content

Daughter of the Sun: A Novel of The Toltec Empire by Barbara Wood: A Book Review

Daughter of the Sun: A Novel of The Toltec Empire
Author: Barbara Wood
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin
Release Date: 2007
Pages: 453
Source: This book was given to me by Audiobookworm Tours in exchange for an honest review.
Synopsis: Seventeen-year-old Hoshi'tiwa had a simple life: The daughter of a humble corn grower, she planned to marry a storyteller's apprentice. But her world is turned upside down when she is captured by the powerful and violent ruler of an infamous city with legends of untold wealth and unspeakable acts of violence to its name. Hoshi'tiwa is suddenly thrown into the court of the Dark Lord, and as she struggles for power, she begins an illicit affair with the one man who has the ability to destroy her.

Bestselling author Barbara Wood has crafted a sweeping saga of one woman's struggle to survive within the dangerous and exotic world of the Toltec court. Set against the backdrop of Chaco Canyon and the mysterious Anasazi people, Daughter of the Sun is an unforgettable novel of power, seduction, murder, and betrayal.

     My Review: Hoshi’tiwa’s life seemed to be happy and peaceful. She was the daughter of a corn grower, and she made rain jars for her people. She plans to marry her childhood friend and to live as a wife and mother. However, her life changes when their ruler makes her an outcast and forces her to live in his city to make rain jars to bring rain. Once she arrives, she learns of an ancient prophecy that foretells doom for her people. Can Hoshi’tiwa save her people and bring about the birth of a new world?

   I really could not connect with Hoshi’tiwa. She did not have any faults. She is a Mary Sue character. She is beautiful, intelligent, and has extraordinary talent. She is also the chosen one. There really was no depth to her character. Because she was not very interesting to me, I did not see she was special. For most of the novel, she just makes rain jars. If this novel was not about her, then she could really be an unforgettable character in another story.

    Overall, this book is about religion, friendship, and ancient prophecies. This novel is also about a young girl trying to navigate in a brutal world. The story was told from the viewpoint of many flat characters. The story was drawn-out and could easily have been much shorter. The writing itself was very repetitive. Every character always said the same thing over and over so that I started counting how many times they have uttered the same sentence throughout the novel. Therefore, I really struggled to finish the book and would probably have given up on it had I not listened to the audiobook version. The narrator breathed life into the story. She voiced all the characters well, except for Hoshi’tiwa, whom I believed sounded whiny to me. Still, while I did like the narration better, it could not stop me from disliking the book. It is really sad, for I wanted to love Daughter of the Sun because it takes place in a setting that I didn’t know much about. The only positive thing I can say about this book is that I did like the historical details, and I can tell the author went through exhaustive research when constructing this novel. For those of you that are still interested in Native American culture, there are better books that I think you might enjoy on the subject. A few examples are Island of the Blue Dolphins, Favorite Daughter: Part One, and Feathered Serpent.

Rating: 2½  out of 5 stars 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Seven Sisters (The Seven Sisters #1) by Lucinda Riley: A Book Review

The Seven Sisters (The Seven Sisters #1) Author: Lucinda Riley Genre: Historical Fiction, Romance Publisher: Atria Release Date: 2015 Pages: 463 Source: My State Public Library Synopsis: Maia D’Apliese and her five sisters gather together at their childhood home, “Atlantis”—a fabulous, secluded castle situated on the shores of Lake Geneva—having been told that their beloved father, who adopted them all as babies, has died. Each of them is handed a tantalizing clue to her true heritage—a clue which takes Maia across the world to a crumbling mansion in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Once there, she begins to put together the pieces of her story and its beginnings. Eighty years earlier in Rio’s Belle Epoque of the 1920s, Izabela Bonifacio’s father has aspirations for his daughter to marry into the aristocracy. Meanwhile, architect Heitor da Silva Costa is devising plans for an enormous statue, to be called Christ the Redeemer, and will soon travel to Paris to find the right sculptor to

A Noble Cunning: The Countess and the Tower by Patricia Bernstein: A Book Review

A Noble Cunning: The Countess and the Tower  Author: Patricia Bernstein Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher: History Through Fiction  Release Date: March 7, 2023 Pages: 266 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: A Noble Cunning is a novel based on the true story of persecuted Catholic noblewoman Winifred Maxwell, who rescued her husband from the Tower of London with the help of a group of devoted women friends in 1716.             A Noble Cunning is a novel based on the life of Winifred Herbert Maxwell (1680-1749), who became the Countess of Nithsdale in 1699.     Set amidst the 1715 Rebellion against England’s first German king, George I, the novel depicts the ruthless persecution of Catholics and the relentless determination of protagonist Bethan Glentaggart to save the life of husband Gavin after he is captured and condemned to death. Bethan faces down a mob attack on her home, travels alone from the Scottish Lowlands to London through one of the wo

The Magnificent Lives of Marjorie Post by Allison Pataki: A Book Review

The Magnificent Lives of Marjorie Post Author: Allison Pataki Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher: Ballantine Release Date: February 15, 2022 Pages: 381 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: Mrs. Post, the President and First Lady are here to see you. . . . So begins another average evening for Marjorie Merriweather Post. Presidents have come and gone, but she has hosted them all. Growing up in the modest farmlands of Battle Creek, Michigan, Marjorie was inspired by a few simple rules: always think for yourself, never take success for granted, and work hard—even when deemed American royalty, even while covered in imperial diamonds. Marjorie had an insatiable drive to live and love and to give more than she got. From crawling through Moscow warehouses to rescue the Tsar’s treasures to outrunning the Nazis in London, from serving the homeless of the Great Depression to entertaining Roosevelts, Kennedys, and Hollywood’s biggest stars, Marjorie Merriweath