The Turquoise Serpent by Alexander Palacio | A Book Review

The Turquoise Serpent by Alexander Palacio (a pen name for Conan, Esq on Twitter) features Cuyacali and Tezca in a Mesoamerican themed “sword and sorcery” adventure that reaches an excellent climax in the final pages of the story before leaving the reader curious for the next installment of the series.

The central conflict of this first installment of the Ashes of the Urn series becomes a backdrop for the two protagonists’ unresolved tension that initiated prior to the where the author drops us into their arc.

By the end, their unease with each other is at least on hold.

The tale is well paced — with the main characters being divided from one another in the middle third of the novella before reuniting against the odds. It’s a fun story that doesn’t ask you to do any homework or make long demands on your attention in scope.

My only criticism is in those middle segments when the chapter focus flips between the characters too often, I found myself wishing the author had kept us in place more. But the chapter/segments are short and do provide plenty of good break points if you have to walk away from it.

There is one more book available in the series currently and Conan, Esq is threatening to release the third installment near the time the leaves start changing in the southwest.

In the meantime, check out the first book.