A review by paracyclops
The Days of the Deer by Liliana Bodoc

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

This book, sadly the only volume of this trilogy available in English translation, is a fantasy retelling of the Conquista. It's told in a style that owes more to folktale than to epic fantasy in English, and draws heavily on indigenous mythology. For me, its language is beautiful, but I can also tell that it probably won't be to everybody's taste—it has a simplicity that sometimes seems to verge on the simplistic. As an exercise in worldbuilding it's a striking departure from the fantasy norm: I can only think of Daniel Heath Justice's 'The Way of Thorn and Thunder' by way of comparison. I hope that the other volumes are eventually translated, as I found this one absolutely outstanding.