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nataliya_x's review
3.0
This alternate history Inca Empire story (found free and legally here) won the 2013 Nebula Award for Best Novella. I don’t quite agree that this was the best of the nominated bunch that year (my favorite that year was [b:Wakulla Springs|18621827|Wakulla Springs|Andy Duncan|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1380738612l/18621827._SX50_.jpg|26407361] by Andy Duncan), but this book still sparked my curiosity and sent me on several hours of obsessive internet search about the Incas, so there’s that.
In this alternate 1806, Incan Empire had not been wiped out by the conquistadores and their deadly “gift” of smallpox, but recovered from its losses and eventually reasserted its regional dominance, with the Europeans (save a few of their descendants) banished out of the country. The god-emperor (Sapa Inca) rules from the capital of Cusco, gold remains a sacred element in the worship of the sun deity Inti, the locals snicker about the ineptitude of the Europeans who still haven’t mastered mortarless masonry, child sacrifices are still practiced, Machu Picchu is very much functioning, medicine is available to everyone who needs it, and smallpox still ravages the country, with the families of survivors elevated to nobility status for the heroism of surviving the scourge and smallpox scars are considered a sign of beauty because they indicate survival.
For smallpox, there are excellent quarantine measures that have saved the populace, but no cure. And suddenly a delegation of foreigners arrive - Americans from the thirteen British Colonies, hoping to obtain an astronomical amount of Incan gold needed to fund the fight against the British in exchange for something they refer to as “vaccine”. Vaccine that can save the lives of millions - but would require a sacrilege, as gold is sacred and “too holy for common transaction”.
Culture clash is ready. The ugliness of both worlds - Incan and American - is pitted against each other. Child sacrifices versus slavery. Worship of a living god versus the worship of money. Weighing human lives versus enrichment on one hand and religious devotion on the other hand. You can’t condemn withholding a cure for millions without also condemning direct sacrifice of thousands. Magnitudes may differ, but horrible human nature is similar on either side.
Quick read, but not the one to stay with me for long. Interesting, but won’t be too memorable. There are stories that are perfectly fine but just fail to really engage me, and it was one of them. I just found all the characters a bit irritating, and the competing worldviews both quite awful, and the villain of the piece too conveniently villainish to provide warm fuzzies at the end. But the world building is interesting, so that’s the selling point here.
3 stars.
Read it free here: https://vylarkaftan.com/bibliography/2013-2/the-weight-of-the-sunrise/
In this alternate 1806, Incan Empire had not been wiped out by the conquistadores and their deadly “gift” of smallpox, but recovered from its losses and eventually reasserted its regional dominance, with the Europeans (save a few of their descendants) banished out of the country. The god-emperor (Sapa Inca) rules from the capital of Cusco, gold remains a sacred element in the worship of the sun deity Inti, the locals snicker about the ineptitude of the Europeans who still haven’t mastered mortarless masonry, child sacrifices are still practiced, Machu Picchu is very much functioning, medicine is available to everyone who needs it, and smallpox still ravages the country, with the families of survivors elevated to nobility status for the heroism of surviving the scourge and smallpox scars are considered a sign of beauty because they indicate survival.
“I am called Lanchi Ronpa,” I told them. “Lanchi is my name, and Ronpa is where my father’s name should be–but because some of my family survived smallpox, we are children of Ronpa, the great physician who became Sapa Inca. He is the disfigured god of our people.”
For smallpox, there are excellent quarantine measures that have saved the populace, but no cure. And suddenly a delegation of foreigners arrive - Americans from the thirteen British Colonies, hoping to obtain an astronomical amount of Incan gold needed to fund the fight against the British in exchange for something they refer to as “vaccine”. Vaccine that can save the lives of millions - but would require a sacrilege, as gold is sacred and “too holy for common transaction”.
“ Upon hearing this request, Loddington replied boldly, “Your Greatness, I will teach your doctors how to protect every man, woman, and child in the Four Quarters. With the vaccine, your doctors can save your great Empire from this terrible scourge.”
As I considered this, he added, “Think of what you might become, if you cast off the Spanish plague. Your empire even now surpasses those of Britain and Spain, including their New World holdings. France is a distant contender–and believe me, I have patrolled our western border and dealt with many Frenchmen. The world could lie at your feet. The Inca could expand northwards and expel Spain from the California Territory and Mexico. We offer you the chance to seize these rich lands from their overseas masters, that they may serve Incan glory instead.”
Culture clash is ready. The ugliness of both worlds - Incan and American - is pitted against each other. Child sacrifices versus slavery.
Spoiler
“We are not brothers,” he said stiffly. “My mother is a Spanish-born lady of the noble house of de Godoy, who gave up her privilege to marry my father in the New World. Her bloodline traces back to cousins of Queen Isabella three centuries ago. Marco is my manservant and his mother is from Africa.”
“You–you thieves,” […] “You have stolen what is mine!”
“You have tried to sell what should be any man’s,” I said. “It is not a crime to take it.”
Quick read, but not the one to stay with me for long. Interesting, but won’t be too memorable. There are stories that are perfectly fine but just fail to really engage me, and it was one of them. I just found all the characters a bit irritating, and the competing worldviews both quite awful, and the villain of the piece too conveniently villainish to provide warm fuzzies at the end. But the world building is interesting, so that’s the selling point here.
3 stars.
Read it free here: https://vylarkaftan.com/bibliography/2013-2/the-weight-of-the-sunrise/
jayeless's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery and Animal death
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Excrement, Incest, Medical content, and Violence
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