 First edition | |
| Author | Monica Byrne |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Damon Za |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Speculative Fiction |
| Publisher | HarperVoyager |
| ISBN | 978-0-063-00289-0 |
The Actual Star is a 2021 speculative fiction novel by Monica Byrne. The story takes place across three timelines, with a narrative rooted in Mayan folklore and cosmology. Byrne researched the book for seven years before publishing it. [1] [2]
The first timeline takes place in 1012, and centers on two sisters and brother (Ket, Ixul and Ajul) who are the last scions of a declining Mayan kingdom. As Ixul and Ajul prepare for their ascension to the throne, they are unknowingly the target of an uprising set to end their dynasty. In the more present-day timeline of 2012, a young woman named Leah decides to leave her hometown of Anoong, Minnesota, to explore her Belizean roots. In a cave deep in the jungle she discovers a connection to Xibalba, the Mayan underworld, and to the events of long ago. In the future, in 3012, humanity has been greatly reduced due to a climatic apocalypse brought on by human abuse of the environment. The survivors establish a utopian, genderless, nomadic society with a religion, Laviaja, based on worship of Leah and the two brothers she encountered in her search in Belize. The narrative follows Niloux deCayo, who is determined to challenge some of the fundamental precepts of her society, at the risk of being labeled a heretic and excommunication. [3]
The sacred cave, Actun Tunichil Muknal, is the axis upon which all the timelines converge, and where each of the protagonists ultimately discovers the truths they sought. [4]
Past – Mayan (1012):
Present (2012):
Future (3012):
The novel was positively received by critics. In his New Scientist review, Michael Marshall calls it a "stone-cold masterpiece", praising the pacing, characters, and societies. [5] In Locus, Ian Mond lauds how Byrne "combines scholarly work with an appreciation and skill for world-building". [1] He further appreciates how Byrne "raises questions about identity, about gender and sexual preference, about the limits and constraints inherent in any true utopia, " adding that "(t)hese issues are explored with a great deal of wit, passion, and intelligence, but what stands out is the book’s attitude to the past", which Mond considers to be key to tying together the three timelines. [1]
The Tor.com review called it "one of the most effective examples of worldbuilding you’re likely to see on a page this year", deeming it an "epic, visceral novel" that "bristles with ambition". [6] The Ancillary Review of Books reviewer found herself "blown away by the epic sweep, emotional complexity, and intensely thoughtful socioeconomic structural building Byrne brings to her work", [7] while the Fantasy Hive review found The Actual Star to be a "speculative fiction masterpiece that speaks to our current anxieties and concerns whilst imagining a way through them. Dizzying in its implication and epic in scope, it nevertheless is a book of real human warmth and understanding, firmly rooted in the lived experiences of its characters." [3]
Xibalba, roughly translated as "place of fright", is the name of the underworld in Maya mythology, ruled by the Maya death gods and their helpers. In 16th-century Verapaz, the entrance to Xibalba was traditionally held to be a cave in the vicinity of Cobán, Guatemala. Cave systems in nearby Belize have also been referred to as the entrance to Xibalba. In some Maya areas, the Milky Way is viewed as the road to Xibalba.
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