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In the Courts of the Sun Audiobook
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(3.03) - 539 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
December 21, 2012. The day time stops. Jed DeLanda, a descendant of the Maya living in the year 2012, is a math prodigy who spends his time playing Go against his computer and raking in profits from online trading. His secret weapon? A Mayan divination game—once used for predicting corn-harvest cycles, now proving very useful in predicting corn futures—that his mother taught him. But Jed's life is thrown into chaos when his former mentor, the game theorist Taro, and a mysterious woman named Marena Park invite him to give his opinion on a newly discovered Mayan codex. Marena and Taro are looking for a volunteer to travel back to 664 AD to learn more about a "sacrifice game" described in the codex. Jed leaps at the chance, and soon scientists are replicating his brain waves and sending them through a wormhole, straight into the mind of a Mayan king. Only something goes wrong. Instead of becoming a king, Jed arrives inside a ballplayer named Chacal who is seconds away from throwing himself down the temple steps as a human sacrifice. If Jed can live through the next few minutes, he might just save the world. Bringing to mind Neal Stephenson's Cryptonomicon and Gary Jennings's Aztec, yet entirely unique, In the Courts of the Sun takes you from the distant past to the near future in a brilliant kaleidoscope of ideas.
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"How often can you read a Maya sci fi? This one has lots of action and puzzles, w/ time travel and a dash of Mad Max. Narrated in a distinctive voice, this will appeal to Dan Brown fans, but is much better written. Also, possibly since I know a lot less about Maya history than Christian history, I didn't note any historical or cultural inaccuracies. I gave it a 4 rather than a 5 because in spite of the fact that it's door-stopper sized, it ended on a cliff hanger."
— Kathyred (4 out of 5 stars)
Quotes
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“A remarkable, unique, stand-out book…In a word: awesome. Or brilliant. Make that two words: awesome and brilliant.”
— Raymond Khoury, New York Times bestselling author of The Sign -
“Fans of the late Michael Crichton will welcome this engrossing SF thriller…The action shifts easily between the near-future and the past. While the use of modern idiom in the historical scenes may take some getting used to, the period details are as convincing as those in Simon Levack’s superb Aztec mysteries.”
— Publishers Weekly (starred review) -
“End-of-the-world aficionados will find it compelling.”
— Library Journal -
“This is the sort of novel that Robert Silverberg might write (and, in fact, it feels a bit like Silverberg’s classic Up the Line)—a richly detailed, intellectually stimulating adventure through time…[Jed] is an engaging narrator, telling his story in an easy, often humorous style.”
— Booklist -
A remarkable, unique, stand-out book…. In a word: awesome. Or brilliant. Make that two words: awesome and brilliant.
— Raymond Khoury, author of The Last Templar and The Sanctuary
In the Courts of the Sun Listener Reviews
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" This book is a bizarre mix of the modern world and the ancient Mayans. It is an intriguing look into Mayan culture and "time travel." The characters are dynamic and you want to find out more about them! I definitely recommend it! "
— Jennifer, 2/6/2014 -
" I was really torn on how many stars to give this book. There were parts of it I really enjoyed. I hated the gory, torture, killing parts, but that wasn't unexpected given the culture, and I knd of expected them to be in there. I thought the concept of the book was excellent but it was hugely wordy. I felt as those it took pages for the characters to take 2 steps any where or to do one simple task. I found myself skimming over paragraphs of technical stuff and dates. I did like the parts when he was in Chacal's brain living in the Maya period and how he was learning to adapt and experiencing the culture firsthand. When I got to the end I about died when I say it said end of Book 1. Once I realized Jed2 hadn't been resolved I guess it only goes to follow, plus I am not to keen on what Jed1's plans are for the future of the world! "
— Karen, 1/28/2014 -
" Wow. Wow. This book is brilliant, huge, and I cannot believe he's got two more coming in a series. Stay away if you don't like serious science and serious history, and then large-scale fiction about both. I like this so much I am getting the books of the other authors who wrote reviews on the back. And anything else BDA has done. "
— Michael, 1/4/2014 -
" Great concept, but I thought it slogged a bit during the Mayan times. I think he could have mad it about 200 pages shorter too. But I will probably read the next one. "
— Shayna, 1/1/2014 -
" Video games, time travel, and Mayans -- what's not to love? It's the first in a trilogy, grrrrrr... "
— Roe, 12/28/2013 -
" Anyone interested in 2012 - should read this book! There will be a sequel coming out in 2010...I hope. "
— Carrie, 11/4/2013 -
" So far, this is just fantastic. "
— Adam, 10/21/2013 -
" I have checked out the next book in the series.even though I only gave it 2 stars.want to see where he is going with this story. "
— Sandra, 10/19/2013 -
" The book was thrilling and definately interesting but I felt that the end was rushed and not well thought out... "
— Shayla, 10/18/2013 -
" Loved this one. If you like the whole Mayan calendar thing, and the idea of time travel, then you will love it too. Very interesting spin of the time travel idea. "
— Patrick, 7/5/2013 -
" Game theory, anchien Mayans, time travel, what's not to like? "
— Nancy, 5/12/2013 -
" i didn't finish it. i really disliked this book from the beginning. "
— Christine, 9/23/2012 -
" I'm ready for CD #17??. "
— Ch.J., 8/16/2012 -
" Loved it. Can't wait for the sequel. "
— Kvanhoff, 10/29/2011 -
" Be prepared to think - the very best 2012 book out there - volume 2 due out this summer "
— Linda, 10/9/2011 -
" Finally Finished. Not bad but,I must agree with another reviewer, "dialog and math is overlong and overdone". "
— Bob, 9/25/2011 -
" If you want a complex book that has a lot of dry humor than this is perfect. There is a story that is followable, but four languages and some interesting ideas. "
— Mike, 8/3/2011 -
" An interesting time travel/2012 apocalypse book, very similar in style to Creighton's Timeline "
— Jason, 6/15/2011 -
" This was a great book. Some parts were a little hard to get through, but it was well worth the read, and I am waiting for the next one to come out. "
— Julie, 5/30/2011 -
" This book was really hard to get into at first and I know there were lots of it that went right over my head. The story got better after a while, but still somewhat odd and confusing. I was kinda pissed at the end to find out that this is only book 1 of 3!! "
— Sunday, 5/16/2011 -
" Audio Book. Interesting theory and interesting Mayan history. Overall a really good book. "
— Jake, 5/6/2011 -
" The book gave it's version of 2012. But what I liked was the time that it took to explore and verbally illustrate what it may have been like to live during the time of the Mayan civilization. "
— Esther, 3/3/2011 -
" This was a book full of interesting stuff, written in a very fun style (one that is quite rare). And the ending is mind-blowing. I loved it. <br/>Although I don't see how (or why) this is going to be a trilogy. "
— Zozo, 1/11/2011 -
" Brian did good! Immediately after completing this book I sought whatever else Brian wrote. The concept of time travel was brilliantly manipulated in a unique way. Also, in spite of my best efforts to NOT learning anything Brian brought the Maya into my thick brain. "
— Marsturgeon, 12/2/2010 -
" This book would have been far more interesting if it were only half its content. As it stands, it looks like he did a ton of research and wanted to make sure that it all got included, making for a very dry read through most of the book. "
— Rebecca, 11/15/2010
About Brian D’Amato
Brian D’Amato, in addition to being a novelist, is an artist whose sculptures and installations have been shown in galleries and museums all over the world, including the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Wexner Center for the Arts, and the New Museum of Contemporary Art. In 1992, he co-organized a show at the Jack Tilton Gallery in New York that was the first gallery show to explore the then-new medium of “virtual reality,” the same year that his debut novel Beauty was published.
About Robertson Dean
Robertson Dean has played leading roles on and off Broadway and at dozens of regional theaters throughout the country. He has a BA from Tufts University and an MFA from Yale. His audiobook narration has garnered ten AudioFile Earphones Awards. He now lives in Los Angeles, where he works in film and television in addition to narrating.