Book Review: Daughter of the Sun by Barbara Wood
Title: Daughter of the Sun
Author: Barbara Wood
Published: 2007
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Pages: 480
From: Barnes and Noble
Rating: 7/10
Barbara Wood does it again. In the novel that precedes Woman of a Thousand Secrets, Wood takes history and makes it into a great soap opera beach read entitled Daughter of the Sun (2007).
The daughter of a farmer, Hoshi’tiwa lives in a small village and makes rain jars, ceramic jars that help bring rain. She is betrothed to the storyteller’s son, and while the town is eating lunch, the two run off into the trees for some alone time. At the same time, a messenger runs into town, announcing the Dark Lords are coming. The Lords arrive and announce they only want Hoshi’tiwa to come and please the Lord of Center Place, a large outpost. She goes, saying good bye to her village.
Once she arrives in Center Place, Hoshi’tiwa is handed over to the Potter’s Guild and is told her assignment: she must make rain jars in order to bring rain to Center Place since they have been in the midst of a drought. And so she befriends her potter sisters and begins her task.
Simultaneously, Wood tackles the story line of Jakal, the Lord of Center Place. He lost his wife and has since focused his life on his religious beliefs, specifically Quetzalcoatl, a peaceful god. Unfortunately, his rule is weakening with the drought, and soon the idea of a different ruler becomes dominant. Xikli, a follower of Blue Hummingbird, the god of war, lets his ambitions get the better of him and eventually the possibility of a holy war becomes imminent.
I thoroughly enjoyed this novel because it was simple, easy to understand, easy to read. It required little to no thought as to what was happening, who characters were, why things happened, and why characters did what they did. This is Wood’s writing style, as she had done in Woman of a Thousand Secrets. While I don’t necessarily think this is great writing, it is a successful way of writing, and it is very enjoyable, especially during a time of relaxation and laziness.
I liked this novel a little better than Woman of a Thousand Secrets because it gives the characters more spiritual obstacles. The fight between Quetzalcoatl and Blue Hummingbird are one, while the fight between the Toltecs, the masters, and the People of the Sun, the slaves, is the main conflict Hoshi’tiwa takes on as her own. Changes in the characters are also what drives this story, and that is an important part of human life and an important ideal Wood uses to her advantage within the story.
Overall, Wood does a great job with this novel, as it is very similar to Woman of a Thousand Secrets and a great summer relaxation read. I highly recommend it if you like simply written stories, and if you like her other works.
Daughter of the Sun is available at Barnes and Noble and on their website, as well as Amazon.com. If you enjoyed this novel, check out other novels by Barbara Wood, including, but not limited to, The Blessing Stone, Star of Babylon and This Golden Land.