Synopsis
Felipe K’icab doesn’t know who he is. He only knows he was born different than his human family, and he can’t relax unless he’s blasting reggaeton in his cab weaving through the streets of Guatemala City. The jaguar mask and his other human faces keep him safe–until El Bufo, a corrupt ex-cop, commandeers his cab and drags Felipe into a murder conspiracy investigation, trying to expose the foreign-backed regime’s ecocidal and genocidal past.
Cristina Ramos knows who her mother’s killers are. After witnessing the murder in a vision, she struggles to keep her grieving family from falling apart. When El Bufo’s relentless vendetta throws Felipe into her life amid increasing civil unrest, Felipe and Cristina must overcome generations of institutionalized silence, uncover the secrets of their powers, and forge a path to justice, or else be swept away by another wave of violence.
Review
The Jaguar Mask is a speculative noir fantasy mystery hybrid, shifting its shape from chapter to chapter to transformationally mesmerising effect.
I’m a big fan of fiction that blends genres — the kinds of books that can belong in every section of the bookstore. Especially is that true when there’s a literary element to the writing, where the prose is sumptuous and edifying to read. The Jaguar Mask is all of these things. And the style of its writing matches the main characters perfectly.
The story takes us into the lives of two characters — Felipe is a shapeshifter whose natural form is a jaguar. They hide their true selves behind a series of human masks, matching their shape to the persona they need in any given situation, while narrowly avoiding trouble with the law. Cristina is an artist who glimpses visions of the past, present, and future, and she paints these flashes in pictures, trying to use her gift to support her large and needy family. Because the narrative shifts between genres and is written with such an artistic flourish, it ties in so well with the people who the story is about.
As for the fantasy elements, they’re less about the world of the story and more about the mythology of the characters. There’s something really cool about the urban setting of a near-apocalypse that makes the whole thing feel real and relevant. Don’t expect middle-Earth. What you’ll find is more of a future-dying-Earth. But if you’re a fan of fantastical characters inhabiting modern environments, then you’ll devour this.
In terms of the mystery — it acts like the glue that ties the world and the characters together. The artist glimpses their mother’s murder. The shapeshifter operates a taxi, and an ex-cop hires them to assist in the investigation of that murder. But the mystery of who is responsible for the killing, as well as the why, goes much deeper than you first suspect. It serves as a brilliant way to explore the secrets of this world, and a great take on the self-destructive aspects of greed and the lack of empathy for those disadvantaged by it. It’s not about solving the whodunnit, it’s about how the solution reveals aspects of our own reality that would otherwise remain unexposed, and that’s where the twists really feel like they pay off.
Stelliform Press specialise in publishing climate fiction, but it isn’t obvious this has a cli-fi element until the mystery unfolds. Don’t go in to this expecting something preachy. It isn’t a book that proselytises. Instead, it strikes a balance between people, plot, and poignance, and ultimately, it’s a story of hope, acceptance, identity, and belonging. If you relate to any of those themes, you’ll find something of meaning within these pages.
Come for the shapeshifting jaguar. Stay for the speculative mystery that unmasks us for who we really are. A satisfying blend of literary and genre-fiction, this walks the line between the two to brilliant effect. Imbued with a dreamlike and surreal magic, this will sink its teeth into your soul. It’ll leave you thinking, feeling, and above all, hoping. Utterly mask-terful.
Available from Stelliform Press. Find it on their online store.
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