Place of Mirrors: Lessons of the Ancient Maya

New York advertising executive, Christina Rossi, is in the throws of professional and emotional burn-out when a past life regression seems to indicate her problems stem from a former life as a Mayan ruler. The revelation sparks an obsession to learn more about the mysterious Maya and she travels to Mexico with her teenage daughter, in search of answers. There, the fragrance from a mysterious pouch of herbs takes Christina back to the time of Pacal, the famous ruler of a Maya territory known today as Palenque. Never before have the people of this civilization been portrayed with such compelling insight, affording a fascinating look into the life and times of one of the great leaders of this fabled civilization. Place of Mirrors reveals parallels between the ill-fated Maya civilizations and our own troubled world. Solidly researched background and a sensitive insight into the timeless of what makes us human, makes for a fascinating, thought-provoking tale.

One unfortunate side effect of the commercial success of James Redfield's The Celestine Prophecy is the raft of similar but inferior titles that lack the dramatic momentum that made Redfield's yarn so engaging. Criscenzo's first novel, a wide-eyed exploration of the Mayan legacy, begins when down-and-out New York freelance writer Christina Rossi agrees to be hypnotized by a mysterious client. While in a trance, Christina recalls a past-life Mayan experience that has such a powerful effect on her that she journeys to Mexico with her pre-adolescent daughter, Kit, to try to discover the ancient cause of her modern discontent. While on a tour of the ruins at Palenque, Christina takes a strange potion and is transported back 1400 years, assuming her ancient identity of Hanab Pacal, a young Mayan ruler struggling to appease the gods and ensure the continuity of his royal legacy. Criscenzo introduces so many characters and gods that Pacal's story is virtually incomprehensible. After returning to the present, Christina tries to apply the lessons of her Mayan experience to her current romantic predicament with Jose, the tour guide she thinks may be connected to her Mayan past. The appalling lack of coherence in this New Age daydream makes for flat fantasy and an extremely shallow learning experience.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.