Book Review: ‘The Jaguar Path’ by Anna Stephens

The Jaguar Path is the second book in Anna Stephens’ high fantasy series: The Songs of the Drowned.

Set two years after The Stone Knife, the Pechacan nation is victorious. All of the nations on the Ixachipan continent have been conquered. The inhabitants have either been absorbed by Pechacan society or enslaved by it. The controlling song of the Singer echoes across the land, keeping people in line, but the song has been polluted by the Singer’s need for blood and it is no longer stable.

My one real problem with The Stone Knife was that it took me a while to properly get into the story and become familiar with this complex world and its inhabitants. Naturally this was not a problem with book two and I found couldn’t wait to get reacquainted with these characters.

The Jaguar Path features six point-of-view characters (seven including the occasional page long insights into the Singer’s growing insanity) to provide a variety of perspectives as the story builds.

Pechacan native Pilos is a high ranking retired soldier who tries to find the balance between his own social position and saving the Singer. Still my favourite antagonist in the series, Enet is in the Singer’s inner circle but her own desires are no secret. She risks death if she makes her move too early. I found the half-Pechacan Ilandeh became a more interesting and complex character in this book. A guard in the palace, rather than the pure villain she was previously, Ilandeh struggles with her devotion to a nation that would cast her out if they learnt of her secret half-blood status.

To contrast the ruling Pechacan are three members of Tokoban (the last nation to be conquered). Another of my favourite characters is Xessa, now a slave in Pilos’ fighting fit. A highly skilled fighter, Xessa’s deafness means she is one only people not under the influence of the Singer’s song. The shaman Tayan walks a dangerous tightrope as Enet’s slave. He uses Tokoban magic to try to cure the Singer’s madness but risks losing himself in the process. Finally Tayan’s husband Lilla has been forcibly conscripted into the Pechacan army. His dreams of freedom and revolution go awry when he starts falling in love with the barrack’s commander.

The main themes of The Jaguar Path are ones of racist prejudices, colonialism, and cultural identity. These are explored through the attitudes of the characters.

At first glance Pilos is one of the ‘good’ characters. This is certainly how he sees himself in his quest to thwart Enet and save the Singer but the reader sees that he is the biggest hypocrite in the story. He believes that the members of the conquered nations must become Pechan in order to contribute to society but equally looks down on anyone who is not a full blood Pechan and at times is casual in his superior attitude towards the other characters.

Illandeh and Xessa are opposites of each other. Illandeh has given her whole heart to her father’s nation despite the danger to her own life whereas Xessa, even after two brutal years in the fighting pits, refuses to give up any part of her culture. She defies her masters in any small way she can.

Then there is Lilla and Tayan. Lilla never stops being Tokob in his heart yet his relationship with the commander is understandably seen as a betrayal however Lilla gradually questions whether he should hate an entire nation or only the individuals responsible for the suffering. Meanwhile Tayan and his love for knowledge is determined to prove that he can honour Tokoban culture whilst also embracing all things Pechacan. Instead he risks being hated by both sides of the conflict.

Even though I really enjoyed The Stone Knife I loved The Jaguar Path far more than I was expecting. One of those ‘I couldn’t put it down’ books, Stephens’ descriptions meant I could easily picture the events of the story which were packed with the twists and turns I’ve come to expect from her. I hope the third and final book will continue this excellent run.

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