Jaguar Reviews

I really enjoyed this book. Jake was so cute and protective. Sarah was a woman with a past trying to change. Combine those two with a dangerous setting and voila! Instant romance. I would read this again in a heartbeat. It definately goes on my top 10 list of contemporary romances. I can't wait to read the rest of the Code Name: Danger series.

Phillip Porter is a recognized expert on the Jaguar XK series. His book, suplemented by excellent photos, details each version of the car with text and photos. For anyone restoring an XK series Jaguar, the photos are a rich source of originality information highlighting differences between the various models. This book is well worth purchasing.

I was looking for a preview or introduction to the Popol Vuh. I had heard of the Popol Vuh but I never took the time to study it. When I came across the Jaguar Priests, I was delighted with it. This book has made an impression on me: life is a generational process that extends before and beyond us, which leads us to work and focus on the present. I have read this book several times to myself and to others. I have read it to children and teen-agers. This book is a must to open the minds of the present Maya. A wonderful reference book for your library.

Castro sets out to compile an anthology of literature on guerrillas in Latin American history, and he does so in a concise, easy to read volume. I read this book when it was a coursepack, and I liked it then (I also liked the class), as I like it now. Castro's selections sample fairly well-known guerrillas, such as Che Guevara and Zapata, as well as those the average reader has not heard of, like Inti Peredo and Tupac Amaru. More importantly than any one selection, Castro's book sets out the revolutionary tradition in Latin America in a timeline that stretches from colonial Peru to contemporary Central America--and it flows together from piece to piece very well. Simply put, it is a useful resource to any sociologist, anthropologist, or historian interested in Latin American social movements. I would highly recommend it.

I just bought the book 2 days ago, and as soon as I came back to the hotel room I started it. I couldn't put it down! The detailed and at times humerous encounters with the Rulers of the Mayan underworld were thrilling! Many recognizable dieties are featured (Huitzopotchl & Quetzalcoatl) as well as many interesting and disgusting lords of the realm. A great book to look into for mythological entertainment.

I consider this compilation of essays and historical documents an essential addition to the library of persons interested in US-Mexico borderlands history. The strength is, in my opinion, in its collection of historical writings, which include the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo, the Plan of San Diego, and Juan Cortina's Proclamations. The reader is able to consider events and thoughts that occurred during the period between 1848 and 1915, rather than rely on commentary. However, the well-written essays compliment the documents (and I believe the text was designed with this in mind.) All together, a very nice collection.

I am waiting now on my copy of "Watch for the Jaguar". I have read one of Col. Ogelsby's books and it was a page turner to say the least. I can't wait to get started on this one. I just had to comment on the author because he is just incredible.

I loved it for many reasons. One is that the author is a cousin of mine whom i am very proud to say that he is family. He is a good person and a great writer. I recommend to all to check out Mr. Appels' other works.Easy to find thru amazon Love ya Billy. Keep it up.

I've always liked to draw furries, and rarely do I find good novels that have anthromorphic furries in them (maybe I'm not looking hard enough though). So I run across this book.
There were two things that irritated me throughout this book:
A)The fact that Bobcat and Skink didn't have real names.
B)The relationship between a bobcat and a rabbit.
I don't really know why B) bothered me so much, considering interspecies couples about in the furry world and I see it all the time. A few times the story lagged, but overall I was satisfied. I especially liked how the gods were explained and their position in the cosmos handled. The religious aspect of these animals' world is the most convincing part of the novel. The whole time I was reading I could easily picture it as a comic book and the characters were vivid (esp. Fisher).

Have you ever looked at an animal and known what it was thinking? Then a moment later you shrug and laugh at yourself for anthropomorphizing? Suppose you're not. Suppose your cat really is an irreverant catnip junky snoozing through his potential.

In Michael Payne's debut novel "The Blood Jaguar", Bobcat is exactly that. Bobcat's cohorts are equally real and equally flawed in their own ways. And, just like your house cat, Bobcat and his companions are precious and dear.

I found Mr. Payne's book to be involving, his world to be clever and original, but what I liked best about this book is the characters. They are willing to do what they must if only they knew just what that was. They shine...pretty impressive for fuzzy animals.

I can strongly recommend The Blood Jaguar. It is a gem. I hope to see a lot more of Michael Payne's work in the future.

Every so often you find a rare surprise. That first novel that captures the imagination and holds it from cover to cover. Michael H. Payne's _The Blood Jaguar_ is just such a book. He's created a rich world of possibilities, a North America on an Earth where man never arose and the other animals did, with their lives guided by the twelve Curials. The trio of heroes, Bobcat, Skink and Fisher, are all fully realized characters whom you really feel for as they take a remarkable journey to stop the thirteeth Curial, the Blood Jaguar, from unleasing her Plague Year. Here's hoping Payne takes us back to their world for further stories.

The events in this book take place mostly in Guatemala in the 1970's, where the author lived as part of a "traditional" Maya community. "called" by the local Shaman he was trained in the arts and responsiblities of a shaman, in order that he could save part of the "village Heart" on the old man's death.

The author has some valuable insights into values and a way of living that has been lost when modern "culture" over rides traditional indigenous cultures, proclaming all that they have as bad (or non-christian). I think he is right in saying we have all lost something valuable. Ways of living that can probabaly never truly be recaptured.

However, having looked up the author on the net, he seems heavily into the "new age" speeking circut today, despite all he was taught when he was younger. I wonder if the written word, despised by the Maya, will be his main legacy. And by his own admission you never get the whole story that way. Certinally, despite the wisdom in this book it is not the be-all answer for all of life's problems.

Secrets of the Talking Jaguar is the story of the author's physical and spiritual journey from the southwestern US to the highlands of central America. There he becomes apprenticed to a local shaman who teaches Pretchel much about indigenous Mayan life, and about life in general.

Pretchel writes that we are all part of our indigenous, pre-industrial, "primitive" past, we only have to search to find our roots, as he has done. The story of his awakening awareness of the natural world around us to me was more interesting. Pretchel points out that something valuable has been lost though our lack of deep cultural and familial ties to the physical world. After reading this book, I am convinced he is right.

The book is an easy read, and while a little slow at first, it rapidly becomes more interesting as Pretchel becomes increasingly aware of his ties to the natural world, thanks to the assistance of his Mayan mentor, a shaman. As in life, the joy of this book is not so much in the ending, as in the journey itself.

This book is a beautiful journey into the indigenous spirit within us all. I have met the author, spent some time with him, and read about (and discussed with him) his background and it is obvious that he is quite authentic. Reviewer B. Ortiz (see below) has formed a very set and narrow opinion of Prechtel based on the most superficial judgements and "research." It is really unfortunate that she didn't take the time to check her "facts" before she attacked Prechtel. I suggest that you read the book, research Prechtel if you want to, go meet him if you can, and be prepared for a potentially life-changing experience.