His name was Piyo, and he felt fortunate enough to have heard of the lands surrounding the Incans. His family was settled in the coastal plains near Tumbes, where he was born, and knew he would no doubt die there. It would be there he would farm the land for the state, himself, and a wife that would be chosen for him. He figured he would live out his life as a puric, a worker, in Tumbes since he was an unimportant man. Piyo then learns the empire will soon end and another will rise in its place. As an Incan farmer, he soon meets leaders who refer to him as The Ear. He has a gift that the Spanish conquistadors find useful. His gift for understanding languages allows Hernando de Soto to recruit him to be The Ear and The Mouth for the Spanish. Chosen to be a translator, Piyo goes with the leaders. Prophecy predicts a white-skinned god-people to bring down the Incan empire, and the contented Piyo has the chance to be witness to the turn of historical events.

Smoke Around the Moon carries the reader deep into the heart of the Incan empire. I found the history richly rewarding and often felt as if I was in the center of events in the making. Piyo is a great character that grows on the reader. One is able to share in his adventures. Knowledge and excitement abounds, as Piyo’s travels meeting the leaders, and the different areas being visited. T. K. Sheils enlightens the reader about the Incan civilization and information that I was not even aware. I love how he uses the eyes of Piyo to allow the reader to see the empires and historical events. I enjoyed the way he used some of the Incan words in the telling of this story. He always knows how to tell stories that never disappoint this reader.

Reviewed by: Linda L.