mexico is an absolutely beautiful country, with handsome and friendly people, caught in the midst of a culture and ethics war. the strong are too strong and ruthless to defeat while the weak are too weak to fight back.

it is this context that 'the ancient way' plays itself out. i find action and adventure to be pure philosophy. i once belonged to a group of tradition-thumping by the ancient book boys who would have gladly crucified me on my epistemological heidegger for saying that. that being said, the philosophy in the novel's events are philosophic without dwelling on the meaning of life. the focus is on survival and cooperation. far as i am able to determine that is the meaning of life. even when stuff blows up.

events follow a young indigenous artist, an ex-navy SEAL, and a quirky shaman as they are forced to hunt for a modern stelae which reveals the story of a plot by the terrorist 'ancient way' to return to mayan roots and blood sacrifice. only by finding the stelae and deciphering its glyphs can the trio prevent the death of thousands of innocent lives.

the story unfolds across mexico, from a fishing village, to a sacred mountain, to lush jungles, and climaxes in the grand canal sewers running under mexico city.