It’s obviously the product of many years of research, and apparently Gary Jennings spent 12 years in living in Mexico and researching the novel. It’s an extraordinary novel, with descriptions of human sacrifice, cannibalism, barbarism, and irresponsible sex, but also full of details of Aztec cultural richness, its lore and religion and customs and remarkable sophistication. It tells the story of Mixtli or Dark Cloud, an Aztec adventurer, trader and noble, as he lives a full life in the Aztec Empire and then witnesses its confrontation with the conquistador Hernan Cortez, and its subsequent destruction. I’m going to try and test the platform and format with a short review of the book I’m reading right now: Aztec, by Gary Jennings.Īztec is a long novel of historical fiction. It is a marvelous adventure brimming with love, mystery and danger – one whose ending leaves the reader feeling immensely satisfied, yet frustrated that there isn’t any more.I’m trying Substack for the first time today and I’m pleased with the ease with which I’ve got to this stage.

But Aztec Blood, with its brilliant plot, flawless pacing and fascinating characters, is anything but average. Such a liability might render the average novel unworthy of reading.

Priests devoted to caring for the poor, and priest-inquisitors devoted to the refinements of torture.ĭiminishing the story somewhat are grammatical errors so numerous that it would seem Jennings’s first draft went straight to the typesetter without first crossing an editor’s desk. Natives who are not always innocent victims. Jennings paints an unapologetic picture of seventeenth-century Mexico: A rampantly corrupt government. This story is more than mere adventure, however. Cristo pursues wealth and position not for its own sake, but that he might be worthy of the beautiful Spanish lady whom he loves. The beggar from the dusty streets of Veracruz becomes a bandito the bandito later emerges as a Spanish gentleman. But he uses a superior intellect, a little well-placed luck, and a remarkable ability to reinvent himself to stunning advantage. Still, he manages to include plenty of insight into politics, religion and injustice, and he does so with his customary evenhandedness.Ĭristo the Bastard is the son of a Spanish father and an Aztec mother in a time and place where mixed blood makes him legally less than human. Third in a trilogy of early Mexico that began with Aztec and continued with Aztec Autumn, Aztec Blood is closer to a pure adventure novel than Jennings’ other works. A Gary Jennings novel is always a breathless, exotic and occasionally shocking ride, and this is no exception.

Aztec gary jennings review