Aztec Blood
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3.8 • 24 Ratings
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
The third volume in Gary Jennings' historical epic that began with the Aztec and Aztec Autumn. Now comes the thrilling Aztec Blood.
In this colorful and exciting era of swords and cloaks, upheaval and revolution, a young beggar boy, in whose blood runs that of both Spanish and Aztec royalty must claim his birthright. From the torrid streets of the City of the Dead along the Veracruz Coast to the ageless glory of Seville in Old Spain, Cristo the Bastardo connives fights, and loves as he seeks the truth—without knowing that he will be the founder of a proud new people.
As we follow the loves and adventures of Cristo and experience the colorful splendor and barbarism of the era, a vanished culture is brought back to life in all its magnificence.
“This exotic, sensuous novel works on many levels. It is at once history, mystery, and a coming-of-age novel all permeated by the teeming world of seventeenth century Mexico as seen through the eyes of a teenage boy.” -- Library Journal
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Never less than spellbinding, this golden tale is third in a series (after Aztec Autumn) and follows the exploits of a mestizoboy (half Aztec, half Spanish) in 16th-century New Spain, struggling for survival against Spanish nobles in league with the Inquisition. Cristo the Bastardo spins his tale from a dungeon prison between bouts of torture before his hanging. Raised among the legions of social outcast l peros, half-breed beggars hated by Indians and Spanish alike, Cristo is protected and illegally educated by Fray Antonio, a defrocked priest. When Fray Antonio is killed, 13-year-old Cristo is framed for the priest's death and only saved by the kindness of a young Spanish girl. Saved once again by a dashing rogue of a p caro, an adventurer, bad actor and playwright named Mateo, Cristo chances into the hands of the Healer, a traveling Aztec shaman who takes him on as an assistant. When the Healer compels Cristo to wriggle into an Aztec tomb to steal gold, they are caught by Don Julio, a brilliant converso (converted Jew) and a powerful noble in New Spain spying for the king. "Enlisted" by Don Julio to spy on suspected rebel groups and silver mine thieves, Cristo plays the role of Don Julio's cousin and meets the girl who saved him, now betrothed to a villainous wealthy Spaniard linked to the silver thefts. But Don Julio is betrayed to the Inquisition, and Cristo is enslaved in the deadly silver mines. Jennings spins a dashing, glittering tale, sending the redoubtable Cristo and irrepressible Mateo through the dingy streets of Veracruz, lean Aztec villages, grand Spanish haciendas, deadly silver mines and teeming Mexico City. Injustice has seldom been so keenly sketched nor valor so compellingly portrayed as in this swashbuckling adventure.
Customer Reviews
Ugh
If you are a Gary Jennings fan, don't read this book. This and Aztec Autumn are poorly cobbled together notes that Gary Jennings must have had before his death on February 13,1999. Sorry to be such an extli-quani but Aztec is one of my favorite stories. The writing in Aztec isn't writing so much as a borrowing of your vision and brain for the time you are reading , so you can experience the events.
In reading what purport to be the sequels to Aztec I kept having to look at the front of the book to see if Gary Jennings was indeed the author. It was unbelievable how different the writing was...what poor quality. It took me a minute to realize that these books had been "written"after Gary Jennings' death
That explained everything.
Bottom line, if you liked Aztec, don't sully your palate with this book or Aztec Autumn. They are merely Gary Jennings' notes vomited onto paper or in this case onto your (insert gadget name here).