From Publishers Weekly
Gleason and Podrug's uneven third entry (after
Aztec Fire) in the late Gary Jennings's historical series focuses on the ancient Mayan prediction of an apocalypse in the year 2012. In A.D. 1001, Toltec warriors capture a 16-year-old Aztec, Coyotl, in a raid. After the Toltecs notice Coyotl's stomach bears a scar tattoo in the shape of a star constellation, they take the boy to the magnificent Toltec capital of Tula, where he becomes the resident astronomer's assistant. Meanwhile, in the present, U.S. president Edward Raab convenes the newly created Presidential Scientific Advisory Board to hear NASA scientist Monica Cardiff present her theory of an upcoming global disaster. The authors lovingly describe the world of their pre-Columbian characters, but skimp on the modern story, whose characters have little motivation or substance. Jennings's fans will find the discrepancies between the two periods easy to overlook in the wealth of sex and violence.
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Jennings’ name was made by his well-researched, graphically detailed, and compellingly readable Aztec saga, which offered authentic pictures of how life was led in that both brutal and brilliant society. Jennings died in 1999, but his work has been taken up by Robert Gleason and Junius Podrug, based on notes for new novels Jennings had composed before his death. This latest saga by the two coauthors writing under the Jennings umbrella divides its time between ancient Mexico and the U.S. in the near future. The Toltec Empire is ruled by an enlightened king, but his authority is seriously challenged by discontent aroused by drought, which has in turn spawned a religious cult with a frightening hold over the dazzling Toltec capital, Tula. During this troubled period, an “end-time codex” is prepared that, according to Toltec interpretation of heavenly bodies and situations, sees the end of the world in 2012. This document is buried, only to be unearthed centuries later, close to the world’s “expiration” date. The discovery prompts the realization that something needs to be done to keep contemporary society from experiencing the same catastrophe that befell Tula. Jennings fans will savor the mix of ancient history and near-future apocalypse. --Brad Hooper
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