16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not as good as "Aztec"; but not bad as they say, either, April 19, 2005
Gary Jennings was an author known for his great historical novels, based on enormous and thorough research, very sexually active characters, developed in a level that few writers can master, and unusual situations brought to light by an uncommon and skillful style of writing. I think "Aztec" is his masterpiece, but "The journeyer" and "Raptor" are not that far behind.
While reading "Aztec", I was totally transported to the "one world", back in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries of the christian era. Mixtli was a great character. His life was a great life. Jennings's readers were so appaled by his tale that they were left wanting more. Almost two decades later, their wish was granted. Of course, to be better than "Aztec" was a nearly impossible task, and not even Jennings was able to do it.
In "Aztec autumn", a sequel of sorts, Mixtli briefly appears, but the main character this time is Tenamaxtli, one of Aztlán heirs, who have to cope with his land being invaded and ruled by the spaniards. Tenamaxtli has revenge boiling in his heart, and he will conceive many plans to make the white smelly devils go back to where they came from.
The book starts well enough, and for a time I thought "Aztec autumn" would be as great as "Aztec". But this book lacks the presence of many of the great secondary characters that peopled its predecessor. Tenamaxtli is interesting enough, but he's surrounded by cardboard characters. Many of them appear only briefly. The subplots are also not very great. Many reviewers complain that some of those subplots are sorry excuses for overrated sexual experiences; I don't entirely agree with them, because I understand that sexual scenes were a very strong part of Jennings' writing style, but this time those scenes were not as greatly written as the ones existent in his three masterpieces. Also, the ending in "Aztec autumn" seems very rushed, as if the author himself got tired of his book and just wanted it to be over.
But when we're dealing with historical fiction, there are not many authors that can deliver a fantastic book like Jennings does - Noah Gordon and Ken Follett come immediately to mind. To go back to the One World / New Spain in the 1600s one more time was worth the reading. That's why this book deserves a 4-star rating.
Grade 7.2/10
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15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
A very inferior sequel to Aztec, September 9, 1999
By A Customer
Aztec Autumn suffers, like many sequels, by comparison to its predecessor, Aztec. One has the strong impression that the author knocked off this tome for one and only one reason: money. While the previous novel was impressive for the obviously immense research done to complete it, Aztec Autumn relies on implausible plot twists, magic, and the author's obvious prejudices for its effect. A fatal flaw is the author's choice of a mass murderer as a hero; any reader with a sense of justice begins rooting against the "hero" soon into the novel. Still, there is a certain amount of history interspersed with the author's prejudices, and fans of Aztec may want to read this mercifully short book just to get it out of their system.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Better than Most, July 28, 1999
By A Customer
If I could pick 3 1/2 stars I would have.
I enjoyed Aztec Autumn. It is not one of my favorite books and I don't think it is quite as good as Aztec. Reflecting on the that statment, how many sequels can claim to be as good as the original? There was something about Aztec that I find unplaceable. A sort of je ne sais quoi that Aztec Autumn unfortunately lacks, and while it does not make up for it, the book tries its hardest to by filling up every instant with action. With both this book and its predecessor, the endings left me thrilled yet high and dry at the same time. My only complaint of this book as an independant book is that, like Aztec, it is somewhat unbelievable, not so much in its greatness but in the characters' greatness. It is a good book, but not Mr. Jenning's best by far. If you haven't read Aztec read it and if you haven't read Raptor, then well, read that!
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