Aztec Blood (Aztec 3) [Mass Market Paperback]

Gary Jennings (Author)

Book Description

Series: Aztec 3 | Publication Date: August 19, 2002

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.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Never less than spellbinding, this golden tale is third in a series (after Aztec Autumn) and follows the exploits of a mestizo boy (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.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Following the pattern he established in Aztec (1980) and Aztec Autumn (1997), Jennings continues to retrace the remarkable history of the Aztec empire. Vanquished by the Spanish conquistadors, the once proud Aztec people are enslaved and condemned to toil on the grand haciendas owned by their conquerors. Cristo the Bastardo, the mixed-blood product of a union between an Aztec mother and a Spanish father, grows up on one such feudal estate, and he is despised by both the native indios and the European interlopers. Raised and educated by a kindly priest, Cristo is furtively taught to read and write in several languages. Risking excommunication and imprisonment during the harsh Inquisition era, Fray Antonio feeds the eager boy a steady diet of classical literature and trains him as a physician. When Cristo learns that his true parentage is shrouded in a mystery that endangers his life, he is forced to flee the only home he has every known. Arriving first in Veracruz and later in Seville, he perfects the art of the con, embarking on a transatlantic series of escapades with one goal in mind: to uncover the carefully guarded secret of his birth. The author has meticulously researched the tortuous history of the colonization of New Spain, revivifying the all-but-forgotten era upon whose brutal foundation the modern nation of Mexico was forged. This lush, exotic page-turner fairly crackles with intrigue, romance, and adventure. Margaret Flanagan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 768 pages
• Publisher: Tor Books; First Edition edition (August 19, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812590988
• ISBN-13: 978-0812590982
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (41 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #174,204 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

GARY JENNINGS was known for the rigorous and intensive research behind his novels, which often included hazardous travels--exploring every corner of Mexico for his Aztec novels, retracing the numerous wanderings of Marco Polo for The Journeyer, joining nine different circuses for Spangle, and roaming the Balkans to do Raptor.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The early history of Mexico comes alive, September 17, 2001

By 

Frank J. Konopka (Shamokin, PA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Aztec Blood (Hardcover)

There seems to be a trend in book publishing these days in which unfinished manuscripts by deceased, well-known authors are finished by others and then published under the famous name. I've read several of these types of books, with varying degrees of interest. This last book from Gary Jennings, and another, unknown writer, is definitely one of the better collaborations. It captures extremely well the essense of Mr. Jennings' writing, so that there is a terrifice story line, and action aplenty! The background and history is given as well as can be done without diverting attention from the tale, and the knowledge inserted is, for the most part, not intrusive. I do wonder, however, what the finished product would have been like had Mr. Jennings managed to complete it all on his own. Make no mistake, though, I really liked the book, and am sorry that no others will be forthcoming from Mr. Jennings. His death is a loss to all of his fans, among which I number myself.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars WOW - What a vast array of reviews...., December 10, 2002

By 

Jeffrey Roberts (Long Island, New York United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Aztec Blood (Aztec 3) (Mass Market Paperback)

I am a major Gary Jennings fan, having read all of his novels. I liked Aztec Blood, what is lacked in writing style is what I expected when I bought the book. Gary Jennings didn't write the book and therefore, I did not expect an exact copy of his writing style. This novel was fast paced, fun, certainly unbelievable in most parts, but very good. Similar to some of Jennings other works, the hero of the story is in constant trouble but continues to avoid the ultimate. If you have read Aztec and Aztec Autumn, read this. Like many of Jennings others books, this one continues his assault on the church. I am only sorry that there will be no more from this great author.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not one of the Better Jennings, June 21, 2002

By 

Michael A. Newman (New York) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Aztec Blood (Hardcover)

I had read the first two novels in this trilogy and found the quality going down each time. Aztec was a phenomenal book, Aztec Autumn was good. I found Aztec Blood to be so-so (probably 3 1/2 stars). It centers around a mixed-breed Mestiso, who is spurned by all. He is raised by a Fray (a friar) and taught to read and write, which is forbidden to all but Spaniards. It seems like everyone he meets wants to kill him. The reader can only suspect why, until the late in the book.

The book does have some elements of the prior two and that is explaining some of the ancient rituals of human sacrifice and the horrors wraught by the Spanish Inquisition.

There are some interesting characters too (Mateo, Sanchez, the Healer), but in camparison to some of Mr. Jennings other books they are just not as good.

I understand that this book was completed by a ghost writer after Mr. Jennings untimely death. The writer did a great job of capturing Mr. Jennings style.