Azteca/aztec (Novela Historica) (Spanish Edition) [Paperback]

Gary Jennings (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 1096 pages
• Publisher: Planeta Publishing; Tra edition (March 1, 2006)
• Language: Spanish
• ISBN-10: 8408065815
• ISBN-13: 978-8408065814
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 4.9 x 2.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,367,242 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Astonishing, February 23, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Azteca/Aztec (Spanish Edition) (Paperback)

This book took my breath away. I actually felt anguish when I realized there were only 10 pages left until the end. I didn't want it to end. I have never read a book more than once. I started it again a couple of days back and this time I'm taking my time and I will savor every page.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Aztec/Aztec Autumn, August 12, 2007

By 

S. E. Gressel "Viva Mexíca" (Loyalton, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Azteca/aztec (Novela Historica) (Spanish Edition) (Paperback)

I absolutely loved these books. Gary Jennings was genius in his research, literary skills and story telling. What a brilliant way to bring the past to life and tell the story from the true Mexicans' perspective. I teach Spanish, but feel like I have so much more of an understanding of the Mexican culture and how it has been influenced by Old Spain. I came to love the characters in both books and wish that he could have written more. I appreciate his extensive research into the culture and Nahuatl language. They are both great reads!!

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Mediocre Plot Founded on Thorough Research, January 17, 2008

By 

Octavius (United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Azteca/aztec (Novela Historica) (Spanish Edition) (Paperback)

This work by Gary Jennings is founded on a thorough anthropological and historical research of Mexico's history serving as the foundation for what is unfortunately a mediocre plot developed through very general and predictable characters and situations that are often in conflict with the anthropological and historical foundation of the novel.

The author leads the reader through the history and society of Mexico before and after Cortez through the character of Mixtli, the incestuous son of a simple laborer living near Tenochtitlan. Because of his literary skills, Mixtli soon finds himself a traveler crossing through the various castes of the Aztec civilization as a scribe, a warrior, a merchant, and a noble. Through this character, the reader travels in time and discovers the different facets of the Aztec civilization, its history, social hierarchy, social conventions, and religious practices.

Although the author brilliantly establishes in great detail the history and mores of Mexico's indigineous civilizations, this foundation supports only a very superficial plot and poorly developed characters. The narrative voice through Mixtli presents a modus operandi that is simply too cartesian to convince the reader that he lived most of his life as an Aztec. Reading the story one feels more as if they're reading Aristotle or Plato's dialogues instead of an Aztec traveler. In addition to presenting a dual narrative crudely defining the position of the conqueror/Church vs. the voice of the conquered/main character, the author tries to complement this defect by presenting the main character as an incurable sexual deviant who performs every sexual taboo such as incest, homosexuality/pedophilia, adultery, etc. to the point that it becomes an overwhelming part of the plot: simply an obvious and tedious filler and nothing more. It makes the characters stagnant and predictable. In addition, Mixtli's defiance against the Aztec religion's methods in selecting sacrificial victims and the author's utopian contrast with those of the other members of the Triple Alliance seem superficial, idealistic, and simply hard to believe.

Overall, the book presents an incredible overview of Aztec and Meso-American history that serves as a foundation to a rather banal plot with unimaginative characters. Compared to a similar historical romantic novel based in a foreign setting such as Clavell's 'Shogun', this novel is an average work. Like Clavell, Jennings is brilliant in detailing the setting of the story but, unlike Clavell, his characters are poorly developed leading the reader through a banal plot that is fundamentally in conflict with its setting. For these reasons, I rate this work 3 stars and average.