At Road's End (Pre-Aztec Series, Prequel) [Kindle Edition]

Zoe Saadia (Author)

Book Description

Tecpatl was born a warrior of the Mexican Valley, one of the elite class of fighters, defending his great city, capturing vanquished foes to sacrifice for the honor of the gods.

Yet, the circumstances conspired to send him into the Southwestern desert, to follow the ancient road, guarding a group of traders.


When he rescues a girl from the ransacked village, he thinks nothing of it. He just wishes to
make the traders sell their goods in a hurry, so he could return to his
homeland. 

But the fate had planned differently, for the warrior and for the girl alike.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

Political intrigue in pre-Columbian Americas.

"At Road's End" is the first book in "Pre-Aztec Series", featuring the turbulent events of Mesoamerican history during the 14th century, before the Aztecs came to power.

From the Back Cover

"At Road's End -- the first in Zoe Saadia's historical adventure series set in pre-Columbian America, this book has been reviewed as "a book to have on your MUST READ list."

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• File Size: 276 KB
• Print Length: 155 pages
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B006SNV7O6
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #104,044 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 29 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great historical fiction on the Anasazi...! January 11, 2012

By J. C. Andrijeski

Format:Kindle Edition

Really great historical novel that takes place at the beginning of the end of the Anasazi cliff dweller's cultural dominance in the SW of the United States. I love the way this book was written, from the point of view of an "outsider" to that culture, a Native American from far south of the cliff dweller's region (prior to the Aztecs, from a rival tribe to the Mayans). The cultural clash is handled really well through a love story between one of the Anasazi women and a man from the warrior caste from the lands around Lake Texcoco, from a civilization that calls itself the Azcapotzalco. At the time Saadia is writing about, they share the fertile region with the Culhuacan, and a new group of bloodthirsty outsiders, the Aztecs. Hearing about the different viewpoints and philosophies of the very different religions and cultural practices of the two regions (even prior to the Aztecs, all of the natives in that region performed blood sacrifices with enemy captives, something the Anasazi didn't do, at least not in the same way). Doing this through the viewpoint of the young lovers works very well in my opinion, and lends a much more grounded and realistic lens into these people...while also using their emotional tension to make this less of a "history lesson" and more about people the reader cares about. I really enjoyed watching the warrior from the south, Tecpatl, struggle to understand the cliff dwellers with their less hierarchical society and the lack of birth castes that determine both social status and one's future work. Their love story was really charming and the action sequences exciting...all in all great read, especially if you are fascinated by this region, its peoples and its history. I am looking forward to the sequel, too, which sounds like it will be set more in those southern lands in the context of the burgeoning war with the Aztec invaders. Highly recommend!

32 of 33 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A TRULY FASCINATING NOVEL! January 30, 2012

By B. Guarino

Format:Kindle Edition

At Road's End, by Zoe Saadia is a book to have on your MUST READ' list. This Historical Fiction Novel is accurate in its understanding of past societies and locations, and in its character's attitudes, which were a dream to follow. Zoe does a brilliant job in keeping interest and excitement hand in hand, and I fell more in love with these characters with each turn of the page. This book is well written, and in a realistic manner. There is nothing namby-pamby about it, period. I am not big on romance novels, merely because many seem so far from containing any small piece of realism, that I find myself closing the book and moving on. And while there is much, much more to this book than the romance that's written into it, I felt that what portion of this story was about love, was told in such a realistic manner, that I actually wanted to read faster in order to know what would happen there. For those who know nothing about me, that's saying a lot. I view the romance in this book to be perfectly written, to my taste, anyway. Things that I was grateful not to find in this book...No one was bitten in the neck in order to drink blood and have sex, no one was swept off their feet only to be carried to a castle tower and crowned a royal princess or prince to rule a magical kingdom and live happily ever after. Nope, none of that. Prince charming and the vampire brood, must have been in other lands when the author wrote this and I was glad for it. Everything in this book seemed as it should be and where it should be and for me, it was quite simply an incredible read. If you're looking for a deeply meaningful and well written story, that will unfold painlessly while you turn each page, I highly recommend this book. I will definitely be buying more of Zoe Saaidia's novel's.

27 of 28 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Already looking forward to the sequel! January 30, 2012

By DAGraystone

Format:Kindle Edition

Like her main character's skill with a sword, author Zoe Saadia deftly handles the historical romance genre in At Road's End. One of my complaints with some historical romances is the heavy handed use of setting that reads like a history text. This is definitely not the case with At Road's End. Though Ms. Saadia obviously knows her subject, she puts you in the time and setting without feeling the need to demonstrate that knowledge with scholarly passages. Instead, she skillfully weaves her descriptions into the action of the story, putting you right there with her excellent characters. Her characters have depth, emotion, conflict and are realistic enough to have a good love/hate relation with. And from her descriptions of the action/warfare scenes, speak nicely to her if you meet her with a sword - I suspect she knows how to use it! You will enjoy this novel and, like me, will be looking forward to her promised sequel.

More About the Author

Zoe Saadia is the author of several novels of pre-Columbian Americas.

Having researched various pre-contact cultures of this continent for more than a decade, she is convinced that it's a shame that such a large part of history was completely overlooked, by historical fiction most of all.

Both Americas has an extremely rich, diverse, fascinating history long before this continent was discovered by other civilizations.
So her professional motto is set. America has not been discovered by other continents, not yet. Not in her novels :)