Aztec Autumn

Rating:
Summary: Nothing comparable to the Aztec
Review: It is always a difficult task to write a sequel of a successful book. But also taking into account this kind of difficulty, I didn't like very much that one. Of course it is a readable novel (Jennings is an expert writer), but all the epic and historical backgrounds I found in the Aztec, has been currently lost. It is an average work, and any interest it can retain, derives, in my opinion, only by the sound of the original subject. I would have expected much more by the author of the Aztec.

Rating:
Summary: A dissapointing book
Review: Aztec was one of the most entertaining and engaging books that I have read in the last few years. The story was gripping, the characters were somewhat believable, and it was a real page-turner. Aztec Autumn, on the other hand, was completely dissapointing and sort of felt like it had been strung together by a computer program which pulled out elements of Aztec and then strung heavy-handed plots around them. Very little in Aztec Autumn seemed surprising or inspiring, and the narrative voice did not capture my attention the way it did in the original. It's hard to tell if a sequel like this, actually written by the author, is worse than one of those sequels written after the author died, by some hopeful writer obsessed with making a quick buck. One of the things that was great about Aztec was that it told a finite life story, but this book just dragged the story on in an unoriginal manner.

Rating:
Summary: A very inferior sequel to Aztec
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: "Aztec" a Tough Act to Follow, but Enjoyable Nonetheless
Review: I have always loved historical fiction, and "Aztec" is the best novel I have read. It sent me on a quest for all Jennings' works, two of which I purchased used as they are out of print ("Raptor" and "The Journeyer"). I truly enjoyed "Aztec Autumn", but it lacked the depth of "Aztec". Still, I suppose it is a must for "Aztec"-lovers.

I learned from this site that Gary Jennings died on February 13, 1999. Does anyone have any information about his death? I was truly saddened to hear about it and I can't believe that there won't be any more Jennings novels to follow "Aztec Autumn".

Rating:
Summary: Better than Most
Review: 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!

Rating:
Summary: A wonderful story, intricately woven.
Review: I loved this book. It was the first book of this author I have read, and I will definitely read more of his work. Although it reminds me of the book River God, Aztec Autumn is not as vivid. A great read for people who love history and a great plot. It reveals the horrors inflicted on native peoples by the Spanish conquistadors, and helps you see it from there point of view.

Rating:
Summary: Slightly Disappointing Sequel
Review: I was totally enthralled with Gary Jennings' first novel, Aztec. When I saw this paperback sitting on the book store shelf, I couldn't wait to take it home in anticipation of reading a similarly great novel. Although, I have not had trouble finishing this sequel, I must admit that Aztec was much better. This book becomes boring in parts and there are some Spanish phrases that need to be translated for us non-Spanish speaking readers - and I'm not talking about common Spanish words/phrases. Aztec Summer is an ok novel and probably better for those who didn't read the prequel. BTW, if you haven't read Aztec, go out and get it right now! You'll love it!

Rating:
Summary: Raymond Jennings' last book has not let him down!
Review: On August 27th., 1998, I was leaving Chico, Northern California, to drive South to Los Angeles and San Diego, and my friend ,Rich, mindful of my tendency to read, (and follow) maps as though still in the southern Hemisphere, proffered some advice. I should he said, drive South, and stay on anything that said South, but that if the road sign began speaking to me in Spanish, I would have gone too far and should turn back.
I thought he was joking, of course, but next day, when I was unable to get anything other than Spanish-type music on the car radio, I began to think about the Spanish influence on the area I was driving through. And when I saw Raymond Jennings' new book in the Manhatton Beach bookstore, released as a mass-market paperback just that week, I bought it, of course, to carry further South still, and I read it with pleasure back home in Australia, bringing to it, now so much more extensive a background schema than would have been possible before I sojourned in the USA, revelling in the familiar placenames and geographical features, marvelling at the origins of customs still practised, never dreaming, of course, that this was to be Jennings' last book, that his literary career would end so abruptly with his death on February 13th this year.

Jennings' best known work, I feel sure, will probably remain the blockbuster, widescreen "The Journeyer", surely the ultimate in travel reading, with Jennings, himself proving no slouch in the itchy-feet department, retracing Marco Polo's wanderings extensively for the novel, just as he was to join several different circuses to properly research "Spangles" and explore remote corners of Mexico for the Aztec novels, even including maps of "The One World; New Spain," that the reader might more easily obtain reliable bearings.

As with all Jennings' books, the reader is gripped not so much by the plot, though this is always authentically plausible, as by the synthesis of unfolding events, the skill with which Jennings creates and blends incidents and occurences authenticated by vividness of background description and characterization. As with the works of Joseph Heller, some scenes in each novel are so brilliantly painted, so horrific in cruel detail that we retain them forever in mental snapshot. With no effort whatsoever, I can recall in detail the fate of the young servant in "The Journeyer", and the dwarf couple in "Spangles"...and the beloved teenage daughter in "Aztec".

And "Aztec Autumn", while perhaps a more mellow sequel, has, still, its share of bloodthirsty history as the Spanish colonization presses relentlessly on despite pockets of opposition and rebellion. Yet we are seeing, too, that these white usurpers begin to bring enlightenment, benefits, even stability to these lands where warring families have plotted and schemed, where violence has been a way of life, and even the Gods are cruel, their priests jealous indeed! We sense an awareness from our central character, who begins his story at the age of 18, that the newcomers have something positive to offer his people, even though, at first, his eyes cannot see so clearly the grey tones through the black and white lenses of youth .

But viewpoints change as maturity sharpens our inner vision, and, by the closing of the story, the dying old man can reflect on a long lifetime of survival , of dramatic changes, of deeds accomplished and lessons learned.....and, at the end, find the New Land good.

And on his last night, , the old man dictates his summing up, an epilogue that Jennings could not have known would be his own last word on the great hybrid society America has become:

**********************************************

"...Yes, let me just say one thing more, and please put it at the end of your chronicle. Our Mixton War is lost, and rightly so. I should never have begun it. From the day of your Grandfather Mixtli's execution, I resented and resisted the aliens among us. But, over time, I have met and admired many of th ese aliens--the white Alonso, the black Esteban, the padre Quiraga, your mulata mother, Rebeca, and finally you, dear daughter, who commingle so many different bloods. I realize now--and I accept--I am even proud--the YOUR lovely face, Veronica, is the new Face of The One World. To you, and to your sons and daughters and to The One World, I wish you all good things."

***********************************************

Vale, Raymond Jennings and thankyou..
This last book has not let you down....!

Rating:
Summary: Clever in its story line, disapointing in the delivery.
Review: Aztec was a superb piece of literature. A great ride through the life of the Aztec nation. Aztec Autumn lacks the personality and depth of it's prequal. The final chapter is the biggest let down. It is just a narration of what should have been the biggest battle of the book. I agree with several others who have reviewed this book, sequals just don't carry the same passion as the original.

Rating:
Summary: It's a sequel, and reads like one
Review: For anyone who read Jennings' AZTEC, don't bother with AZTEC AUTUMN. It's a pale, formulaic imitation of the gorgeous original. My three-star rating is based on Jennings' success at detailing the everyday lives of his 400 year old subjects for us. But his insistence on detailing various sorts of sexual experimentation has grown a little thin. Again (as always - see RAPTOR, AZTEC, etc.) his hero's great loves die. And the ending seems to meet the needs of today's political correctness rather than ring true. After the atrocities visited upon him, his family, and his people, how could the hero embrace a "multi-cultural" rather than Indian-dominated, world? Jennings needs to revisit his original AZTEC to be refreshed on how to tell an enjoyable, believable story.