Rating: 
Summary: A great story
Review: I read this book about five months ago.Gary Jennings transported the reader to the pre-conquest world. While I was reading I compared it with books and maps from National Geographic and found out how well documented it is.This is a refreshing view of the spanish conquest that helps to discover (to the non-latinamerican people) how the spanish conquered and enslave the new world in the name of religion and the spanish kings. What i found a little disturbing is the full charge of sexual themes all around the story, that became even boring. It is not that I'm against erotism but the line between a historical fantasy and an erotic novel vanished constantly throughout the story.
Rating: 
Summary: A truly unforgettable literary experience
Review: I completed this book several months ago and still find myself drifting off and wondering about the magnificent Mixtli, his life and his splendorous and misunderstood world. This is one of the best, if not the best book I have ever read. Having had a solid education in literature, I have had the opportunity of reading many of the classics, and very much enjoy current literature. I can't think of any book that has impacted me for so long as has this great work of literature. Jennings has a way of weaving a story and a setting which allows one to be there in all their senses experiencing what the central characters experience. Every human emotion is felt as one follows Mixtli through the story of his life, the life of the Mexica and the conquest of the New World in the name of God and country. After reading Aztec, I found it difficult to to find a book that motivated me the way it did. It is a must read for all history buffs as it is histroically very accurate, and if history repeats itself we have only to look at the conquest of the American West. Everyone else read it for the education, enjoyment, or for the shear escape.
Rating:
Summary: Awesome book!
Review: I bought this book for my mom for Xmas. She likes Indian books. I personally had no interest in Indians, or historical fiction. But just out of the blue I started reading it. Wow! Needless to say, she never got it for Xmas! One of the book's main assets is that it is not politically correct. It does not gloss over the brutality of the Mexica. It is told from the perspective (mostly) of one of the Aztecs, but it is the character hismself who is anti-Spanish and anti-white. The author, however makes it clear that the Mexica themselves were not in any way morally superior to the Spaniards. They were both brutal people. Thisbook inspired me to buy a history book about Mexico, called Fire And Blood by T R Fehrenbach, which was even fairer about the subject than Jennings was. Other things I enjoyed about the book were details such as how the Spaniards never bathed (which is not mentioned in either of the two history books I bought), and how many of the characters in this book were real and made to interact with the main character in one way or another.
Rating:
Summary: Extraodinario!!!!
Review: Definitivamente uno de los libros escritos sobre las tradiciones y costumbres de este pueblo extraodinario que fue el azteca. En un lenguaje ameno y sobre todo descriptivo, Jennings,nos da la oportunidad de recorrer el henorme territorio mexicano en una epoca donde los espacios no tenian limites y la cantidad de pueblos, formaba un mosaico multicolor lleno de costumbres y tradiciones de lo mas variado. Desde las tierras selvaticas del sur, hasta los mas agrestes desiertos en el norte, podemos viajar con el personaje Mixtli, quien sirviendo dirctamente al emperador Azteca, recorre todo el Unico Mundo Mexica, con el fin de recabar informacion para poder ampliar las extenciones del imperio. En verdad una joya literaria llena de datos historicos que dificilmente antes se habian narrado en una forma tan gratificante.
Rating:
Summary: One of the top historical novels of our time!
Review: With a Masters Degree in History and a teacher of American History/Western Civ, I could not believe how historically accurate and detailed this tome was. The detail was incredible and the story was told with an obvious passion for the subject. I highly recommend this "novel" to students as an excellent primer to the Spainish conquest and settlement of the Americas. Keep up the excellent work Mr. Jennings!
Rating:
Summary: Righ up there with Victor Hugo or Shakespeare!
Review: At a minimum, this work deserves a Nobel Prize! It begins with a letter from King Charles V. The one page and 1/2 of titles that this man had, if marked with pins on a world map, makes it look like a Spanish porcupine! The book is a history course in terms of social, military, sexual, commercial, religious, political, and sentimental behavior. Certainly no textbooks in any universities, including Mexican, teach history that way. The book is written from the Aztec viewpoint and the characters and tone are such that readers will side with them vis a vis the Spanish. Those of us who are latin americans of Spanish descent and who have been taught to despise or at least look down on indians can't help but wonder how much of this attitude was due to fear and envy of the Aztec civilization. Latin America and the Phillipines are the ruins of a once proud and powerful empire; the atrocities commited by its soldiers, the enslavement and exploitation of the native population, when compared to other European powers, was not the worst, just the first. The burning at the stake by the Inquisition was repeated elsewhere in Protestant Europe and America (meaning the Western Hemisphere). In closing, this great masterpiece relates directly to the identity of modern latin americans, all of us, including whites, indians, and mestizos. I can only hope that a way can be found to allow us all to live in peace. To the English-speaking non-Hispanic white American, a chilling reminder of what can happen to even the most powerful country if racial intolerance is allowed to rule. But the greatest lesson is that the Aztecs were not really that different from us. The had the same virtues, sexual behavior, pride, and vices of modern man. Everything has been done before. The book is wonderful; enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: Sin palabras...
Review: Even for me as Mexican, this was a breath taken story. There I was, in the militar academy in Mexico city, with my "Aztec" book in the militar History class. That book was more interesting than the class indeed.For moments I saw myself in Tlactli Mixtli's feet. Traveling all along the Aztec empire, and wishing have being in the conquest war against spanish troops. I think that the experience for me, was very special, because the militar academy's architecture, is based in Aztec meanings (i.e., the government office's shape is "texcaltlipoca", the aztec's God of war). I finished that book in a few days, and until now, is still the best I've ever read. I would really wish to meet somebody like Steven Spielberg, and tell them to read the book if they hadn't yet, and make a production about it...that would be a dream becoming true... Thanks Jennings.
Rating:
Summary: Spellbinding. Now that I've finished it--I miss it very muc
Review: I don't normally like to read lengthy books because I think that I would lose interest and would not be able to wait until I finish. This book changes my mind. The adventures of the Aztec, the exchanges with the church rep and the ultimate ending kept me glued to the pages. I'm sorry the book wasn't longer.
Rating:
Summary: Wow. . .
Review: I just finished reading Aztec a few of days ago and I still can't shake the effect this book has had on me! I'm still dreaming of Aztlan and Mixtli. Gary Jennings is a masterful storyteller, he made me see colors, taste the air, feel the pain and joy of the characters. . . I highly recommend it to anyone who loves to become one with a book. I'm going to send a copy to my honey who reminds me of Mixtli. :)
Rating:
Summary: One of the best books I ever read
Review: I was completely unprepared for Aztec. One summer, I had nothing to read and I had no books in mind. I went to the large bookshelf upstairs and picked out the largest book. It was called Aztec. I started reading it and got sucked right in. After reading X-files, Star Wars, and Robin Cook, by the dozen, my mind had turned to putty. Aztec, though, cannot be compared to silly books like that. It had everything. The plot was so interesting, I could not believe it was based on actual facts. I went to the library and read about Aztecs. In school, I took the opportunity to study about the Aztec culture and history. Gary Jemming's book was not only a million times more entertaining, but it had more facts than all the books put together. If you are ever going to do a project on Aztecs, this book is number one on your list. I just finished it for the third time. The detail in the book is astounding. Who knows, someday someone may make a movie about it.
This book has gone unnoticed for too long.
Why do we have to read boring books in school because we can learn from them when we have Aztec? How come no-one has heard of Gary Jemmings? How come it's not required reading? I did not give a damn about Aztec history until I read Aztec. It is inspiring.
|
