Aztec

Rating:
Summary: Too Much Sex
Review: This extremely gripping novel, amazingly well researched and at times utterly facinating, is marred by an incredible number of pointless yet lengthy sex scenes that seem to take up half the book and almost never develop plot or character. A pity.

Rating:
Summary: What an Expert Thinks About the Novel, Aztec
Review: This novel is a very readable and highly accurate portrayal of Aztec civilization. Jennings gets most of his facts right, and the major distortions (treatments of Aztec writing and sex)appear to be deliberate devices to help advance the story. Yes, he does overplay the sex and violence, but so what? Jennings even "predicted" some things (such as Aztec/Tarascan trade) that scholars hadn't thought of until they conducted archaeological research after publication of the novel.

I have written an extended essay about the novel: "Aztec World of Gary Jennings," in Novel History: Historians and Novelists Confront America's Past (and Each Other), edited by Mark C. Carnes, pp. 95-105. Simon and Schuster, New York, 2001. Aztec is an exciting novel, great fun to read, and a more enjoyable way to learn about the Aztecs than from the textbooks (including mine ! ).

Rating:
Summary: WONDERFULLY WRITTEN ACCOUNT OF THE AZTECS
Review: This is a book for the ages. The story, actually history of Mixtli, is written so that it is also a history of the Aztec nation. You will be captivated by the splendor of Tenochtitlan, you will be disgusted by the barbarity of their sacrifices, you will become saddened by Mixtli's heartaches, you will love this book.

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Summary: "By the flabby teats of the Moon Godess", Aztec shocked me
Review: "Very Fortunate and Most Excellent Prince: from this city of Tenochtitlan-Mexico, capital of your dominion of New Spain, this twelfth day after the Assumption, in the Year of Our Lord one thousand five hundred twenty and nine, greeting".

Prepare to witness the incredible life and times of Chicome-Xochitl Tlilectic-Mixtli, the brave Azteca who lived through the downfall of his world in the hands of the gold hungry Hernan Cortez and his conquistadors and found the time to tell his story to his Spanish conquerors.

Jennings takes the art of story telling to a majestic level. Aztec is a fabulous journey into the lives of the ancient Azteca people and the various tribes that inhabited the Mexican territory, 500 years ago. The vigor of the narration, vividness of detail along with unforgettable characters and great adventures make Aztec a marvelous exploration and an intriguing account of the Azteca culture and customs. From a western perspective, many of the stories told by Mixtli are shocking, cruel, and repulsive; to sacrifice 15,000 people at the inauguration of the great Sun Temple is by all standards a bloody story and through the eyes of the Spanish prelate, the account is neither merciful nor understanding: "Your astute Majesty can hardly have failed to notice that the earlier pages have treated - casually, without remorse or repentance - of such sins as homicide, prolicide, suicide, anthropopophagy, incest, harlotry, torture, idolatry, and breach of the Commandment to honor father and mother. If, as it has been said, one's sins are wounds of one's soul, this Indian's soul is bleeding at every pore". Mixtli gives his perspective of things and makes us understand his world, people, and times. No matter what your beliefs are, this book will not leave you indifferent. The western ethnocentric position is strongly challenged and questioned; what is good and what is evil, what is right and wrong, how shall we honor god...who has the power to decide upon these issues?

Historic fact: the conquest of the Aztec empire was not dictated by the Spanish emperor. In fact, Carlos had no idea that Hernan Cortez was roaming Central America for his own personal benefit but in the name of the emperor. The Spanish ruler didn't even know of the Azteca existence until long after the fires in Mexico City had died out.

I strongly recommend this book to all history fiction fans interested in the tumultuous age of the Spanish conquest of the Americas. The amount of historical research in this book is indeed impressive.

Rating:
Summary: A Treasure
Review: I read this book while I was 15 years old and still in HighSchool. I still have that book, and today, I am purchasing "Aztec" in hardcover from amazon.com.

This book shall last through the generations of my family (if I have to force it down their throats AND make them chew). A WONDERFUL story based on fact with multi-layered characters, amazing imagery AND (just to astound us more) historically correct (with a little room for author's invention).

An epic. I dream of and dread a movie. Buy it (or borrow it ...gasp) and read it. You will not regret it.

Rating:
Summary: A Great Story from a Controversial Storyteller
Review: A "1,000-page-plus" novel that will draw you into its world and leave you with a greater understanding of the Aztec culture. The story is so compelling from the start... you will actually be delighted to find out that you are "only a tenth of the way through" and there are still 900 pages to go! The story is about one man (a member of the Mixteca tribe that occupied present-day Mexico City prior to and during the Cortes conquest) who, even at an early age, is able to reason and use logic to his utmost advantage. The main character in the story, Mixtli, has the ability to see through the ignorances of his culture and rebel against childhood customs that were sacred. We, as readers, are shown a great contrast of the Aztec culture that displays a population of super-sophisticated tribes who, ultimately, became the victims of their own narrow-mindedness. It can probably best be compared to the era of witchcraft in the U.S. You will surely be entertained by the adventurous, first-person omnipotent format that allows you to reflect on the actions of many and wonder with regret "What might have been..." Some will never even pick this book up due to the anticipated boredom of factual archives that would be better found in museum... but, any reader will notice after the first few pages that the "facts" are only used when it is important to the fictional story and where their use is entertaining. "Aztec" is one of the very few books that will absolutely "shock" you with the outcome of a particular side-mystery. If you are easily offended, I recommend that you do not read this book.

Rating:
Summary: A Masterpiece
Review: Let me first settle with the (very few) unfavorable remarks in Amazon.com customer reviews of "Aztec": No human can write a perfect novel. If your standard is perfection, perhaps you should seek other forms of entertainment.

Second, let me explain why I probably responded more powerfully to "Aztec" than most readers would. I survived extreme poverty, humiliation, and violence in my youth. Then I left my home town to enjoy a successful music career for 15 years. While performing at night I completed a graduate business education during the day. Now I travel around the world for one of the largest corporations in the US. I have literally thousands of great friends from street musicians to CEOs all over the world. I am in love with my beatiful wife and five children. Finally, I am part Mexican.

Given my background, I felt as though Mr. Jennings had spent several years writing my life story in the context of the Spanish conquest of the Aztecs.

Mixtli, the Aztec who's life the book describes in wonderful detail, had an even more adventuresome life than mine - by far. He was both a worse and better man than I. But in the sense that his life followed unlikely, fascinating twists, in that he made friends in many lands, in that he rose from humble origins to great business success, in that he experienced one great romance, and in that he lived first hand one of the most fascinating periods in history, the match between his life and mine are extraordinary.

So I loved this book as much as any other I've read, and I've read more than my share.

Even if your life didn't match Mixtli's, I strongly recommend this book. You'll get ten times more entertainment and education from your $10 investment than you'll get anywhere else.

Rating:
Summary: Great historical novel,but why so much unnecessary gore ?
Review: I've loved this novel for his insight in the great Aztec civilization,and the poignant depiction of its fall.Mixtli is wholly plausible,so are the narrow-minded priests (Aztec and Christians) Indeed the rogue of heretics is comparable,in barbarian cruelty,to human sacrifice.But old Gary really loves gore,sadism and cruelty.He depicts them whit the utter gusto of the dedicated algolagnic.You can say he loves SPLATTER and enjoys it. Well,I don't.

Rating:
Summary: Epic!
Review: My best read since Lord of the Rings! It is a great adventure novel that opens your eyes to the gruesome but noble world of the Aztec. Don't be daunted by the first thirty or so pages, which consist of eloquent but lengthy letters between a Spanish priest and the King of Spain. It picks up quickly from there. In fact, this is one of those books that could have ended in several places along the way and still rank among the top ten novels I have ever read!

Aztec Autumn picks up right where this books leaves off. It is an entirely different adventure set after the decline of the Aztecs but you will find it is just as engaging and sweeping as the first. I understand it took Jennings ten years to write the sequel, but it will only take you ten minutes to rush out and buy it once your done reading Aztec!

Rating:
Summary: A fascinating and interesting book to read
Review: I started reading this book knowing very little about the native people of the area we now call Mexico and nothing at all about Jennings's other works. I have to say that this book is the most impressive that he's written. It covers the lifetime of a man who sees war, poverty, great riches, violence, sex, and most importantly, his whole world change. I don't think I ever learned half as much in school about the people who were here before Columbus "discovered" America as I did when reading this book. Yes, it is a fiction book, and no, it doesn't bore you down with tons of historical details. The narrator draws you in so you feel like you understand his world and are living in his century. This book does depict a lot of Aztec violence, some of which is very disturbing and not for the faint-hearted, but it also depicts the violence of the colonizers from Spain who destroyed much of the beautiful cultural aspects (as well as the horrific ones). This book is haunting from Chapter One until the end. The sequel on the other hand, is nowhere near as fascinating.