Aztec
5 primary works • 9 total works
Book 1
First published in 1980, "Aztec" reached No.1 position on the "New York Times" bestseller list. "Aztec" - The extraordinary story of the last and greatest native civilization of North America, at the very height of its magnificence, was told by a novelist working at the very height of his powers. It is a story told in the words of one of the most robust and memorable characters of recent fiction. His name is Mixtli - Dark Cloud. Born the son of a provincial quarrier, Mixtli rises far above his station. He becomes, first, a scribe; he goes on to distinguish himself as a warrior, earns a fortune as a travelling merchant and explores every part of what the Aztecs called - The One World - the far lands of mountains, jungles, deserts, seacoasts. His courage and resourcefulness earn him a knighthood and, eventually, elevation to the nobility. "Aztec" is a novel of heroic dimension in every respect. Twelve years in the making, it is compelling in story, in its feel of history happening and in its tumult of events. It is rich with memorable characters and brilliantly colourful exoticism. It is an epic tale, full of power and surprise that will leave its readers wishing it would never end.
Book 2
This work continues the vision Gary Jennings had in telling the entire history of Mexico through novels. "Aztec Autumn" takes us to a time one generation after the Conquest, when the magnificent Aztec empire has fallen beneath the brutal heel of the invading Spaniards. But one proud Aztec, Tenamaxtil, refuses to bow to the foreign conquerors - and secretly begins to recruit from among the struggling survivors of the Conquest, an army of insurrection. On his courageous quest he finds high adventure, passionate women, unlikely allies, bright hope, and bitter tragedy. Driven by his dream of restoring the lost glory of the Aztec empire he will come to threaten the seemingly invincible power of mighty Spain. Until now, Tenamaxtil's rebellion has been little remembered, perhaps because it shed no glory on the men who would write the history books, but on its outcome depended the future of all North America.
Book 3
This book continues the vision Gary Jennings had in telling the entire history of Mexico through novels. "Aztec Blood" returns us to a bygone era, to a people who have had both their lands seized and their spirits crushed by the most powerful empire in the world, the Spanish empire. Its brutal conquistadors have forced the once-mighty Aztec empire to its knees and practically wiped a race from the earth. In the tradition of the acclaimed historical novels "Aztec" and "Aztec Autumn", we are taken once again through the gallantry and brutality, the sex and tyranny, of a vanished civilization south of the border. The Aztec people have been conquered and a bloody revolt of the Indians put down. The former Aztec empire is now called New Spain, and there the native people are enslaved on great estates that are feudal domains. The Spanish lords rule as kings, treating Indian men as work animals and Indian women as their personal property.
In this colourful and exciting era of swords and cloaks, tumultuous upheaval and revolution, a young half-breed beggar boy, in whose veins runs the blood of Spanish and Aztec royalty, must unravel the deadly secret behind his parentage and claim his birthright. From the torrid streets of the City of the Dead along the Veracruz Coast and the ancient tombs of the Aztec kings, along the grand canals, palaces, and dungeons of the Venice of the New World, to the ageless story of Seville in Old Spain, Cristo the Bastard connives, fights and loves as he seeks the truth - without knowing that his "tainted" blood is the forebear of a proud new people.
In this colourful and exciting era of swords and cloaks, tumultuous upheaval and revolution, a young half-breed beggar boy, in whose veins runs the blood of Spanish and Aztec royalty, must unravel the deadly secret behind his parentage and claim his birthright. From the torrid streets of the City of the Dead along the Veracruz Coast and the ancient tombs of the Aztec kings, along the grand canals, palaces, and dungeons of the Venice of the New World, to the ageless story of Seville in Old Spain, Cristo the Bastard connives, fights and loves as he seeks the truth - without knowing that his "tainted" blood is the forebear of a proud new people.
Book 5
The Aztec uprising in 1810 left young Juan Martez orphaned in a savage land. Like many native Aztecs, Juan was sentenced to hang by the Spanish. But his life is spared when a Spanish gun maker learns of his skills with gunpowder and buys him to make munitions.Keeping his Aztec heritage low key, Juan becomes the finest gun maker in the colony - and the best shot. But both talents are kept secret - if the Spanish knew of his skills, he would surely be killed. Juan secretly works the Mexican underground, running guns and black powder to guerrilla forces fighting for independence. Along the way he falls in love with Maria Volza, a fiery revolutionary stirring up the masses, but she rejects him as fallen under the Spanish boot.But Juan's destiny is to lead the Mexicans against Spanish rule, and when Maria discovers the life Juan has hidden so well, a battle is ignited and the revolution begins.
Book 6
The Mayan 'End-Time Codex' predicts the end of the world in 2012. A young Aztec-Mayan slave tells the story of its creation: gifted in math and astronomy, Coyotl advises the god-king, Quetzalcoatl. Gathering artists, scientists, and architects, this ruler builds the great, golden city of Tula but soon faces war, disastrous drought, death-cult priests who rip the hearts out of thousands of people...and an epic catastrophe threatening all humanity. Meanwhile, thousand years later, scientists have rediscovered the End-Time Codex and learned that their own time mirrors Tula's golden age. Can they crack the 2012 code and save their world from Tula's deadly fate? The countdown begins.
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Don Juan de Zavala was the most skilled fighter in all of New Spain - as gifted with weapons and horses as he was with women. These pleasures were all he desired. But the magnificent Aztec empire, its grand cities and riches lay broken under the Spanish boot...now valiant men and fearless women rise and battle their brutal overlords. As a warrior-priest leads an Aztec revolt, across the ocean in Spain, courageous people battle Napoleon's invading armies. No one, including Juan de Zavala, could stay neutral. Especially, if a shocking secret from Zavala's lurid past is exposed - a secret so lethal! to the Spanish Crown it threatens their very existence. Zavala will be swept from glittering Mexico City to snake-and- croc infested jungles, from lost Mayan civilizations to the torture chambers of the Inquisition, from beautiful Barcelona and the bloody carnage of Napoleon's war in Spain, to the bloodiest and most spectacular of New Spain's (colonial Mexico) revolutions.
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