Aztec Revenge

Aztec #6

by Gary Jennings, Junius Podrug

Juan is a "mestizo," of mixed Spanish and Indio heritage, sure to be doomed to a short, violent life begging on the streets. But Juan has a special gift for handling horses and an ability to defend himself at a time when a man's best friends are his horse and his sword. Only El Mestizo, the half-caste son of the conqueror Cortés, knows that the blood of kings flows in the young beggar.

After killing a man for beating a horse, Juan becomes a highwayman and horse thief before disguising himself as a wealthy caballero. He is wined and dined by the richest and most powerful people in the colony—who don't realize that some of them had once stared down the barrel of Juan's pistola as he took their gold.

Fighting, conniving, and loving in a colorful era of flashing swords and brave hearts, Juan must use all the tricks he learned as a beggar and a bandit to unlock the secret of his own heritage.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction

320 pages, Hardcover

First published October 16, 2012

About the author

Gary Jennings led a paradoxically picaresque life. On one hand, he was a man of acknowledged intellect and erudition. His novels were international best sellers, praised around the world for their stylish prose, lively wit and adventurously bawdy spirit. They were also massive - often topping 500,000 words - and widely acclaimed for the years of research he put into each one, both in libraries and in the field.

Jennings served in the Korean War, where he was awarded the Bronze Star Medal- a decoration rarely given to soldier-reporters- and a personal citation by South Korean President Syngman Rhee for his efforts on behalf of war orphans.

Where the erudition came from, however, was something of a mystery.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/garyje...

Reviews

[Laura Warren · Rating 2 out of 5]

You could tell that Gary Jennings did not finish this book. It had the potential of being just as great as his others in the series, however his death interfered with that. The other writer that finished it does not have the same talent or style that Gary did. (and it shows) Gary Jennings died in 1999.

[Tony Laplume · Rating 1 out of 5]

I haven’t read Garth Jennings, and I haven’t read Junius Podrug writing with Robert Gleason, but Podrug alone…This book is poorly written. It’s the definition of milking a franchise, about giving absolutely no mind to the quality of the material being published. That is all that’s worth knowing about this book.

[Storm Morgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book and the story which is surprising because I don’t read much historical fiction. I can remember reading this and it felt the same even better than watching a movie. Super cool also seeing the main character climb the social higharcy throughout the book

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this in the Cancun airport, on the way to Mexico City, Dec 18, 2013. Great historical fiction and adventure book. This is the second generation after Cortez conquered the Aztec’s and, at times, describes the conquest. I also happened to pick up a history book in the bookstore that describes the scene when Cortes and his men saw the Aztec city that included houses on the water and how they thought it was a dream because it was so beautiful and similar to a story they had learned from childhood. The description in this book was accurate to the other one. The main character is interesting and there is a nice romance thrown in.

[Bgrayyoung · Rating 3 out of 5]

A similar plot to the others in the series. Once again, it is appalling how the indigenous people were treated by the Spaniards and how cruel the church was to so many.

[Shelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this on the beach in Mexico. It was a good book for that setting.

[Dominic King · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent read. Some odd bits of translation which jarred but overall pretty engrossing if a little long.