Regresamos a una era remota, a una sociedad cuyas tierras han sido arrebatadas y sus almas aplastadas por el imperio español, el más poderoso del mundo. El pueblo azteca ha sido conquistado y la sangrienta rebelión indígena reprimida. El antiguo imperio ahora es llamado Nueva España, y los aztecas han sido reducidos a esclavos en grandes estados organizados como feudos. Los conquistadores españoles gobiernan como reyes: someten a los indígenas a trabajos forzosos y las mujeres han pasado a ser de su propiedad. En esta colorida y apasionante época, en medio de tumultos y rebeliones, un joven mendigo mestizo, por cuyas venas corre la sangre de la realeza española y azteca, debe desvelar el secreto mortal que esconde su linaje paterno y reclamar los derechos que corresponden por nacimiento.

First, I have to confess that I'm a big fan of Gary Jennings. Whatever one thinks of his early work (i.e. what was published while he was still alive), it's broad in scope, rich in detail, and absolutely epic. What really grabs me, though, is his intricacy and the texture he's able to draw across his broad landscapes.

"Aztec Blood" is the first of several books (and more on the way) written based on notes and outlines and published after his death. While "Aztec Blood" (the third in his "Aztec" series) doesn't compete or compare well head-to-head with his original "Aztec", I found myself drawn in and gobbling up all 750 pages.

For fans of his earlier Aztec work, there are no direct connections between "Blood" and "Aztec" and "Aztec Autumn". But the characteristics of his main character, Cristo the Bastardo, are similar to the protagonists in the other two books - he's adventurous, very self-aware, and very prone to drama.

It's impossible to truly summarize the story here...I will leave that to previous reviewers and book summaries. Suffice it to say that "Aztec Blood" is heavily focused on the class differences of early-to-mid Spanish Colonialism in post-conquest Mexico. In Cristo's journeys of self discovery in which he's seeking both physical and spiritual origins, the reader explores the impact of the Spanish Conquest on native "indios", first generation-born new world Spaniards, and old world Spaniards as well. It's terrifically insightful and rich in the history and research that one finds in Jennings' other work.

The story contains sword fights, heroic rescues and escapes, love, sex and multiple detailed run-ins with the Spanish Inquisition.

Characters bounce in and out, often falling subject to Cristo's ill-fated existence. The most persistent of characters is Mateo...a living Don Quixote who pulls Cristo along as he chases innumerable windmills. At first Mateo is a bit predictable and fairly unlikeable (purposely so, for the record), but I found myself almost audibly cheering for the two banditos as they traipse across New Spain and the Atlantic following women, riches and schemes in the typically broad Jennings landscape.

The books is not great. But it pulled me in: I cared about the characters...I cared how the persistent dramatic threads concluded (and there were many threads)...and I was drawn to feel as the characters felt. I didn't love the ending, but I felt resolved and satisfied. The journey of reading Jennings more than makes up for any specific flaws in the stories themselves.

I recommend this enjoyable read. ( )

It isn't quite what Gary Jennings would have done, I'm sure, but this ghost writer still does a worthy job at entertaining. The greatest divergence from Jennings is the emphasis on Spain rather than the Aztec culture, and this ghost writer seems more adverse to writing tragedy.

Edit: I've since learned that Gary Jennings had most of this written in draft upon his death, and his editor then completed it. It does capture and carry the same general tone as the previous books, but its violence is toned down and the ending is happier as noted; maybe those were the editor's contributions. As usual in these cases, we'll never know (i.e., never be told). ( )