Aztec Blood
Gary Jennings
New York : Tor, 2002, c2001.
SUMMARY:
"Injustice has never been so keenly sketched, nor valor so compellingly portrayed as in this swashbuckling adventure."--"Publishers Weekly," Starred Review In this colorful and exciting era of swords and cloaks, upheaval and revolution, a young beggar boy, in whose blood runs that of both Spanish and Aztec royalty must claim his birthright. From the torrid streets of the City of the Dead along the Veracruz Coast to the ageless glory of Seville in Old Spain, Cristo the Bastardo connives fights, and loves as he seeks the truth--without knowing that he will be the founder of a proud new people. As we follow the loves and adventures of Cristo and experience the colorful splendor and barbarism of the era, a vanished culture is brought back to life in all its magnificence. "Jennings can breathe life into the dust of history."--"The Washington Post " "This exotic, sensuous novel works on many levels. It is at once history, mystery, and a coming-of-age novel all permeated by the teeming world of seventeenth century Mexico as seen through the eyes of a teenage boy."--"Library Journal" "This lush exotic page-turner fairly crackles with intrigue, romance and adventure . . . The author has meticulously researched the tortuous history of the colonization of New Spain, revivifying the all-but-forgotten era upon whose brutal foundation the modern nation of Mexico was founded."--"Booklist " "Highly entertaining."--"Kirkus Reviews"