Aztec

Aztec is a 1980 historical fiction novel by American author Gary Jennings. It is the first of two novels Jennings wrote in the Aztec series, followed by Aztec Autumn. The remaining four novels (Aztec Blood, 2002; Aztec Rage, 2006; Aztec Fire, 2008; Aztec Revenge, 2012) were written by other authors after Jennings died in 1999. Summary The book is written as a series of letters from the Bishop of the See of New Spain to King Carlos of Spain, containing a transcribed biography of Mixtli (full name Chicóme-Xochitl Tliléctic Mixtli, "Seven Flower Dark Cloud", in Nahuatl), an elderly Aztec man, by Spanish Catholic monks during the 16th century. The novel portrays the entirety of the life of Mixtli-Dark Cloud, who is asked by Bishop Juan de Zumárraga to tell about his life, since King Carlos I of Spain (Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor) wants a chronicle of what Aztecs were like. Born to ordinary parents and afflicted with keratoconus, Mixtli nonetheless rises quickly through the hierarchy of Mexican society, becoming a scribe, a wealthy trader, a renowned warrior, and eventually a lord of Tenochtitlan and a highly respected councilor to Moctezuma II. The novel chronicles Mixtli's many adventures, which take him through all of the Aztec Empire ("The One World") and beyond. The 'composer' of the novel, Bishop Zumárraga, is often commented upon by the narrator, who notes when the Bishop arrives to hear generally lurid details of human sacrifice and sexual impropriety, and often leaves just as quickly in disgust. The Bishop's introductions to the various chapters of the chronicle often express his loathing for Mixtli and his weariness with recording what he considers to be the biography of a heathen and a sinner. Plot