It is the year one-knife in Tenochitlan - the capital of the Aztecs. The end of the world is kept at bay only by the magic of human sacrifice. A Priestess disappears from an empty room drenched in blood. Acatl, High Priest of the Dead must find her, or break the boundaries between the worlds of th living and the dead. But how do you find someone, living or dead, in a world where blood sacrifices are an everyday occurrence and the very gods stalk the streets?
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An Aztec priest of the dead tries to solve a murder mystery, and finds that politics may be even more powerful than magic. --Kevin J. Anderson, New York Times
Amid the mud and maize of the Mexica empire, Aliette de Bodard has composed a riveting story of murder, magic and sibling rivalry. --Elizabeth Bear
Part murder mystery, part well-researched historical novel and part fantasy... The fantasy element blends neatly with the other parts. 4****. --SFX Magazine
Amid the mud and maize of the Mexica empire, Aliette de Bodard has composed a riveting story of murder, magic and sibling rivalry. --Elizabeth Bear
Part murder mystery, part well-researched historical novel and part fantasy... The fantasy element blends neatly with the other parts. 4****. --SFX Magazine
About the Author
Aliette de Bodard is a writer and computer specialist whose short fiction has already brought her a John W Campbell Award nomination, for best newcomer. Living in Paris, Aliette is French, of Vietnamese extraction, but she writes exclusively in English.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By IuchiAtesoro
Format:Mass Market Paperback
I first heard about Aliette de Bodard through her short story The Shipmaker which I enjoyed so much that I voted for it in the 2010 BSFA awards (which it won). I bought this book expecting to really enjoy it. Unfortunately the first four pages did not really pull me in and I put this book down for three months.
Moving forwards to last week, and I was wondering what to read next whilst on vacation. I decided to give this book another go. I am bloody glad that I did. I read this book in three days and it would have been less if my wife didn't insist on me actually interacting with people on holiday. Visiting the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts and seeing some lovely Central American exhibits helped to capture my imagination even further.
This is a detective story and has all the elements you would expect. The unique flavour of this story is the Aztec setting. I certainly haven't seen another book where the detective is a High Priest of the Dead in an ancient central American culture. There is plenty of action, and the dialogue keeps things moving nicely. The setting was believable and yet I was still able to relate to aspects of such an alien culture.
As usual the lovely people at Angry Robot Books have give us some extra goodies at the back. I particularly enjoyed the author's account of how the book was written, plus all the academic referenced used for source material. For me this was a really interesting insight into the level of research required to produce a work of historical fiction. In my opinion the research time paid off and was an integral part of my enjoyment of this book.
If you enjoy a good mystery and fancy a change from the usual settings then this is a good choice of read. Equally, if you enjoy historical novels or the Aztec culture then this will be right up your alley.
Moving forwards to last week, and I was wondering what to read next whilst on vacation. I decided to give this book another go. I am bloody glad that I did. I read this book in three days and it would have been less if my wife didn't insist on me actually interacting with people on holiday. Visiting the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts and seeing some lovely Central American exhibits helped to capture my imagination even further.
This is a detective story and has all the elements you would expect. The unique flavour of this story is the Aztec setting. I certainly haven't seen another book where the detective is a High Priest of the Dead in an ancient central American culture. There is plenty of action, and the dialogue keeps things moving nicely. The setting was believable and yet I was still able to relate to aspects of such an alien culture.
As usual the lovely people at Angry Robot Books have give us some extra goodies at the back. I particularly enjoyed the author's account of how the book was written, plus all the academic referenced used for source material. For me this was a really interesting insight into the level of research required to produce a work of historical fiction. In my opinion the research time paid off and was an integral part of my enjoyment of this book.
If you enjoy a good mystery and fancy a change from the usual settings then this is a good choice of read. Equally, if you enjoy historical novels or the Aztec culture then this will be right up your alley.
By Cathy Hill
Format:Mass Market Paperback
I very much enjoyed this book. I've read some of the author's short fiction in Interzone and was very impressed by it. I knew it had an Aztec setting and wasn't sure quite what to expect, I did Aztecs in school when I was 10, but it's an area and a period I know little about, so it was interesting to read about. There are all sorts of little details throughout that gave a good idea of how life was lived. The short stories I've read were set in an alternate-future with Aztec and Chinese empires in space, so I think I was initially expecting something more science fictional. I soon got into the historical in setting, and was interested to read about the magic wielded by priests and gods. I don't know Aztec myths, so I can't comment on that side of things, but the rules and magic all seemed consistent and worked with the setting. There was a good bibliography at the back of the book, and I recently got a free book about Mesoamerican art I shall look through.
The book is told from first person point of view by Acatl, who is a dedicated, honest man, but not a go-getter and weighed down with familial regrets and some resentment towards his successful brother. I found him to be mostly sympathetic, though there were occasions when you could see why his sister and deputy were so fed up with him. I found various of his character flaws familiar, so I identified with him more than some of the more action-based characters that can be found in the genre.
The only part of the book I found difficult were the names, which I didn't always know how to pronounce. However this wasn't really a problem as I'm not talking about the book out loud. Although I was curious about the sounds I'm actually glad there wasn't anything like a pronunciation guide.
The book is told from first person point of view by Acatl, who is a dedicated, honest man, but not a go-getter and weighed down with familial regrets and some resentment towards his successful brother. I found him to be mostly sympathetic, though there were occasions when you could see why his sister and deputy were so fed up with him. I found various of his character flaws familiar, so I identified with him more than some of the more action-based characters that can be found in the genre.
The only part of the book I found difficult were the names, which I didn't always know how to pronounce. However this wasn't really a problem as I'm not talking about the book out loud. Although I was curious about the sounds I'm actually glad there wasn't anything like a pronunciation guide.
Format:Mass Market Paperback
This is a fantastic book!
From the very begining you are taken in. The setting has been done fantastically! It is brilliant to see such amount of love and respect to the culture and to portay it in such a magnificent way.
From the very beginning we find ourselves in the middle of the magical and political intrigue that was part of the Empire. The only thing that I think some people might struggle with, could be the names, but the pace and the twists will keep you gripped.
In a nutshell, the High Priest of the Death is commissioned to investigate the killing of a priestess, where the main suspect is his own brother. With family frictions and what seems to be a set up, the investigation starts it troubled and twist-filled journey. There are greater powers involved, from high priests to other gods and divine intervention too! It is an amazing tale, with great pace and a very believable and down to earth setting and characters.
I cannot wait to read book 2 and continue with this amazing series!!!
Trully fantastic!
From the very begining you are taken in. The setting has been done fantastically! It is brilliant to see such amount of love and respect to the culture and to portay it in such a magnificent way.
From the very beginning we find ourselves in the middle of the magical and political intrigue that was part of the Empire. The only thing that I think some people might struggle with, could be the names, but the pace and the twists will keep you gripped.
In a nutshell, the High Priest of the Death is commissioned to investigate the killing of a priestess, where the main suspect is his own brother. With family frictions and what seems to be a set up, the investigation starts it troubled and twist-filled journey. There are greater powers involved, from high priests to other gods and divine intervention too! It is an amazing tale, with great pace and a very believable and down to earth setting and characters.
I cannot wait to read book 2 and continue with this amazing series!!!
Trully fantastic!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good fun!
This charming books is essentially a noir-ish whodunnit with added Aztec magic & gods - think historical novel in a particularly exotic setting, with added supernatural fantasy... Read more
Published 10 months ago by Sam Woodward
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Good Read
A good debut novel. Lots of characters but not too many that you lose track. A good story line as well. Read more
Published on 24 Dec 2010 by Adrian S. Morris
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