★★★★★ 4
Very impressive
Format: Paperback
I approached this one with caution and came away impressed, glad to have read it, and looking forward to the sequel. It's a fascinating and occasionally breathtaking novel. Hancock has a knack for writing compelling fiction. It's funny: often when people write reviews of his non-fiction books they'll say they read like good thrillers. This one is compelling as fiction but also had enough historical detail to keep me interested beyond the plot and to make me think about the Spanish conquest of Mexico in a different light. I was very grateful for the endnote by Hancock giving an overview of the types of "fictional" elements he introduced into the book (such as combining a couple of historical events into a single event in order to keep the appropriate pace for a novel) because this clarified things and allowed me to come away from the book with a deeper overall understanding of that period in history--which Hancock really does bring alive. Granted, this is Hancock's take on it--even non-fiction historical books have an author's "take" on events--but it seems to be a very well-informed take. Mixed in are supernatural elements and hints of the non-orthodox elements of history that Hancock is known for investigating in his non-fiction. For me, the blend was good.
It's not a perfect novel. For example, the style of switching perspective from character to character from short chapter to short chapter was a bit jarring at first; I found it unnecessary and it ended up taking me out of the narrative for a few short moments. (Perhaps this was done to "hit the ground running" and introduce the large cast of characters and plot threads quickly; still, for me it was too much at first.) However, this stylistic approach shifts as the book goes on; the sequences become longer and occasionally blend together. Ultimately this worked, especially given the large cast and numerous plots the book juggles. If it hadn't worked, I would've put the book down; as it was, I did end up turning pages (on my Kindle) rather quickly and not getting bored.
There is an immense amount of blood and gore. Very graphic. I won't pass judgment on it. It did give a pretty visceral impression of the whole human sacrifice element of the Mexica and other peoples, and of what battle was probably like at the time. Character-wise the book is diverse and interesting. There are a few semi-saccharine moments and lightly-drawn characters, but in general all are developed to help drive the story forward and to offer possible insights into their historical counterparts.
Ultimately I guess we could call this a "sprawling epic," one that wraps up the first part of its story at the end but leaves a huge section to be developed in the next installment. I hope we don't have to wait too long. As I said at the beginning of this review, I didn't really know what to expect from this book but it really was quite fluid, exciting, surprising, and enlightening. Very impressive.
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Reviewed in the United States on August 3, 2013
