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Skull Rack
Enter the world of Rodrigo de la Peña and Padre Enrique Mendoza--two men of God rewriting the story of the Conquest of Mexico . At the end of his military career, de la Peña, the Spanish Inquisitor-General, has captured Mendoza, a Jesuit historian, to force him to retell history--so that the Conquest will forever be remembered exactly as he commands.
- GenresHistorical Fiction
336 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2007
16 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 6, 2011
Overall, it's an excellent effort to fictionalize the true history. My feelings about the book are mixed, and here is why.
On the positive side, the book is truly based on key facts. If you've read Bernal Diaz del Castillo, or the Conquest of Mexico by Hugh Thomas, you'll recognize every single fact mentioned in this book as established truth. The research is precise, and the author enriches it with some side-effects like exact descriptions of hunting in Spain, armaments used in the Italian campaigns, and such. Many, many excellent, tantalizing, memorable facts are presented with cinematic clarity. The story is laconic, fast-paced, each small chapter dedicated to a single highlight of the protagonist's life.
I also enjoyed the choice of the narrator. A typical conquest character probably, a veteran of the Italian wars, an impoverished hidalgo, a converso, a priest... the author mixes these ingredients quite elegantly. This choice may explain the overall pro-European tint: "small band of conquerors", silly superstitious natives, steely-eyed Cortés...
So if you're like me, and love learning true facts from the books you read, you won't be disappointed. The facts are rich, and established.
The reason I removed *one* star are two-fold.
First, for me, it felt like a remake. The book brought no excitement, mystery, nor depth. I may have had to adjust my expectations: after all, even the reviews on its back cover hint that it's a fictionalization. For me, the story was academic, meticulous, a bit dry, a summary of the documented conquest plot with some brief dialogues added in. There's no intrigue, and by page 200 I had difficulties reading on.
The characters are relatively basic, with a text-book feeling to them. Some passages are too reminiscent of how they are told in textbooks. I kept wondering if the intent of this book was to popularize the exact story - which was, by itself, fascinating and controversial.
Second, for the editing. Harbor House, the publisher, let us down a bit on this one. The reading experience wasn't smooth. I was also puzzled with the author's choice to use at random full Spanish phrases in dialogues between the Spaniards. English, Spanish, English again. I understand the intent, and I do speak both languages, but it didn't bring the 'flavor' to me, only puzzlement.
Net, a great piece of history taken and told with scientific precision, but with a couple if things disappointing for me personally. I'll probably not read the second part, although I already bought it based on the positive reviews here.
On the positive side, the book is truly based on key facts. If you've read Bernal Diaz del Castillo, or the Conquest of Mexico by Hugh Thomas, you'll recognize every single fact mentioned in this book as established truth. The research is precise, and the author enriches it with some side-effects like exact descriptions of hunting in Spain, armaments used in the Italian campaigns, and such. Many, many excellent, tantalizing, memorable facts are presented with cinematic clarity. The story is laconic, fast-paced, each small chapter dedicated to a single highlight of the protagonist's life.
I also enjoyed the choice of the narrator. A typical conquest character probably, a veteran of the Italian wars, an impoverished hidalgo, a converso, a priest... the author mixes these ingredients quite elegantly. This choice may explain the overall pro-European tint: "small band of conquerors", silly superstitious natives, steely-eyed Cortés...
So if you're like me, and love learning true facts from the books you read, you won't be disappointed. The facts are rich, and established.
The reason I removed *one* star are two-fold.
First, for me, it felt like a remake. The book brought no excitement, mystery, nor depth. I may have had to adjust my expectations: after all, even the reviews on its back cover hint that it's a fictionalization. For me, the story was academic, meticulous, a bit dry, a summary of the documented conquest plot with some brief dialogues added in. There's no intrigue, and by page 200 I had difficulties reading on.
The characters are relatively basic, with a text-book feeling to them. Some passages are too reminiscent of how they are told in textbooks. I kept wondering if the intent of this book was to popularize the exact story - which was, by itself, fascinating and controversial.
Second, for the editing. Harbor House, the publisher, let us down a bit on this one. The reading experience wasn't smooth. I was also puzzled with the author's choice to use at random full Spanish phrases in dialogues between the Spaniards. English, Spanish, English again. I understand the intent, and I do speak both languages, but it didn't bring the 'flavor' to me, only puzzlement.
Net, a great piece of history taken and told with scientific precision, but with a couple if things disappointing for me personally. I'll probably not read the second part, although I already bought it based on the positive reviews here.
January 27, 2010
Very solid and enjoyable fictional account of the Hernan Cortez' conquest of the Aztecs. "Skull Rack", in combination with its' sequal "Hummingbird God", make for a fun and historically sound telling of a key period in the history of the Americas.
Braithwaite's story is strong and the characters are well-drawn. One shouldn't expect Gary Jennings, however if you enjoy this period of history, the books will make for a nice change from the hard core fiction of the era.
I look forward to more from Braithwaite.
Braithwaite's story is strong and the characters are well-drawn. One shouldn't expect Gary Jennings, however if you enjoy this period of history, the books will make for a nice change from the hard core fiction of the era.
I look forward to more from Braithwaite.
September 28, 2010
Powerful novel of hisotircal fiction. Excellent character development, flow and pace. A thrilling read.
October 30, 2009
Great read. I've always wondered what the conquistadors went through. It gives the good, the bad, and the ugly about Cortes. This book is very much in the Mitchner genre.
September 10, 2010
It was OK but a little short on detail. For example you might read, "They went through a swamp." OK, how about telling us about the mud, the water, the animals, the bugs, the plant life, etc.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews