Sangre Azteca

Aztec Murder Mystery #1

by Simon Levack, Alberto Coscarelli Guaschino (Translator)

Moctezuma, emperador de los aztecas, gobierna todo el mundo conocido. Diariamente llegan a la ciudad porteadores con tributos para el imperio, mientras miles de sus fieros guerreros imponen la voluntad del emperador. Oro, plata, algod�n, joyas cambian de due�o en los mercados. Los templos se nutren de la sangre de sacrificios humanos.
pPero Moctezuma est� preocupado: misteriosos extranjeros han aparecido en el este del reino. Son hombres o dioses? Los rumores y las visiones atormentan sus sue�os. Los magos encargados de guiarlo solo le dan respuestas enigm�ticas, y �l sabe que no puede fiarse de sus consejeros, sobre todo del ambicioso e inescrupuloso ministro de justicia, Tlilpotonqui, que considera que �l debe ser el pr�ximo emperador.
pYaotl, ex alcoh�lico y ex sacerdote, es el esclavo de Tlilpotonqui, y tambi�n est� preocupado. Los dioses y su amo est�n indignados porque el sacrificio ritual que deb�a oficiar sale mal, pues el pobre diablo que iba a ser sacrificado huye y se suicida. Pero antes pronuncia una siniestra profec�a.
pAhora, los magos han desaparecido. Y el emperador cree que ambos sucesos est�n relacionados. Encarga a Yaotl encontrarlos, bajo la amenaza de que si fracasa merecer� la pena de muerte. Yaotl no tardar� en descubrir que su desaparici�n est� ligada a un siniestro plan que incluye secuestros, asesinatos y traiciones en el seno de la sociedad azteca. Ahora se encuentra solo para enfrentarse al peligro que amenaza su mundo.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Mystery, Historical, Historical Mystery, Crime, Mythology

432 pages, Paperback

First published September 30, 2004

About the author

Simon Levack is a British author of historical mystery novels set in Precolumbian Mexico on the eve of the Spanish colonization of the Americas and feature as the protagonist Yaotl, a fictitious slave to Tlilpotonqui, the Cihuacóatl or chief minister in the Aztec state of Tenochtitlan under Hueyi Tlatoani, or Emperor, Moctezuma II. Demon of the Air won the Debut Dagger Award, given by the UK Crime Writers' Association, in 2000. He has also published short stories in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine featuring the same character and setting. His work has been noted for its historical detail, complex plotting, humour and often graphic violence. He has acknowledged australian historian and anthropologist Inga Clendinnen and the work of Bernardino de Sahagún, compiler of the Florentine Codex, as influences; he has also (in an interview with the Criminal History ezine) indicated that science fiction has been an influence on his work.

Reviews

[Richard Derus · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating: 3.25* of five

The Publisher Says: Mexico-Tenochtitlan, in the year Twelve-House: the vast, teeming city of the Aztecs at the height of its glory. sacrificial victim up the steps of the Great Pyramid to celebrate the Festival of the Raising of Banners. at the ritual slaughter of the so-called Flowery Death. Yaotl's only worry is how to explain it to his master. questions about the sorcerers who have vanished from his impregnable prison, Yaotl realises he needs answers soon. threaten the future of everything he knows.

My Review: I felt transported to pre-Conquest Tenochtitlan. The main character is a very complex and involving man, and it's fun to get to know him. The world he inhabits is deeply interesting and drawn in careful, artlessly presented detail. Levack should give lessons in world-building to most historical novelists, since evreything I learned was tied to character development not to mere didacticism.

The mystery itself was not as wonderful as the storytelling that got us to the end. It's predictable, and I can't say that I as a queer man appreciated the villain's queerness being presented as a source of his villainy. It's accurate to the times and the culture, of course, and there's nothing that suggests it's gratuitous except that one really didn't need any information about sexual orientation to make the mystery make sense.

A flaw, and a serious one at that. It feels like the author could be venting some personal animus in this characterization, though I have no evidence of this and can't support it with anything aside from my own feelings. An entire star taken off my personal rating. But withal, the author's abilities are such that I have all the books in the series lined up on the night-table ready to be read.


This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

[Maud Van Keulen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Een heel interessant en een verhaal wat anders is dan wat ik eerder heb gelezen. Het blijft spannend en het is een beetje een puzzel!

[Joost Brokamp · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great read about the old Aztec way of living. Loved it.

[Linda · Rating 2 out of 5]

A lot of information about the Aztecs, but somewhat confusing. A lot of characters and activities that don't seem to follow well.

[Madhulika Liddle · Rating 2 out of 5]

Two years before Cortes arrives in Mexico, the Aztecs are ruled by the Emperor Montezuma. Montezuma’s Chief Minister has a slave, a former (and disgraced) priest named Yaotl, who is entrusted a task by Montezuma: to find out the whereabouts of several sorcerers whom Montezuma wanted to consult; they had been imprisoned, but have since vanished. As Yaotl sets out to investigate, he finds himself in a mire of conspiracy and intrigue, coming up against a shadowy merchant named Curling Mist, his aptly-named son, Nimble, and many other characters, most of them pretty bloodthirsty.

The mystery angle in Demon of the Air was, to me, pretty confusing. It somewhat made sense at the end of it all (though wouldn’t several corpses, of people dead a few days, cause enough of a stench to be noticeable?), but it was just a little too convoluted along the way. Convoluted enough for me to lose track, now and then, of what was happening and who was on whose side. And I personally didn’t like the idea of referring to everybody by ‘names’ derived from the meanings, in English, of their actual Aztec names. Yes, I know that was probably meant to help simplify things for most readers, but it took away from the authenticity of the text for me.

But yes, the setting is a unique one. I have never come across any other historical detective fiction set in the pre-Columbian New World, so this definitely scores on that account. It’s a bit too gory and graphic (and that opening scene made my stomach churn), but still: I learnt plenty of stuff I hadn’t known about the Aztecs, so that was good.

[Henri Moreaux · Rating 3 out of 5]

Demon of the Air is a reasonable yet not outstanding mystery novel, the only thing really separating it from a rather crowded field is the setting which is Aztec Mexico, in 1517. As far as fiction books set in this period, I vastly preferred Gary Jenning's Aztec, Demon of the Air has reduced out as much of the 'foreign' language as possible which makes for an easy reading experience, but also takes away some of the exoticness also.

Overall, it's not a terrible book, but nor is it in anyway outstanding, if not for the setting I would say it were average, with it's setting it's atmospheric and does mostly cover the at times dull unfolding of the plot.

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Aztec Mexico in 1517 is the setting for this mystery novel which has its moments but at 420 pages is just a little too long and, although historical accuracy is generally maintained, some 21st century attitudes intrude. A slave, fallen ex-priest Yaotl, is required by Emperor Montezuma to find some escaped sorcerers predicting the arrival of strange men from the East but Yaotl’s owner doesn’t want them found. There’s much of interest about the brutal Aztec civilisation and the pacing is good; it just didn’t quite jell

[Tawallah · Rating 3 out of 5]

My expectations have been skewed by another author's fantasy series which deals with pre-historic American tribes. Set in Mexico, Demon in the air, is set in the troubled times when there are rumors of strange new people who seem to be gods, prompting the possibility of fulfillment of a prophecy. During a ritual sacrifice, things go awry when the sacrifice tries to escape and utters words that herald doom for Montezuma.

As a historical mystery series written at a time when Mayan prophecy would have been popular, this book is more concerned with Aztec as humans who lived in troubling times. The typical myths are dispensed and a picture emerges that makes these ancient people as both typical and relatable and who also lived comfortably alongside death and violence from a religious stance. The mystery starts off strong playing on the misconceived notions and expectations. There are the usual debut flaws but overall, an average mystery novel.

[Hector Alonso · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solo existe o podido encontrar este en español que por lo que investigue es el segundo de una trilogía es ameno pero el conflicto se resuelve muy rápido estaría bien poder tener la trilogía en español

[Ernesto Yaaron · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was really a good book and all the series, mystery story around Ancient Mexico its great, actually more as a detective. Gives you an other look into these ancient nations.

[Julie]

Has a very gruesome beginning and I couldn't muster the willpower (stomach power?) to keep reading.

[Rudi Opperman · Rating 3 out of 5]

A mystery set in the Aztec empire. Dark at times and filled with historical details. Very unique.

[Chris Klitzing · Rating 4 out of 5]

Took me a bit of reading to really get into this book but loved it after that

[Pete Jones · Rating 2 out of 5]

Let’s just cut to the quick: this is pedestrian mystery acted out by stereotyped characters in an exotic venue and time. The story contains “as few Nahuatl words as possible” according to the author favoring clarity at the expense of strict accuracy. Also for our benefit the author admits that, “I have…been similarly cavalier in choosing English replacements for most of the frequently recurring personal names.” This is his justification for referring to the emperor as Montezuma “although Motechzoma would be more accurate.”

For reasons I can’t fathom there are maps that would have probably helped my comprehension somewhat, but they are at the end of the book—they’re not included in the table of contents. I only discovered after finishing the story since they appear immediately after the last page of the story. I read the Kindle version of the book and maybe that is peculiar to that version since on my Paperwhite most maps and illustrations are unreadable since you can’t zoom in and out and the resolution for graphics leaves a lot to be desired.

[Dark-Draco · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is something a little bit different. It's a mystery thriller, but set in the Ancient world of the Aztecs. Yaotl is a slave, asked to solve the mysterious disappearence of some sourcerers by the Emperor. Only he soon realises that to do so is to go agaist his Masters wishes. Murder, kidnapping and beatings soon follow.

It's a good story, bloodthirsty in places (such as the blow by blow account of the human sacrifices on top of the God's pyramids) and will keep you reading until the end. My only problem was that some of the language was a bit too modern sounding and dragged me out of the ancient atmosphere. But I'm sure you'll enjoy nontheless - I certainly did.

Well worth reading just because it's so different from the run of the mill thrillers.

[Bobbie N · Rating 3 out of 5]

SUMMARY: In this first of the series, the Aztec Emperor Montezuma is troubled by dreams and rumors about pale strangers appearing in the east, and turns to soothsayers for guidance. When the soothsayers suddenly vanish and the Chief Minister is suspected of knowing more than he has told, Montezuma calls upon the Chief Minister’s slave, Yaotl, to spy on his master and locate the soothsayers. COMMENTS: A well-crafted, gripping mystery with characters that are easy to relate to and a thoroughly-researched cultural / historical background. I look forward to reading the next one.

[Christian · Rating 3 out of 5]

A solid if not spectacular historical mystery novel, interesting primarily for the exotic setting (Aztec city two years before the arrival of the Spaniards). Would recommend it to any fan of historical mysteries who may want a change of pace from the more commonly employed setting of medieval Europe.

[Brett · Rating 1 out of 5]

I picked this off the "recommended shelf" at the library, but what a mistake that turned out to be. I thought it was terrible. The only good thing about my checking it off the recommended shelf is perhaps the book will now go into general circulation and subsequent library patrons will not be duped into picking it up as a "recommended read."

[Kathleen McRae · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book although some of it was a bit unbelievable. I liked the character set in Mexico in 1517 but using todays expressions and speech patterns. it made it an easy read and much as it is hard to reconcile a slave having that kind of freedom perhaps it was true in montezumas time

[Otto Benz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad - quite amusing detective tale of Aztec Mexico. Not as good as the Roman Falco series though. Slave to the chief minister solves a mystery involving disappearance of sorcerers. Lots of death.

[Gigi · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the most striking, unique, humorous openings of any historical mystery (first page available at Amazon.com). The Aztec setting was fascinating.

[Susan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some good writing, but also some discomfortingly casual cannibalism. Definitely not a usual setting for a novel, and it's always interesting to watch an author try to make the very odd seem everyday.

[David Richardson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice mystery set in Aztec times. I thought the ending was a little flat, but that is just me.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A who-done-it with a twist ... it's set in Mexico at the time of the Aztecs.

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. It was intresting to read of a murder mystery with a setting in a diffrent culture to what I am use to. Wouldn't mind reading the rest.

[Lana Kamennof-sine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Filled with historically accurate info. Fascinating glimpse into the way state & religion operated.
(wished it had been available when I was doing my grade 5 project on the Aztecs ;-) )

[Lynn Guelzow · Rating 3 out of 5]

Passable plot and the setting is well developed. But the prose is pedestrian and the minor plot inconsistencies are annoying

[Nikki · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hard to finish. You don't get to know any of the characters in depth, so the reading is static.

[David H. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Retroactive Review (11 Jun 2022): I wish I remembered more about this book. It's a historical murder mystery among the Aztec right before Cortez arrives.

[Chris · Rating 1 out of 5]

Uninspiring and slow. Not a book I would recommend and certainly not inclined to purchase the sequel. Found in the bargain bin and should have left it there.