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Aztec: Difference between revisions
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{{work|wppage=Aztec (novel)}}
{{quote|Mixtli: ...And I concluded with the words I had heard in various languages everywhere:
"The Azteca were here, but they brought nothing with them, and they left nothing where they went." }}
[[File:Aztecbook.jpg|thumb]]
''Aztec'' is a 1980 historical fiction novel written by Gary Jennings. It is the highly lengthy life story of a noble Aztec (more properly Mexica) man named Mixtli, or "Dark Cloud." After the Spanish Conquest, Mixtli is asked by the Bishop of New Spain to tell his life story to a group of friars who are recording his story for the King of Spain. The novel is notable for being one of the first ever depictions in media of the Aztecs as heroes, rather than villains, though certainly there are plenty of both among the Mexica pre-Conquest. It is also notable for not shying away from graphic depictions of both sex and violence (and sometimes both at once), as might be expected from a society like that of the Mexica.▼
▲''Aztec'' is a 1980 historical fiction novel written by Gary Jennings. It is the highly lengthy life story of a noble '''Aztec''' (more properly Mexica) man named Mixtli, or "Dark Cloud." After the Spanish Conquest, Mixtli is asked by the Bishop of New Spain to tell his life story to a group of friars who are recording his story for the King of Spain. The novel is notable for being one of the first ever depictions in media of the Aztecs as heroes, rather than villains, though certainly there are plenty of both among the Mexica pre-Conquest. It is also notable for not shying away from graphic depictions of both sex and violence (and sometimes both at once), as might be expected from a society like that of the Mexica.
{{tropelist}}
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** For those wondering, he's just ordering the last survivors of a band of brigands who hoped to fool Mixtli's party by pretending to be fellow travellers to eat the heads of their fellows, who Blood Glutton ambushed whilst they were waiting in ambush and decapitated them all without alerting the "bait" bandits.
* [[Big Bad]]: Lord Joy for the "childhood arc," {{spoiler|Chimali}} during the "traveler arc," and Cortez (duh) for the "conquest arc."
* [[Big Damn Heroes]]: Intentionally invoked by Blood Glutton during a bandit attack. Also, averted by Narvarez and his troops, who at first seemed like this to the Mexica but, thanks to the [[Foregone Conclusion]], couldn't be. Also averted during Mixtli's "war" experience. He catches the Mixteca's biggest war hero by hiding behind a bush and cutting off the Mixteca's
* [[Bilingual Bonus]]: Plenty of random Nahuatl and Spanish is thrown around, although the Nahuatl is at least fairly easy to infer through context.
* [[Black and Gray Morality]]: On the one hand, we have the Mexica people, who have levied massive tributes from the surrounding villages, performed human sacrifices almost daily, and have made Mixtli's life a living hell on more than one occasion. On the other, we have Cortez and his troops, who have committed multiple acts of unprovoked slaughter, abused the ''hell'' out of Montecuzoma's hospitality, and show zero tolerance for any of the Mexica religious rites.
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* [[Heterosexual Life Partners]]: Mixtli and Cozcatl.
* [[Hufflepuff House]]: Tlacopan, the third member of the Triple Alliance. Tenochtitlan and Texcoco both play important roles in the plot and are home to Mixtli at various times, but Tlacopan is just kinda there. [[Lampshade Hanging|Lampshaded]] near the end of the book, when Tlacopan's role as the third member of The Triple Alliance is explicitly spelled out for the readers...even though 700+ pages have already passed. It's just THAT unimportant.
* [[Humans Are
* [[I Found You Like This]]: After Mixtli is attacked by bandits during one of his [[Heroic BSOD]] wanderings, he wakes up in the care of Zyanya and Beu Ribe. He is, understandably, completely confused.
* [[I Gave My Word]]: And we all know how much Cortez's word is worth...
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* [[Papa Wolf]]: Mixtli, although sadly {{spoiler|he's too late to do any good.}}
* [[Pet the Dog]]: Mixtli giving Cozcatl his freedom. Also, when Blood Glutton, previously a [[Drill Sergeant Nasty]], comes to their aid during the journey south.
* [[
* [[Prophecies Are Always Right]]: Everything the cacao-bean man tells Mixtli on his first visit to Tenochtitlan.
* [[Reinventing the Telephone]]: Mixtli, with the help of a crystalsmith in one of the southern lands, invents the magnifying glass and, later, the monocle. In the sequel, Mixtli's son Tenamaxtzin reinvents grenades.
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[[Category:The Eighties]]
[[Category:Aztec]]
[[Category:Literature]]
[[Category:Pages with working Wikipedia tabs]]
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