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The coronation war for the new Emperor has just ended in a failure, the armies retreating with a mere forty prisoners of war - not near enough sacrifices to ensure the favor of the gods.
When one of those prisoners of war dies of a magical illness, ACATL, High Priest for the Dead, is summoned to investigate.
File Under: Fantasy [ Magical Murder | Aztec Mystery | Human Sacrifice | The Gods Walk ]
e-book ISBN: 9780857661616
Scott_Kennedy
Posted February 27, 2012
If you want to take a plunge into the bloody realm of the Aztecs as Acatl, High Priest of the Dead, tries to unravel the mystery behind a mysterious illness spreading in the capital, then this book is for you. It's filled with palace politics, ancient gods, costly magic, and growing tension as the plague grows in severity. One particularly nice aspect of reading this book is that it paints a balanced portrait of a highly civilized Aztec society that nonetheless engages in regular human sacrifice as a sacred religious rite. The Aztec medicine presented in the book struck me as remarkably advanced, what with notions of disease contagion and vectors, although my initial bias that the Aztecs wouldn't have conceived of such things seemed groundless after a little research revealed to me how superior their medicine was to Spain's in the following century.
Bodard involves the reader in three main characters: Acatl, our high priest PI, his sister, and an heir to the throne with his own agenda. Like many superior mysteries or fantasies (in this case both), Bodard uses a highly involving plot to reveal larger human and societal issues. It's a book that's not only involving while reading, but interesting to ponder after one is finished.
Anonymous
Posted December 29, 2011
No text was provided for this review.
Overview
The coronation war for the new Emperor has just ended in a failure, the armies retreating with a mere forty prisoners of war - not near enough sacrifices to ensure the favor of the gods.
When one of those prisoners of war dies of a magical illness, ACATL, High Priest for the Dead, is ...