Gary Jennings

I know about Gary Jennings because of the book Aztec. This book is about the decline and fall of the Aztec empire, from the eyes of an Aztec man (well, it’s a little more complicated than that, it’s actually written as a series of letters from a Catholic Bishop to the king of Spain, telling the Aztec man’s story). I didn’t know until recently that there were sequels to that book. I also didn’t know that Mr. Jennings wrote a number of other, unrelated books during his career as an author.

Books I've Read by Gary Jennings

Aztec Series

1. Aztec (Mass Market Paperback) or (Hardcover Edition) or (Paperback Edition)

   Here is the extraordinary story of the last and greatest native civilization of North America. It is a story told in the words of one of the most robust and memorable characters in modern fiction.His name is Mixtli-Dark Cloud.Rising above his lowly station, Mixtli’s long and tumultuous life takes us on epic journeys through lands and among peoples little known at the time, sharing adventures hazardous, suspenseful, harrowing, and even comic. Mixtli’s insatiable thirst for challenge and far horizons reveals the very heart of Aztec civilization from the feather-banner splendor of the Aztec capital of Tenochtlitlan to the arrival of Hermán Cortés and his conquistadores, and their destruction of the Aztec empire. The story of Mixtli is the story of the Aztecs themselves—a compelling, epic tale of heroic dignity and a colossal civilization’s rise and fall. (book description) Personal note: I found this book to be an extremely interesting read. It is a big book, so it took me a while to get through it, but it was well worth the time spent reading it.

2. Aztec Autumn (Mass Market Paperback) or (Hardcover Edition) or (Paperback Edition)

   We return at last to the bygone world of the Aztecs, to a time when their great empire has fallen beneath the brutal heel of the invading Spanlards. But one proud young Aztec, Tenamaxtil, refuses to bow to the foreign conquerors. He starts an incredible rebellion that forms a forgotten chapter in history—a story now brought to life in all its splendor and unforgettable passion. (book description)

3. Aztec Blood (Mass Market Paperback) or (Hardcover Edition)

   In this colorful and exciting era of swords and cloaks, upheaval and revolution, a young beggar boy, in whose blood runs that of both Spanish and Aztec royalty must claim his birthright. From the torrid streets of the City of the Dead along the Veracruz Coast to the ageless glory of Seville in Old Spain, Cristo the Bastardo connives fights, and loves as he seeks the truth—without knowing that he will be the founder of a proud new people. As we follow the loves and adventures of Cristo and experience the colorful splendor and barbarism of the era, a vanished culture is brought back to life in all its magnificence. (book description)

4. Aztec Rage (Mass Market Paperback) or (Hardcover Edition)
   (by Gary Jennings, Robert Gleason, and Junius Podrug)

   The fascinating history of Mexico that began in the #1 New York Times bestselling novel Aztec continues . . . . Don Juan de Zavala was the most skilled fighter in all of New Spain—as gifted with weapons and horses as he was with women. These pleasures were all he desires. But the magnificent Aztec empire, its grand cities and riches lay broken under the Spanish boot . . . Now valiant men and fearless women rise and battle their brutal overlords. As a warrior-priest leads an Aztec revolt, across the ocean in Spain courageous people battle Napoleon’s invading armies. No one, including Juan de Zavala could stay neutral. Especially if a shocking secret from Zavala’s lurid past is exposed—a secret so lethal to the Spanish Crown it threatens their very existence. Zavala will be swept from glittering Mexico City to snake-and-crocodile infested jungles, to lost Mayan civilizations to the torture chambers of the Inquisition, to beautiful Barcelona and the bloody carnage of Napoleon’s war in Spain, to the bloodiest and most spectacular of New Spain and colonial Mexico’s revolutions. Everybody wants Don Juan de Zavala . . . and many people want him dead: Isabella . . . Instinctively wicked, sinfully seductive. Father Hidalgo . . . Can a man of God take up the sword and lead a people by the hundreds of thousands into a bloody revolution he cannot control? Raquel . . . Attractive, sensuous, erudite, she challenges Juan with her mind—and her body. Marina . . . A gorgeous pure-blood Aztec, she knows too well the oppressor’s rape and pillage of her people. (book description)

5. Aztec Fire (Hardcover Edition)
   (by Gary Jennings, Robert Gleason, and Junius Podrug)

   The Aztec uprising in 1810 left young Juan Martez orphaned in a savage land. Like many native Aztecs, Juan was sentenced to hang by the Spanish. But his life is spared when a Spanish gunmaker learns of his skills with gunpowder and buys him to make munitions. Keeping his Aztec heritage low key, Juan becomes the finest gunmaker in the colon—and the best shot. But both talents are kept secret—if the Spanish knew of his skills, he would surely be killed. Juan secretly works the Mexican underground, running guns and black powder to guerrilla forces fighting for independence. Along the way he falls in love with Maria Volza, a fiery revolutionary stirring up the masses, but she rejects him as fallen under the Spanish boot. But Juan’s destiny is to lead the Mexicans against Spanish rule, and when Maria discovers the life Juan has hidden so well, a battle is ignited and the revolution begins. (book description)