Tetzcoco, the second city of the Aztec realm, is a bustling, cosmopolitan town; a city of poets, artists and legendary kings. It's also a place torn by unrest, as rival claimants fight over the throne, and spies and assassins stalk each other through the streets and marketplaces.
Aztec City of Spies, Simon Levack
CITY OF SPIES is the third book in the Aztec series set in Mexico in 1517. Tetzcoco is the second largest city of the Aztec realm, a bustling town full of poets, artists, merchants and commerce. It is also the centre of a fight for the Aztec throne and its streets are full of spies and assassins stalking each other and killing violently.
Yaotl is an ex-priest, now slave, who finds himself in Tetzcoco being sold for sacrifice by his master Lord Feathered-In-Black. He is rescued when bought by his old lover Tiger Lily, in town on a mission of her own. Yaotl then finds himself trying to return the favour of rescue when Lily is accused of the murder of a powerful merchant. Yaotl, his son Nimble, Lily's father Kindly and a young Mayan girl Little Hen, all combine to rescue Lily with a combination of lawyerly talking, spying and manipulating of their own.
The author uses a combination of local words and "Anglicised" versions of place and people's names which makes for some quirky outcomes, and they, and an overall tone of tongue in cheek humour make CITY OF SPIES a great fun book. Yaotl is a fabulous character, irreverent, willing to take some risks, observational and reactive - there's nothing in the idea of a slave working his way into high offices and appearing alongside all stratas of a hierarchical society that clashes, mostly because of the fabulous, fearless, even larrakin behaviour of Yaotl.
The book also gives a wonderful sense of Aztec society - from the layout of the hierarchies, to the nature of their housing, the functioning of the society and the justice system - the whole thing combines to give a really involving feeling of being in that place. In fact, I think it's that sense of being from the time that really makes CITY OF SPIES.
The first chapters of the book take a little getting used to - the elaborate names and places, as well as the rapid fire commencement of events may throw you a little until you get into the swing of understanding how the language works. Once you've got into the swing of it you're drawn into Aztec society very deftly. The only minor quibble is that it might be better to start at the first book in the series as there is obviously a lot of back story to Yaotl that is intriguing. I know I'm going back to read the first two, first chance I get.