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    Shadow of the Lords
    The Demon of the Air: An Aztec Mystery
    Ebook series2 titles

    Aztec Mysteries Series

    By Simon Levack

    4/5

    ()

    About this series

    Mexico, 1517. The Aztec capital is awash with fear and rumors. A strange figure has been seen running through the streets. A being with the face of a snake, his body covered with glittering green plumage: Quetzalcoatl---the Feathered Serpent. Is it an omen? Or is it the god himself, come to warn of impending disaster?

    Yaotl, the chief minister's slave, has more immediate matters to worry about than omens and portents. Engaged in a desperate search for his son, he's on the run from his vengeful master, the all-powerful Lord Feathered-in-Black. If the chief minister catches him, Yaotl can expect a grisly fate.

    Attempting to escape his master's bloodthirsty warriors, Yaotl stumbles upon a dismembered, unrecognizable corpse. As he pieces together the clues to who the dead man was and how he died, Yaotl finds himself drawn into an affair of greed, jealousy, and lust among the ancient, secretive society of the feather workers, the Aztecs' foremost craftsmen. And, as he is to discover, the answers to those clues will provide the key to the search for his son.

    But before he can solve the mystery, Yaotl will need his wits about him simply to stay alive---for Lord Feathered-in-Black and his henchmen are never far away....

    "An exhilarating, fast-paced tale . . . plenty of plot, well-rounded characters, and some black humor to make this second book a delight."
    ---Historical Novels Review

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMacmillan Publishers
    Release dateSep 1, 2005
    Shadow of the Lords
    The Demon of the Air: An Aztec Mystery

    Titles in the series (2)

    • 1

      The Demon of the Air: An Aztec Mystery
      The Demon of the Air: An Aztec Mystery

      The Demon of the Air: An Aztec Mystery

      Simon Levack
      4/5 - 3 ratings
      4/5 - 3 ratings

      "Hooked me in five pages. The main character is fascinatingly complex and unusual." ---Conn Iggulden, author of The Field of Swords Mexico, 1517. Emperor Montezuma rules the known world. Daily canoes and trains of sweating bearers carry tribute to his island capital, Mexico-Tenochtitlán, while squadrons of ruthless warriors enforce his will. Gold, silver, cotton, jewels, and precious feathers change hands in his markets. The temples run with the blood of human sacrifices. All seems well, but Montezuma is troubled. Mysterious strangers have appeared in the East. Are they men or gods? Visions and rumors disturb his dreams. The soothsayers he turns to for guidance give him only enigmatic answers, and he knows he cannot trust his advisers---especially his chief minister, the unscrupulous Lord Feathered in Black. Yaotl, the chief minister's slave, is troubled, too. He was ordered to escort a sacrificial victim up the steps of the Great Pyramid, but the victim ran amok, uttering a bizarre and sinister prophecy and leaping to his death before the War-God's priests could cut out his heart. Then Yaotl learns that the emperor's soothsayers have vanished. The emperor senses a connection between these two events and orders Yaotl to find it---on pain of death if he fails. But it soon becomes clear that whatever the connection is, Yaotl's own master will stop at nothing---including murder---to keep it secret. To get to the truth will take all Yaotl's wits and will to survive. It will lead him into confrontations with the peril destined to overwhelm the whole Aztec world and with a monster from his own past - and into the hands of a sadistic killer.

      "Hooked me in five pages. The main character is fascinatingly complex and unusual." ---Conn Iggulden, author of The Field of Swords Mexico, 1517. Emperor Montezuma rules the known world. Daily canoes and trains of sweating bearers carry tribute to his island capital, Mexico-Tenochtitlán, while squadrons of ruthless warriors enforce his will. Gold, silver, cotton, jewels, and precious feathers change hands in his markets. The temples run with the blood of human sacrifices. All seems well, but Montezuma is troubled. Mysterious strangers have appeared in the East. Are they men or gods? Visions and rumors disturb his dreams. The soothsayers he turns to for guidance give him only enigmatic answers, and he knows he cannot trust his advisers---especially his chief minister, the unscrupulous Lord Feathered in Black. Yaotl, the chief minister's slave, is troubled, too. He was ordered to escort a sacrificial victim up the steps of the Great Pyramid, but the victim ran amok, uttering a bizarre and sinister prophecy and leaping to his death before the War-God's priests could cut out his heart. Then Yaotl learns that the emperor's soothsayers have vanished. The emperor senses a connection between these two events and orders Yaotl to find it---on pain of death if he fails. But it soon becomes clear that whatever the connection is, Yaotl's own master will stop at nothing---including murder---to keep it secret. To get to the truth will take all Yaotl's wits and will to survive. It will lead him into confrontations with the peril destined to overwhelm the whole Aztec world and with a monster from his own past - and into the hands of a sadistic killer.

    • 2

      Shadow of the Lords
      Shadow of the Lords

      Shadow of the Lords

      Simon Levack
      4/5 - 3 ratings
      4/5 - 3 ratings

      Mexico, 1517. The Aztec capital is awash with fear and rumors. A strange figure has been seen running through the streets. A being with the face of a snake, his body covered with glittering green plumage: Quetzalcoatl---the Feathered Serpent. Is it an omen? Or is it the god himself, come to warn of impending disaster? Yaotl, the chief minister's slave, has more immediate matters to worry about than omens and portents. Engaged in a desperate search for his son, he's on the run from his vengeful master, the all-powerful Lord Feathered-in-Black. If the chief minister catches him, Yaotl can expect a grisly fate. Attempting to escape his master's bloodthirsty warriors, Yaotl stumbles upon a dismembered, unrecognizable corpse. As he pieces together the clues to who the dead man was and how he died, Yaotl finds himself drawn into an affair of greed, jealousy, and lust among the ancient, secretive society of the feather workers, the Aztecs' foremost craftsmen. And, as he is to discover, the answers to those clues will provide the key to the search for his son. But before he can solve the mystery, Yaotl will need his wits about him simply to stay alive---for Lord Feathered-in-Black and his henchmen are never far away.... "An exhilarating, fast-paced tale . . . plenty of plot, well-rounded characters, and some black humor to make this second book a delight." ---Historical Novels Review

      Mexico, 1517. The Aztec capital is awash with fear and rumors. A strange figure has been seen running through the streets. A being with the face of a snake, his body covered with glittering green plumage: Quetzalcoatl---the Feathered Serpent. Is it an omen? Or is it the god himself, come to warn of impending disaster? Yaotl, the chief minister's slave, has more immediate matters to worry about than omens and portents. Engaged in a desperate search for his son, he's on the run from his vengeful master, the all-powerful Lord Feathered-in-Black. If the chief minister catches him, Yaotl can expect a grisly fate. Attempting to escape his master's bloodthirsty warriors, Yaotl stumbles upon a dismembered, unrecognizable corpse. As he pieces together the clues to who the dead man was and how he died, Yaotl finds himself drawn into an affair of greed, jealousy, and lust among the ancient, secretive society of the feather workers, the Aztecs' foremost craftsmen. And, as he is to discover, the answers to those clues will provide the key to the search for his son. But before he can solve the mystery, Yaotl will need his wits about him simply to stay alive---for Lord Feathered-in-Black and his henchmen are never far away.... "An exhilarating, fast-paced tale . . . plenty of plot, well-rounded characters, and some black humor to make this second book a delight." ---Historical Novels Review

    Author

    Simon Levack

    Simon Levack grew up in a small town in England. He was trained in the legal profession, but now writes full time. He has had a long-standing interest in Mesoamerican history, especially the Aztecs, triggered by reading Inga Clendinnen's book Aztecs: An Interpretation. He is the author of books including The Demon of the Air and Shadow of the Lords. He lives in London with his wife and son.

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