Aztec Revenge

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 desired.

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 Napoleons invading armies.

No one, including Juan de Zavala could stay neutral. Especially if a shocking secret from Zavalas 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-croc infested jungles, to lost Mayan civilizations to the torture chambers of the Inquisition, to beautiful Barcelona and the bloody carnage of Napoleons war in Spain, to the bloodiest and most spectacular of New Spains (colonial Mexico) 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 oppressors rape and pillage of her people.

—Douglas Preston, New York Times bestselling author of Tyrannosaur Canyon  “Aztec Rage is a major epic, a grand literary canvas of thrills and chills, fire and passion. Even if you think you know Mexico, you will never again look at Mexico the same way. You will look on the Mexican people with new eyes as well, and you will be changed. The final chapter will move you to tears—'I am mejicano!'—will ring in your ears forever.”

—Kathleen ONeal-Gear and Michael Gear, award-winning, USA Today bestselling authors of People of the Moon

"Big, bold, and Bawdy, Aztec Rage is a rip-snorting swashbuckler…. It's fiction of the grand tradition."  —Stephen Coonts, New York Times bestselling author of Liars and Thieves

"This is a book that will change your ideas about Mexican history and the whole history of the Americas. It resonates with original research and vivid drama."

—Thomas Fleming, New York Times bestselling author of Liberty! The American Revolution on Aztec Rage

"Aztec Rage is an extraordinary novel for the accuracy of its history, the vivid voice of its narrator, its sense of drama and joy and its explication of love and hate, told by a picaresque hero who is as fast with a woman as with his sword. Backdrop for action and adventure is the Mexican Revolution sparked by Father Hidalgo's Grito—the cry of revolt that engulfs Mexico and in time South and Central America and squashes the Spanish empire. Amply anchored in world history and always fun, Aztec Rage is a splendid read."  —David Nevin, New York Times bestselling author of Dream West

"The most extraordinary historical novel to appear in years."

—Douglas Preston, New York Times bestselling author of Impact on Aztec Rage

"Big, bold, and bawdy, a rip-snorting swashbuckler.... Its fiction of the grand tradition."

—Stephen Coonts, New York Times bestselling author of Liars and Thieves on Aztec Rage

Juan is a “mestizo,” of mixed Spanish and Indio heritage, sure to be doomed to a short, violent life begging on the streets. But Juan has a special gift for handling horses and an ability to defend himself at a time when a mans best friends are his horse and his sword. Only El Mestizo, the half-caste son of the conqueror Cortés, knows that the blood of kings flows in the young beggar.

After killing a man for beating a horse, Juan becomes a highwayman and horse thief before disguising himself as a wealthy caballero. He is wined and dined by the richest and most powerful people in the colony—who dont realize that some of them had once stared down the barrel of Juans pistola as he took their gold.

Fighting, conniving, and loving in a colorful era of flashing swords and brave hearts, Juan must use all the tricks he learned as a beggar and a bandit to unlock the secret of his own heritage.

Juan is a “mestizo,” of mixed Spanish and Indio heritage, sure to be doomed to a short, violent life begging on the streets. But Juan has a special gift for handling horses and an ability to defend himself at a time when a mans best friends are his horse and his sword. Only El Mestizo, the half-caste son of the conqueror Cortés, knows that the blood of kings flows in the young beggar.

After killing a man for beating a horse, Juan becomes a highwayman and horse thief before disguising himself as a wealthy caballero. He is wined and dined by the richest and most powerful people in the colony—who dont realize that some of them had once stared down the barrel of Juans pistola as he took their gold.

Fighting, conniving, and loving in a colorful era of flashing swords and brave hearts, Juan must use all the tricks he learned as a beggar and a bandit to unlock the secret of his own heritage.

ROBERT GLEASON was Gary Jennings editor for a number of years. He lives in New York City. JUNIUS PODRUG is an accomplished writer of both fiction and nonfiction. He lives on Cape Cod.