The Serpent and the Eagle

by Edward Rickford

Something has come from beyond the Great Mists...

Tenochtitlan, 1519. Strange, pale-skinned people have arrived on the coast of the One World. They hail from a far away land called Spain and fight for the mysterious Hernando Cortés. To confront Cortés’ army would be dangerous, but inaction may be even more dangerous.

The Mexica are the most powerful people in all the One World and regard the uncouth interlopers with a mixture of curiosity and distrust. Keen to discover their intentions, the Mexica send an official envoy to the coast. What they learn is most troubling. The Spanish possess weapons that have no equal... and they may have designs on Tenochtitlan.

The conflict that follows will tear an entire region asunder and give birth to an empire of globe-spanning proportions. Combining the rich world-building of Sharon Kay Penman with the gripping battles sequences of Conn Iggulden, this award-winning novel draws upon modern scholarship to recount an event still unique the epic collision of two civilizations separated for millennia.

Editorial Reviews

“The epic encounter of Aztecs and conquistadors has attracted—and tested—many a novelist. The challenge is one of staying believably true to the historical tale and its Mexican setting, while at the same time offering the reader some surprises. Rickford rises to that challenge with considerable aplomb, balancing evidence with imagination, research with flights of fiction. Fueled by a complex narrative tension and a deft deployment of detail, The Serpent and the Eagle is unpredictable in all the right ways.”
—Matthew Restall, Professor of Colonial Latin American history, Director of Latin American studies at Penn State, author of When Montezuma Met Cortés and Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest

"Edward Rickford knows his history. The Serpent and the Eagle is a masterpiece of historical fiction. It's filled with surprises and heart-rending characters, but it's Rickford's attention to cultural details, both native Mexica and Spanish, that puts this book one step above its competition. Plan a long weekend of reading. You're going to love this book."
Kathleen O'Neal Gear, New York Times bestselling author of People of the Canyons

“A captivating, well-plotted, bicultural dramatization of the months prior to Motecuhzoma’s meeting with Cortés, deftly transporting the reader 500 years back into the eyes and intimate relationships of key participants—Mesoamerican and European, emperor and counselor, conqueror and slave.”
—Andrew Rowen, author of Encounters 1492 Retold

"Difficult to put down. Well-written, fascinating, and full of wonderfully diverse points of view!"
—Zoe Saadia, author of the Pre-Aztec Trilogy and the Rise of the Aztec Series

“When two cultures collide, there are always multiple versions of history. A brave and expansive look into the bygone era of exploration by the Spaniards into Aztec lands. A thinking person’s novel. Fascinating!”—Chanticleer Reviews

“The Serpent and the Eagle is another literary text that may offer the reader exits out of the colonial wound of indignity and entrances into the enunciative reclamation of silenced historical, social, and cultural spaces.”
—C.T. Mexica, Ph. D, Arizona State University

“The story weaves a rich tapestry of Spanish conquistadors and native Mexica—commonly known as the Aztecs—as well as the neighboring native tribes, that transports readers to the lush jungles and grand cities of pre-Hispanic Mexico. The writing is clear and easy to read, with just enough Spanish and Nahuatl to add deep flavors without slowing the pace.”
—Casey Robb, author of The Devil’s Grip

Grand Prize Winner in the 2018 Chaucer Book Awards

Winner of the Five Star Review in the Reader's Favorite Contest

Winner of the Discovered Diamond Award

Genres: Historical Fiction, Historical, Adventure, Fiction

312 pages, Paperback

Published March 18, 2019

About the author

Ever since Edward was young, he has enjoyed writing. College gave him the chance to combine his interest in history with his passion for storytelling and he mainly writes historical fiction now. To research the Tenochtitlan Trilogy, he read centuries-old texts and traveled to Mexico repeatedly, even retracing Cortés’ route through central Mexico. For his writing, Edward has won the Grand Prize Award in the 2018 Chaucer Book Awards and the Deixler-Swain prize for his undergraduate thesis on the Spanish-Mexica war.

Reviews

[Marquise · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a copy from the author in exchange for an honest review.

It’s 1519, and news have arrived in Tenochtitlan that certain pale-faced people have landed on the One World, carrying strange and thunderous weapons never seen before and heading for the seat of Mexica power, intentions unknown. In the city, the Great Speaker of the Triple Alliance, Motecuhzoma, has called a meeting with his generals, which we’re made privy to through the eyes of one of them. Balancing the opposite views of those who favour an “attack first, ask later” course of action and those who favour the “wait first, act later” option, the Great Speaker decides it’s prudent to gather information on the foreigners, as what they know is too alarmingly little and too tainted by rumour to base war or peace with them on.

Meanwhile, back in the newcomers’ camp our first guide is Father Aguilar, translator to Hernando Cortés, he whose name will be entered into the history books as the Conquistador of Mexico. Through the priest’s eyes, we see that at this point the Spaniards are anything but victorious conquerors. They are on a land they know not, outnumbered by the natives, eating stale food and being eaten alive by bugs, succumbing to fever, and enduring the indignities of trudging along in full armour in the unforgiving terrain and weather, sustained only by three things: God, king, and finding gold. Oh, and the iron hand of Captain Cortés.

Motecuhzoma’s concern is soon proven valid as this ragtag troop advance inland rather quickly for Mexica comfort, making use of their superior weaponry, horses, and training to overcome the tribes near the coast in scattered skirmishes, and defeating the natives in pitched battle at Potonchán, the first major clash between Spaniards and Indians. From there on, it’s all advance and more advance by Spain’s men, with varying degrees of difficulty and obstacles thrown their way either by envoys from Tenochtitlan or by other tribes, all of which we see from both sides thanks to the numerous POVs telling the tale, real people and invented characters alike. Names known to anyone knowledgeable about this period are here—besides the already mentioned Motecuhzoma, Cortés, and Aguilar—historical personages like Pedro de Alvarado and Malintze/Malinche, as well as invented personages such as Vitale, a foot soldier of newly-converted Jewish extraction, and a variety of native ones ranging from a high-ranking general to an official and a warrior.

The timeframe of the novel covers only a few months of the remarkable story of how these lands were conquered, from April to August. But what eventful months these are, since the Spanish landing in Mexico until the destruction of the temple idols at Cempoala, told at a fast but not dizzying pace, with no lagging parts, and alternating between POVs so you never miss what happens on each side. As this is advertised to be a trilogy, I'd hope that this style and pace will continue and that each book covers roughly a year until 1521, with the Fall of Tenochtitlan as the culmination of the Spanish-Mexica wars, commonly known as the Conquest of Mexico.

If you aren’t familiar with the period, you can learn about it as you go, because although the novel evolved from academic research, as the author states, it’s not ponderously scholarly as to burden the casual reader of historical fiction. I enjoyed it all the more for that.

Now, of course there’s good aspects and aspects that could be improved on, both worth noting.

The good:

Both sides have a voice.
This is the strongest narrative aspect in the novel: to include the version of the Spanish and the version of the Mexica & other natives, and have no clear-cut heroes and villains.

This point can’t be stressed on strongly enough, because a common narrative found in historical fiction dealing with the Spanish conquest of the Americas is the tendency to be black and white and omit the spectrum of grey tones in-between; the genocidal Spaniards and the helpless Indian victims, the larger-than-life and almost godlike Cortés and the stoic Motecuhzuma, the traitor/victim/tragic heroine Malinche . . . There’s a good deal of mythology around these figures, depending on what sources you favour and your ideological leanings. All the other historical novels set in this period that I know, such as Laura Esquivel’s Malinche and Gary Jennings’s Aztec, suffer from this issue to some extent.

Not this novel. Here, Cortés is an impoverished hidalgo in search of fame and fortune, but above all a subject of Spain aware that fame and fortune go hand-in-hand with winning new lands and peoples for the Crown. He's a commander of men that grew up with the memory of winning their homeland back from the Moors inch by inch for centuries, fanatically religious, often illiterate, and hardened by a life of poverty in the arid towns of places like Extremadura. Someone once told me that to truly understand the Conquistadors of the early stages of the Conquista, I had to look a few decades back and look at the world in the shoes of a subject from before Spain was a unified Spain. It should be a view from the bottom up, not downwards. There’s no understanding the Conquista without the Reconquista.

Apparently, Rickford thought the same, because the entirety of the Spanish POVs, from Cortés and Alvarado down to Father Aguilar and Vitale, are a product of life during the last stage of the Reconquista. They are like they are because of that, they have that sense of God-ordained mission in the world because of that.

The Mexica aren’t spotless doves here, either. Much like the Spanish, they have conquered and subjugated other peoples, brutally and bloodily, and impose taxes in goods and blood on vassals. Like the Spanish, they have allies and rivals, are liked and hated, are equally as fanatical in their beliefs and just as prejudiced. There are scenes throughout the book that I find hilarious, in which sometimes a native scrunches his nose at the foul odour of the pale people and laughs himself silly at their strange outfit and appearance, and other times a Spaniard does exactly the same, cursing the natives for their smell and laughing himself silly at their appearance. Also, Motecuhzoma is, like Cortés, a pragmatist, a ruler that understands the ugly demands of Realpolitik, who won’t hesitate to order dirty work and executions, and no resigned tragic figure awaiting his doom.

I decidedly liked this balanced portrayal, indeed.

Good research on historical sources.
If the controversial nature of Spanish colonisation weren’t challenge enough for a novelist, the matter of sources’ reliability and accuracy makes the job of writing a historical novel set in this time a tad harder. We don't lack in first-hand accounts, as Cortés and some of his men—Díaz del Castillo, for one—left letters and memoirs. But, given the historical context and need to win royal & courtly favour, you aren’t going to get any brownie points if you don’t take them with a spoonful of salt. And don’t even get me started on historians’ accounts, some can be worse than a Conquistador buttering up Carlos I to loosen up the strings of his kingly purse.

So, it’s always appreciated when an author takes critical examination of sources seriously, assesses their accuracy, and parses through the piles of chaff for the golden grains. In this novel, there aren’t significant bloopers, it’s fairly accurate as to historicity. And not only that, the author has also made his own choices over certain things the sources either conflict on or leave up to interpretation. Malinche is perhaps the most famous case in point. From what I’ve seen, she’s depicted as either a Quisling or a lovestruck slave that didn’t know better, when not a victim caught in the crossfire. Here, however, she’s a woman with a mind of her own, intelligent and resilient, who makes her own decisions to improve her situation as best she can. I liked this depiction, it gives her agency without negating her disadvantaged circumstances and station in life.

Language.
I’ve come to dread it whenever I pick up a historical novel by an English-speaking author set in a period and country not their own because of the unfortunate habit many authors have of misusing and overusing a foreign language. Historical novels set in France, Italy, Spain/Latin America by Anglophone authors are especially notorious for this.

Was I expecting The Serpent and the Eagle to be riddled with generous amounts of words and phrases in Spanish and Nahuatl? Yes, and it’d have lessened my enjoyment of the story, resulting in a lower rating as well because I consider it poor writing. So it was a pleasant surprise to see that it wasn’t done here. There are words in Spanish here and there, but they are needed for context (and to convey things better), as well as words in Nahuatl that are a bit hard to translate 100% accurately and are best left untouched, with a note to explain it or leave it to the reader to understand from context.

The language in the novel is modern and accessible, with idiomatic slants for certain characters to convey their characteristic speech (like Vitale & Malintze), and there isn’t excessive slang or too modern expressions. Fairly standard, I’d say.

The bad:

Too many POVs.
Overall, the POV structure is neat: from the top, Cortés and Motecuhzoma; from the high-ranking subordinates, Alvarado and Tezoc; from the interpreters, Aguilar and Malintze; from the lowly everymen, Vitale and . . . who? Expendable Bloke #1, Expendable Bloke #2, and Expendable Bloke #3?

I think there should’ve been only one POV for the lower caste of the Mexica and left it at that. Maybe a warrior, someone from a noble’s retinue, anyone to provide with a lower-class view of the native side, to be developed the way Vitale is developed to show the Spanish side. Instead, we have two POVs from the native side that are completely superfluous and one POV of a Moorish slave that isn’t really necessary either. All these make for an excessive number of POVs that, in my opinion, should be dispensed with because, firstly, they are just placeholders. No personality, no characterisation, no backstory to tell. Basically just human cameras placed there to be killed off or gone after a few passages. For example, Caamal merely shows a short battle from the Indians’ side and is killed faster than you can say español. The fight could’ve been shown through either Alvarado or Vitale without having to create an expendable nobody just for that one episode.

Secondly, this many short-lived extras takes away from other characters in terms of richer characterisation and on-page time. Vitale’s or Alvarado’s character could’ve been enriched with the scenes from the one-time POVs added to theirs. I do see why the Moor has a POV, even though I think he's also unnecessary since we already saw things on his corner from Vitale’s POV, but the other POVs serve a purpose no better than be like Boba Fett clone stormtroopers.

And thirdly, whilst in an Omniscient POV or all-seeing narrator style these placeholder characters don’t matter much, in a Third Person Limited POV type of narration like this novel uses, in addition to hurting the storytelling and main characters, it bloats the book. Maybe the tax collector POV can be salvaged by coming back if there were a need for a view from the lowly Mexica the closer to Tenochtitlan the Spaniards get, so this one has potential to be more than an one-time placeholder.

Proofreading.
Not sure if the copy I have is an early one, which would explain this, but the novel does need thorough proofreading. There’s punctuation issues, omitted capitalisation of titles, and some missing stress marks on Spanish names that need correction.

Minor writing gaffes.
For me, there were a couple of them, which might not bother other readers: some scenes that read info-dumpy, and inconsistencies in language and period mentality.

The info-dumpy and overdescriptive parts aren’t many, thankfully. One example would be the dialogue in which a character is elaborating on what Don Carlos I's titles are and how he’s called in other parts of his empire. Do we need to know he’s called Don Carlos in Spain, Karl in Germany, and Karel in Bohemia? Not really. It’s just the As you know, Bob trope at work, something to avoid.

As for language, I commended the proper use of Spanish and Nahuatl earlier, and I reiterate that. However, restraining from overusing them shouldn’t mean going to the opposite extreme and not using the languages where they do belong, because that may result in grating inconsistencies, or even anachronisms. Two examples to argue my point: the Moorish slave says that his Arabic name is Soleiman but to a Spaniard he’d be Solomon. Well, that’s the English spelling; to a Spaniard, he would be Salomón. That’s how it’s spelt in Castilian. For an example with Nahuatl, at one point a native POV refers to the plant from which chocolate was made by the Mexica as “cocoa beans.” That, again, is something that a Mexica wouldn’t say, and since we are in the head of a Mexica, he should’ve thought of it as cacahuatl, which is how they called cocoa beans in Nahuatl (xocolatl is chocolate, the beverage; cacahuatl is the cocoa bean).

This also applies to the concepts of the world and things that each side has. I’ve read the authorial notes explaining why Rickford chose some concepts that might appear anachronistic but not implausible, such as why the Spaniards think of themselves as Spanish (I don’t think this is implausible; there’s stuff from the Reconquista in which they do call themselves españoles, because of ethnicity & culture, etc., not nationality since there were several Spanish kingdoms), and why the soldiers fight in a testudo formation (here, too, I agree. The Spanish Tercios did have fighting formations similar to how Greeks and Romans fought). However, the same wouldn’t apply to things like that a Mexica would refer to the confederation of city-states as a Republic, res publica is a concept from the Old World they’d not use in the One World. And also, there’s that a Mexica wouldn’t say “some minutes" because they measured time/hours differently.

Of course, I understand this is done for the reader's benefit, as the novel is written in English; so the point is more about not omitting period-accurate or right terminology in Spanish or Nahuatl for the sake of not using too many foreign words. Sometimes, it’s the better option. And there’s always the glossary to explain those words.

All in all, this novel would appeal to anyone interested in Spanish-American history. I liked it, and will look forward to see how the saga continues. I do know how all this ends, but with historical novels, it’s always about the trip and not the destination.

[Sleepy Boy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a free review copy of The Serpent and the Eagle from BookSirens in return for a fair and honest review - my sincerest thanks to both the author and the publisher. :)

I almost passed up this book when I was offered a review copy. It was set in a historical time period that I have only passing knowledge or interest in but something made me pause and I decided to try something new.

Let me tell you I am so very glad I did! Mr. Rickford is worthy of every single award this book has earned. Told from multiple perspectives encompassing Native, Spanish, and slave he flawlessly weaves these together into an interesting, cohesive narrative that leaves you wanting more at the end.

The characters, the setting, their plots, fears, triumphs, personalities, and machinations all spring to life in this book. Easy to see and imagine above all.

An amazing freshman debut and I am most certainly on board for the rest of the trilogy.

[Zoe Saadia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked "The Serpent and the Eagle" out of curiosity for the time period I generally try to avoid. The conquest of the Americas is certainly not my favorite topic, but the title of this novel as well as the lovely cover and the short bio of the author promised a good, well-researched and hopefully deep and reflective story on the complicated topic several authors I read did not manage to tuck, certainly not from the Native American point of view.

Well, disillusioned I was not - far from it! In fact I now eagerly await the second book in the promised trilogy.

Presented from delightfully multiple and diverse points of view, the story swept me along on a journey that certainly kept me on the edge of my seat and grabbing my Kindle at every opportunity to read on. Not only the famous conquistadors, Cortez, Pedro and such, with their no-less-famous Mexica opponent, Motehcuzoma, and of course Malinche/Malintze presented the story, moving it along with each new chapter. Lesser historical and fictional characters are there to give the richer background on the event that kept puzzling many generations of historians - how a strong, warlike, fairly well-regulated empire falls so decisively and quickly to a band of reckless adventurers.
From the very beginning we meet the mixed band of the newcomers, conquistadors and their auxiliaries of such a mixed background that among the expected Spaniards we encounter the out-of-place Vitale, a youth whose converted and dead-by now Jewish parents make him uneasy and eager to conceal such problematic background, a troubled and confused youth. A Muslim slave of Moorish origins - an historical character at that, as far as I gathered - adds to this amazingly diverse mix, adding an angle that I never encountered in historical fiction concerning the Spanish conquest of Americas. No novel of this time period seem to stress the fact that the conquistadors as a force were the direct product of Reconquista, centuries of wars between the Christians and the Muslim Moors for the control of the Iberian Peninsula which ended only a short time before the discovery of America. As the novel progresses, Cortez himself also makes the mention of it in his letter to the King of Spain, explaining to Pedro why was he making the local Totonacs look more like Moors in his letters to the king.
This touch alone made "The Serpent and the Eagle" into most original and more authentic read than anything I happened upon in historical fiction before.

In addition, the story is very well written, fast-moving and gripping, inhabited with well-developed characters that made me root for them even when they represented the side I did not wish to see succeeding (despite the course of the history). The story made everything so alive for me that reading it I kept forgetting that the general outcome was well known to all of us. Even Cortez came across as an interesting character with complex motives and weaknesses that made him extremely interesting protagonist to follow.
Malinche/Malintze was another person I did not wish to like, but of course the author made me sympathize with her, presenting her not as a female grabber of power or on the contrary a helpless victim, but as a resilient woman who had learned how to survive long before anyone came to threaten these shores. She is intelligent and a quick learner, and as a slave she has nowhere to go but up, which she does, in no pushy way. Her dialog with Aguilar when she tells him about her youth briefly still haunts me, two weeks after I finished reading this book. It became hard to hate her after reading this novel.
From the Mexica side, the rich wonderful culture I'm very fond of and fairly familiar with, which made me wary and on guard while reading their point of view, examining pretty much every word coming out of their mouths, I was very pleased with the depiction of Moctehzoma Xocoyatzin to begin with. Given his puzzling actions during the Spanish advance toward Tenochtitlan, he is always depicted as a weak man full of puzzling superstition. But not in this novel! Here he comes across as an appropriately strong and fairly wise ruler, maybe overly prudent at times, a man who ruled a vast kingdom for close to twenty years and who doesn't plunge into wars without knowing what his armies are expected to deal with - a problem when it comes to mysterious visitors from beyond one's world. The author uses the word 'teteo/teotl' as some primary sources suggest, but I love that he translates it rather as "sorcerers" and not as "gods" (the theory that the Spanish conquistadors were taken to be gods by the Mexica does not resonate with those who are familiar with these people's thinking, which seems to be nothing but the fruit of imagination on the part of the conquistadors themselves).
Other scenes and characters from Tenochtitlan, both historical and fictional, made me wait for the second book yet more eagerly.

All in all, this is a very well-written, impeccably researched novel full of rich characters and fast-paced storyline and I wish there were more historical fiction novels like this one, on this and other times, periods and places.

[N.D. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful premiere novel from Mr. Rickford, a young novelist I had the pleasure of hearing speak at Morgan State University's 2019 History Day. I wish all the best as he pen more historical fiction novels.

[Randall Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

“The Serpent and the Eagle” by Edward Rickford is the first of a trilogy about the Conquest of Mexico by Spanish forces under the command of Hernan Cortez. While the story will be familiar to those who’ve learned about this era, Rickford’s vision utilizes more recent scholarship, while downplaying, but not completely eschewing more traditional sources.

There’s a bit of a learning curve in reading the novel because Rickford employs less commonly known spellings of historical character names and places. Nahuatl spellings do not easily roll off the tongue of the mind. After the first few chapters, this distraction, for the most part, disappeared for this reader.

Rickford’s book is extraordinarily well researched, utilizing works written shortly after the conquest, such as “The Florentine Codex” by Bernard de Sahagun, and “The True History of the Conquest of New Spain” by Bernal Diaz del Castillo, a more recent translation of “The Memoirs of the Conquistador Bernal Diaz del Castillo,” as well as modern scholarship. He also credits many more recent works in academia helping him reimagine the early 16th Century expedition into Mexico, utilizing what to this reader is a pro-Mexica bias. Rickford, in his afterword, refers to the Conquest as the Spanish-Mexica War, reflecting his preference for more recent academic interpretations of this critical clash of cultures. So gone, are any references to the return of Quetzalcoatl and other important Aztec gods, and in, are references to Aztec Homosexuality, and Intersectional Identities in the Sixteenth-Century Spanish Empire.

The tale is told through the eyes of several witnesses, many of them actual historical figures, with others, the work of the author’s imagination. Cortez is well-drawn—attractive, charismatic, possessed of wit and instinct, which he most certainly would have had to have, to launch such an audacious, ultimately successful venture. His depiction of Montezuma (Rickford uses Mohtecuzoma, explaining why, in both his forward and afterword) gives him the opportunity to discuss the political structure of Aztec society, touching on both ecclesiastical and epistemological thinking of the doomed civilization. Even Bernal Diaz appears, primarily as a villain, though, reflecting the negative judgment some have of the Conquest. That debate will no doubt continue. Rickford doesn’t shy away from some of the reasons why the world is a better place without many of the savage practices of the native residents.

The priest, Aguilar, learned one of the native languages while captive and functioned as a translator for Cortez. He’s not a particularly attractive character, given to petty envy and low self-regard. Pedro Alvarado is a dashing, sadistic soldier, with a lust for gold and blood. One of the surprises, and one of my favorite characters, is a Mexica woman sold into slavery by her Aztec family who becomes an important translator for Cortez’s expedition. She’s highly valued by the head Conquistador, not only for her beauty, but for her cunning and intelligence. Cortez names her Doña Marina, while she selects the name Malintze for herself. She thirsts for revenge against the Mexica people whom she regards as responsible for the debased position in life that Cortez rescues her from. Rickford obviously admires her, and that comes through in her scenes.

Among Rickford’s important fictional characters are Vitale, a Jew who recently converted to Christianity probably as an act of self preservation, and a Moorish Slave, Solomon; who Vitale’s developed an affinity for. As to the Moorish slave, Solomon, I think he functions as the author’s Greek Chorus, as his observations seem to float over what transpires, infused with contemporary cynicism.

There are several well-described battles where the technological superiority of the invaders (armor, firearms, swords, sailing ships, and horses) allows them to prevail over combatants limited to Stone Age weaponry.

The novel’s pace flagged a tad for me during some of the political intrigue in Montezuma’s court. Occasionally new characters enter, mentioned briefly, only to disappear, such as Melchior, a translator for the Spaniards who apparently fled the scene prior to his mention. Perhaps the character makes an appearance in the sequels, perhaps not. When Rickford introduces Mexica characters, he often presents things from their point of view, confusion, ignorant of the language spoken, referring to Aguilar as the Black Robe, only revealing to the reader that we already read this scene, told from the perspective of the Spaniards.

In all, “The Serpent and the Eagle” will entertain, instruct and inform people who want to learn about one of the most cataclysmic culture clashes in the history of the world. Rickford doesn’t attempt to whitewash human sacrifice and other brutal and savage practices that existed through a broad swath of what we now refer to as pre-Colombian civilizations throughout the Western Hemisphere. While it ends on a critical moment in the invasion, it handily sets up the books to come.

4-1/2 Stars

[Mary Elizabeth Hughes · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Serpent and the Eagle is an ambitious retelling of the Spanish invasion of Mesoamerica. This is Part One of a planned trilogy and covers the period of Cortes' arrival on the Yucatan coast in 1519 to the start of their march on the Mesoamerican capital, Tenochlitan.

Both Motecuhzoma, Great Speaker of the Mexica and Captain Cortes are depicted as proud, arrogant, intelligent, occasionally compassionate, resourceful, cruel but strong leaders. Author Rickford tries for a balanced approach and tries not to show favouritism although the title itself is telling. The title is also that of an Aesop fable. Cortes is the devious one, leading a small army of greedy Spaniards whose only motivation is to find gold. This obsession with gold baffles the Mexica (Aztecs) who think of gold as a pretty metal to be used as decoration. But Motecuhzoma is wise enough to know that the pale people pose a real threat to his empire.

One of the best features is the way Rickford shares the narrative amongst an array of intriguing characters. Aguilar, who takes up the story in an early chapter, is a Spanish priest recently released after several years captivity by the Mayan. During his years of enslavement he learned the local language, and is useful to Cortes as a translator.

Vitale is a young soldier, a "New Christian" who fears his Jewishness will be discovered. He provides a completely different point of view of Cortes' expedition, as does a wise Moorish slave who is aptly named Solomon. It is this Muslim slave who describes the Christian attack on a local village. The exchanges between Vitale and Solomon are amongst the best scenes in the book.

The historical character of Malinche (or Malintze or Dona Marina) is perhaps the most fascinating of all. She is a slave girl when we meet her, but her facility for languages is quickly noticed by Cortes and she soon plays a central role in communication between Cortes and the Mexica. To this day she is regarded as traitorous by contemporary Mexicans.

Knowing of the Mexica's penchant for human sacrifice I was prepared for some brutal scenes. Thankfully they were few, and much of the violence was off-stage. And the author is persuasive in explaining why the Mexica feel compelled to offer daily tributes of living hearts to their gods.

Rickford has done extensive research and chosen an approach which is historically responsible. There were a few chapters that provided more of internal Mexica politics than I needed, but that reflects Rickford's wish to present an accurate picture. The book is well written, thoroughly edited and polished.

I am left, however, with a question. How does Malinche know what ice is?

[Laura Koerber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Readers of historical fiction will appreciate this well-written account of the clash between the invading Spaniards and the native Mexica. The basic outlines are familiar: Cortez led a relatively small group of soldiers into the interior of what we now call Mexico and defeated the people popularly called “the Aztecs.”
It’s a story of the collision of unlikeable people from cultures that shared some very unlikeable traits. (Everyone knows about the Aztec human sacrifice, but the Spainiards were just as bad. Auto do fe in the public squares, forced religious conversions, the Inquisition). Often the long term effects of the conquest are played down in favor of a “civilization versus primitives” narrative.
That’s not how the story is told in this book. There’s no glory in Cortez’s greed or the terrifying way the Spaniards used religion to justify themselves. The author uses the voices of the bit part players to signal the future: the soul-crushing tragedy that the Spaniards were going to unleash upon the native peoples of what we now call Mexico.
To me, strength of the book is the time given to “bit part players.” I appreciate the careful and likely accurate depictions of the major actors, but the life of the story, for me, comes from the voices of Solomon the slave, a young soldier named Vitale, and the female slave named Dona Marina. Each has a story to tell and each has a perspective on the events in which they find themselves. By showing the invasion through their eyes, the reader is given a more nuanced and human version of a war/political story.
The book is well-written, meticulously proofed and edited, and includes an extensive list of source materials. Highly recommended.

[K.M. Pohlkamp · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Serpent and the Eagle is an emotional journey through the eyes of a Mexica King, conquistadors, a slave girl, and so many more caught in the Spanish hunger for gold. Dramatizing the landing of Cortez in the New World, the novel follows his social maneuvering with natives to obtain riches. Each chapter changes the narrator's POV allowing the reader to also experience the anxiety the “pale ones” bring to native Mexica. As a result, the tension in this book is created from mental turmoil rather than militaristic campaigns, which I thoroughly enjoyed.

This multiple POV journey allows Rickford to depict each scene from the view point with the most on the line, heightening tension. But by switching from the heads of Cortez’s crew to that of the native Mexica, I found myself rooting for both sides and falling ambivalent to who would claim victory.

There are also so many characters in this novel it can be hard to keep them straight and none are really fully developed. The closest developmental arc follows the power struggle between Cortez’s translator, Aguilar, and the native slave, Malinche. As the only one who speaks Nahuatl, Malinche quickly realizes she can exploit her skill to raise her station and later how she can twist Cortez’s words to influence perception. I enjoyed watching her subtle, clandestine grasp for power and hope to see her manipulative side further developed in Book 2.

However Rickford’s engrossing story telling makes up for any shortcomings associated with the large ensemble of characters. His words flow from the page like silk, pulling the reader into period not commonly seen in historical fiction. Each character’s voice is masterfully crafted and distinct. I never would have picked up this book without prompting, but I would have missed out. This is a perfect read to branch out from a reading rut, learn about a different era in history, and try something a little off from mainstream.

[Roberta Cheadle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is my first reading encounter with the history of the arrival of the Spanish explorers/conquerors in Mexica and their encounters with the Aztec (called Mexica) people. I do not know the history of South America well, but this book came across as being exceptionally well researched and is based on real events and people, including the leader of the expedition, Cortes, the missionary and interpreter, Aguilar and the young native Mexica slave, Malintze, who becomes and interpreter for Cortes when he realises she speaks more than one of the Mexica languages.

In the early 16th century, the Aztec world, called the One World, which comprises of a large number of different native peoples, who inhabit the various cities and villages and who speak a spectrum of languages, are all united under one cruel and dominant leader, Motecuhzoma or the King. The OneWorld is described as operating as a federation with each area retaining its own language and culture and being ruled by their own leader but all falling under the central leadership of Motecuhzoma in his main city of Tenochtitlan. The Mexica are wealthy and have discovered the aesthetic pleasures of creating artworks from gold, jade and exotic feathers. The have a robust religion which requires them to make numerous human sacrifices to their many gods. They actively engage in slavery, particularly of young girls who are sold by their families if they cannot pay their tributes to the King. Motecuhzoma's people collect tributes from all of the areas/provinces in his domain and under his dominance. Motecuhzoma is described as a typical feudal lord and he and his favoured courtiers live a life of comfort and luxury while their subjects like in poverty and fear.

The descriptions of the Mexica life makes it difficult for the reader to sympathise with Motecuhzoma and his courtiers, even though you know they are ultimately going to be crushed by the Spanish, due to their harsh and cruel behaviors. The Spanish, who are God fearing Catholics, are not much better and are also violent and determined in both taking what they want from the locals and attempting to introduce Christianity to the native people.

Cortes is described as being a great leader of men, they type who could lead his followers off a cliff, but who is driven by a determination to better himself and gain recognition by the King in Spain, and these characteristics drive him even more than his lust for gold. He wants gold mainly to further his goals of acceptance and power.

Aguilar comes across as weak and pathetic and is a poor example of a man of God. He is jealous of Cortes engagement of Malintze as an additional interpreter. Other Spanish men are also depicted as being frightened and diminished beings, including the Jewish Vitale, who is desperately anxious to reveal his heritage and New Christian status.

I love history and I really enjoyed this book from a historical perspective. It submerges the reader in the culture and atmosphere of the time and I learned a great deal about both the Spanish and the Mexica way of life at that time. My comment on the overall plot line, however, is that the plot is driven only by the history and is not really strong enough, in my opinion, to support a trilogy. I felt this first book moved rather slowly and I kept expecting Cortes to make a move on Motecuhzoma and his famous city but that didn't happen. I was left the book ended rather abruptly and left the reader hanging and this was rather disappointing.

[Sam Law · Rating 4 out of 5]

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Summary:

This is a historical fiction novel, about the Spanish military campaign that destroyed the world of the Aztecs

The novel, first in a trilogy, features the historic personalities, as well as numerous fictional ones. Hernan Cortes is there, on his ship Santa Maria de la Conception, as well as Montezuma in his glittering palace. We meet lesser figures such as Father Aguilar, rescued from Indian slavery by Cortes and now serves him as translator, and Tezoc “The Cutter Of Men”, the military general who is ill-at-ease in the royal court.

The two stories thread around each other as the novel progresses, with Cortes leading a punishing raid on a local village, and Montezuma chief celebrant at a huge blood sacrifice, described in grisly detail.

From the start, we feel the tension in both camps. Cortes is fierce in his control of his ship, sparing no-one the whip if needed. All of the Aztec nobles are watchful and guarded in the presence of the King, who comes across as thoughtful, measured, and wanting to make the right decision around how to protect his people.

As Cortes realises there are untold riches awaiting him in the Aztec capital, he makes a push inland. In this, he is helped by the enigmatic Malinche, one of twenty slave girls offered to Cortes following a battle. She rises to become an invaluable interpreter for Cortes, displacing Aguilar. Cortes continues his bloody way to Tenochtitlan, battling and allying with tribes along the way.

Main Characters:

Hernan Cortes: Unquestionably the leader, he exudes violence and danger, and does not hesitate to crush any hint of dissent in the ranks, yet is also able to charm and manipulate if needs be. Single-minded, his poor upbringing is his main driver behind his ruthless pursuit of wealth and power.

Montezuma/Moctehzoma:The famous Aztec leader, he is a strong, pragmatic character, who probably spends too much time assessing a threat than dealing with it. Revered and feared in equal measure.

Malinche: A slave girl used to fighting for survival, she uses all her talents to gain her translator role, thus escaping the harsh slave world.

Minor Characters:

Vitale: A Jewish convert (or “New Christian”), and somewhat naïve, he joined the military expedition by mistake, as he has never fought a battle. That soon changes.

Solomon: A Muslim slave, whipped and beaten for minor infractions, who realises Vitale is hiding his Jewish heritage, but forges an unlikely friendship with him.

Aguilar: A priest enslaved by the Indians, rescued by Cortes. He is completely broken, but serves as a translator. His faith in God is shaken to the very core, and nothing he sees or experiences can help him restore it.

What I Liked:

- The multiple viewpoints, from well-developed characters.
- Easy to read and well-paced, the prose just flows.
- There is so much going on, from political machinations, to outright greed, to violence, abuse of power and death.
- Extremely well-researched, dripping with realism.

What I Didn’t Like:

- Some of the dialogue was a little superfluous, but not so much as to get in the way of the story.

Overall:

An excellent read, and a highly promising start to the trilogy. This will certainly while away a couple of hours during the current situation, and will be time well spent. Thoroughly recommended.

[S. Jeyran Main · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Serpent and the Eagle is book one of Tenochtitlan Trilogy. This historical fiction is set in 1519 where Motecuhzoma leads the Mexica Confederacy. Mesoamerica has been happy for years and the nation prosperous, however, just like every other story, peace is not to stay as Hernando appears and has other plans for the land.

The story is told through many perspectives covering many aspects of his historical Spanish tale. This enabled the storytelling to be multi-dimensional and created the necessary dynamics it needed to impact the reader. I believe that is what made this book different.

The pace of the story reflected the complex content, and the power struggle between the characters was evident throughout the thrilling adventure. The story was beautifully written, and I admired the ability of the author in portraying the notion of reliving a story so delicately put together for a reader who would have absolutely no idea about its origin.

The literature was of perfection. From description, history reciting, skill in the retelling, to the creativity of work, all deserved applause.

The Spanish Cortes’s character, in particular, his dialogue, intentions, plans, were what set the story in somewhat a dynamic sense of a tale.

I recommend this book to historical Spanish readers and alike.

[G.J. Griffiths · Rating 4 out of 5]

This historical fiction by Edward Rickford had many of the things that I tend to look for in a novel that includes real characters and events from the past. In addition it was interesting to discover much about the history of a war between Spain and Mexica, 1519 to 1521. I learned for example that Mexica refers to the people we generally call the Aztecs, and that several characters in the story who accompanied Cortes, such as Aguilar and Malintze, really existed. The author has to be applauded for the considerable research that has gone into the background of his novel.

I have to admit that my own interest in this story was captured initially through a memory of visiting a monument in Arizona known as Montezuma Castle. This was a few decades ago and I vaguely remembered that it had nothing to do with the Aztec emperor, more correctly named “Motecuhzoma” in this book. There are many such names contained within Rickford’s tale and I found it almost impossible to pronounce them out loud! However, it did not prevent me from becoming quite absorbed in the political intrigue and plotting involved through the machinations of Cortes and his cronies, as well as the intimate fears and hopes of some of the more minor characters in both camps. The author introduces a distinct code of conduct element as well as one that involves sexual desire and romance, neither of which are great enough to provide a distraction from the main plot: capturing land and gold while enforcing religious conversion. Notwithstanding these aims there is the ambition of Cortes achieving what became his notorious glory. I suspect most readers will wind up with their own like-hate relationship regarding Hernando Cortes. I can recommend The Serpent and the Eagle to all those readers who enjoy historical novels with a generous amount of authenticity.

[Literary Portals · Rating 3 out of 5]

What Made Me Read It I was sent a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review. The author described it as a novel based on a research thesis that "follows an extraordinary military campaign that toppled a seemingly invincible hegemony, established the first European foothold in the Americas, and helped usher in the era of world trade". Since I wasn't familiar with this particular event and period in history I decided to give it a try.

The Plot Hernando Cortés sailed to the New World under the patronage of Governor Velázquez in search of riches and to make a name for himself. Bearing gifts to trade with the natives, he soon sets his eyes on the distant metropolis of Tenochtitlan, rumored to possess the largest amount of gold in the land. Facing violent Indians and making strategic alliances with local tribes, Cortés prepares his campaign against the ruler of the Mexica people, while dealing with harsh conditions and dissent inside his ragtag army of fortune seeker soldiers.

Father Gerónimo de Aguilar was enslaved by the Indians for 8 years until the day he was rescued by Cortés. Having learned to speak the Indian tongue of Yoko Ochoko, Aguilar agrees to serve Cortés as a translator when a young slave girl joins the expedition and threatens his position. After the defeat of the Potochan Indians, Malintze is given as a slave to one of Cortés' officers but soon proves her worth with her linguistic skills, willing to help the strange pale people defeat the Mexica and take revenge on those who wronged her in the past. Vitale is a New Christian, a young anonymous soldier who has never seen battle. Fleeing from the dangers of another Expulsion Edict, Vitale joins what he believes to be a trade and exploration expedition, keeping his head down to avoid being killed by Indians or Old Christian soldiers alike. Meeting a Muslim Moor slave, he forges an unlikely friendship with Solomon who opens his eyes to the true nature of those around him.

Great Speaker Motecuhzoma of the Triple Alliance is the supreme ruler of the New World. He fears the pale people's powerful weapons and strange ways, which pose a threat to the stability and prosperity of his empire, and when a new group arrives on the shores of his domain Motecuhzoma is advised to go to war with the teteo, the sorcerers. But that would prove taxing to his soldiers and subjugated cities, sometimes an alliance might be a better way to know your enemy.

The Good "The Serpent and the Eagle" is the first volume in the "Tenochtitlan Trilogy", an historical fiction novel set in 1519 Mexico. It tells the story of the military campaign led by Hernando Cortés, the son of a poor Spanish lord determined to hoard abundant riches and make a name for himself. Accepting Governor Velazquez's patronage to explore the New World, Cortés assembles a fleet of ragtag fortune seeker soldiers and sets out to Mexico. After learning of a great city where the ruler of the Mexica people Motecuhzoma keeps the largest amount of gold, and aided by Father Aguilar and a Nahua slave girl named Malintze who serve as translators to the natives, Cortés starts planning his conquest of the capital of Tenochtitlan, defeating defying Indians and making unsteady alliances with subjugated tribes along the way.

The author has clearly done extensive research on this particular subject, giving a vivid and highly realistic description of this period in history. Staying true to the facts but still delivering all the drama of a fictional account, this novel is rich in details from the Spaniards lack of personal hygiene, the beliefs and rituals of the Mexica/Aztecs, the political and religious atmosphere in Europe and the Spanish court, the harsh conditions faced when exploring an uncharted territory. Well written, fast-paced and told from different perspectives, the plot is full of action, conflict, human greed, political manipulation and intrigue.

The characters are 3-dimensional and well developed, with realistic behaviors and motivations. Cortés, the leader of the expedition, who prefers subterfuge but has no qualms about using fear and violence as weapons to control his men and fulfill his goals; Aguilar, a broken priest after 8 years of enslavement at the hands of the Indians, forced to respect a woman his religion teaches him to despise; Malintze, a former slave girl who uses her new name and language skills to improve her position and influence the course of events; Vitale, a young soldier of Jewish origins, conflicted about his loyalties and his duties, who hides his heritage and strikes an unlikely friendship with a Muslim slave; Solomon, the Muslim slave who shakes young Vitale's world, making him question his beliefs; the Mexica/Aztec leader Motecuhzoma, forced to make hard choices in order to protect his empire from the pale people; Tezoc the "Cutter of Men", Motecuhzoma's military adviser who sees the wisdom in learning more about the enemy before committing to war but struggles to navigate the politics of the Mexica court. Each character provides a different and personal view of the clashing cultures and civilizations, giving us all sides of the story - the Spaniards, the Aztecs and all the local tribes caught in between the two giants.

Readers with an interest in this particular period of time will be fully satisfied with this novel, it offers all the ingredients for an enjoyable read.The only reason it didn't get a higher rating was a matter of personal taste, the realistic nature of the facts were just a little too gruesome and violent for me and the setting of the story didn't quite fit my preferences.

Read the full review on: https://literaryportals.blogspot.com/...

Final Rating 3 of 5 stars. "The Serpent and the Eagle" is an historical fiction novel, the first in the Tenochtitlan Trilogy series, set in 1519 Mexico during the conquest of the Aztec empire by the Spaniards. Recommended for those with an interest in this period of time and this particular event.

[ManOfLaBook.com · Rating 5 out of 5]

For more reviews and bookish posts please visit https://www.ManOfLaBook.com

The Serpent and the Eagle by Edward Rickford is the first book in the Tenochtitlan Trilogy, taking place during Hernán Cortés’ 1519 military campaign in the New World. Mr. Rickford is an award winning writer, this book won the 2018 Chaucer Book Awards.

Hernán Cortés arrives at the New World search for fame and fortune. In a short time Cortés realizes that the gold is at Tenochtitlan, one of the largest cities in the country. The explorer and his men face many challenges, from unfamiliar languages and culture, to the harsh environmental conditions.

In Tenochtitlan, the Great Speaker Motecuhzoma (Montezuma) of the Triple Alliance fears the Spaniards superior weapons. Motecuhzoma needs to decide if he wants to go to war with the “sorcerers” or create an alliance.

I always enjoy good historical fiction, especially if it follows history closely. That way I can learn something as well as be entertained, I believe that this is why the majority of us enjoy the genre.

In The Serpent and the Eagle by Edward Rickford, it’s clear that the author has done a vast amount of research about the time period. Mr. Rickford’s descriptions are realistic and vivid, staying true to the facts while delivering an excellent narrative. The details in the novel are fantastic, from the way the Spaniards stank, the difficulties of living off the land, to the Aztecs rituals (including a play by play description of human sacrifice a la the fantastic Apocalypto), weaving in the political climate of the times in both the New and Old worlds.

The author uses three characters to give the reader different perspectives of the story. Father Gerónimo de Aguilar was a slave for the Indians until rescued by Cortés. Aguilar now works mainly as a translator. That is until Malintze, a young Indian girl joins the army, who has a gift for languages. Malintze is fueled by revenge and willingly helps the “pale people” defeat the Mexica who wronged her.

Vitale is a New Christian and through his eyes we get to see the world from the level of a grunt, one of the nameless souls who history will never remember. As a New Christian, Vitale still experiences denigration and humiliation in Spain, he is attempting to make a new life thinking he joined a trade expedition. Vitale connects with Solomon, a Muslim slave who figures out quickly that Vitale is hiding his Jewish heritage.

The mastery of daily life for all the characters, intertwined with the overall overarching story-line works very well. As we all know, the little things matter to our everyday life, reading about the uncomfortable existence in a new land, the itching clothes, mosquitoes, horrible hygiene, and personality conflicts did a lot more for the enjoyment of this book than a play-by-play of the battles would have been.

The novel could have used the touch of a professional editor, however it was still an excellent read, taking its time to build a narrative and to let the reader get acquainted with the characters. Mr. Rickford sticks to historical evidence, does not present myths, rumors, or innuendos as facts, as far as I could tell.

[Ed Morawski · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story of how Cortes conquered Mexico, which at that time was controlled by the Aztec Empire, with only 500 men, remains a deeply interesting one. And when you add in the enigmatic and supposedly beautiful Malinche, his slave girl translator and mistress, it should be the stuff of bestsellers and blockbuster films. Alas, Malinche is reviled in some circles even more than Cortes, so little chance the story will ever be popular, even though to me she is stronger than any other heroine including Joan of Arc.

But we are here to review this work. I found it mostly enjoyable, but the author made some odd creative choices in telling it. First there are three characters through which a lot of the story is told: Vitale (fictional), Solomon (fictional), and Aguilar (real) and for some reason I can’t quite fathom he chose to make them weak and fearful and nasty men. They are cowering or throwing up during the early parts of the book. I would have thought that if you’re going to focus a story about a cunning and brave warrior like Cortes, on other characters, you’d pick some better examples.

Another aspect I found especially disconcerting was the dialogue of some of the characters, especially the Spanish soldiers. They talk in broken English – even though they are Spanish and speaking Spanish. It makes no sense. At first I thought the book was filled with typos but realized only the soldiers spoke this way:
“Well, Cortés said they demanded we leave. If they demanding we leave, why they letting us sail to their town center in force?” “These supposed to be the friendly Indians, remember?”
“Then why we attacking them?”
I understand from the author that this was intended to distinguish the soldiers from the officers, but I don’t think it adds anything and detracts from reading.

There is also an awful lot of small talk between minor characters that doesn’t enhance the story in any way, it just takes up valuable space. Although the book follows Cortes’ story faithfully as we know it, there are wide gaps, which could have been filled. Nothing is mentioned of Montezuma’s dreams or his belief Cortez was a returning god – which I happen to think played a large part in Montezuma’s distraction concerning the Spanish. This is another creative decision by the author, which I feel is off the mark.

The one area with which I disagree with this book is in Malinche’s back story. Most sources I’ve consulted say she was sold into slavery by her own mother. Even Bernal Diaz writes about this in his memoirs, but this is overlooked completely here. Diaz is barely mentioned here either, even though he was believed to be a key figure in the Conquest.

All in all though, if you don’t know the story of Cortes, ‘The Serpent and the Eagle’ will be good exposure. But be forewarned this is only book 1 of the series and there is much more of the story to be told.

[Swords & Spectres · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

In the Serpent and the Eagle, Edward Rickford has achieved wonderful world-building/scene-setting to the extent that even if you aren’t familiar with the history surrounding the novel, you can pick this book up and enjoy it regardless. The entire events of Cortez’ expedition do not unfold in this book, but that is due to the fact that it is only the first in a trilogy. So there will be far more Aztec goodness coming our way in the future.

The Serpent and the Eagle details incredibly well the events that lead up to just before the meeting of Cortez and Montecuhzoma and it does so from the view points of various characters. We hear from slaves, translators, Aztec (Mexica) people, men of the expedition and even Cortez himself. Each pov has a unique aspect regarding the overall story and ties in really well. My own knowledge of the period is fairly good, but not in-depth enough to pick out parts that may have been artistic embellishment. That lack of knowledge isn’t a bad thing as it just adds to the whole enjoyment factor of not knowing everything that is coming.

I particularly enjoyed the way Cortez intelligence shines through when dealing with the newfound Mexica people that are close at hand and when dealing with the ties that bind him back home in Spain. He is an interesting character due to how the reader both has reasons to like and admire the man, but hate him for his darker transgressions.

I only have two slight drawbacks regarding the novel as a whole. The first being that, in some places, it feels like it moves a little slow. I prefer a pretty fast pace throughout and this, in parts fell a tad short of my preferred pacing. Not enough for me to not enjoy it, however. My second point would be that in places the speech felt a bit laboured. Mostly regarding the Mexica people (but in places the expedition of Cortez was a tad guilty of this). When someone said something to someone else, they would often, during the same conversation, say the same thing in two or three different ways and it just made the flow seem to halt a little.

My drawbacks were not nearly large enough to overshadow the enjoyment I got out of the piece, however. The Serpent and the Eagle is well worth picking up for anyone with a love of historical fiction.

[Pallavi Sareen · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an absolutely fantastic well-researched piece of historical fiction this was. I'll be honest that I do not know much of America's history especially what happened in 1519 but after reading this book, I feel knowledgeable. From what I could gather after reading this book and then doing my own research on the topic is that the book stands close to reality and has only introduced fictional characters to keep it interesting and strengthen the plot for readers. 

There are so many characters in the book that sometimes I found myself struggling to keep up with them. Yet, each character has been well developed and puts forth his/her point of view in different chapters. What amazed me was the writing skill. How well the author could portray the anxiety, the shock, the ongoing dilemmas!

“The elation when he stumbled out of the poorly provisioned longboat onto the deserted beach with his delirious countrymen; the apprehension when the Indians emerged from cover; the horror of watching the Indians sacrifice the strongest Spaniards to their cruel gods; the numbness when he learned he would be spared death so that he could toil away as a slave.”

I already like reading about conquests and historical fiction is my favourite genre. This book gave space to so many diverse voices that at some point I was rooting for both sides, knowing that one will have to fall. Given that the book covers a huge part of history with multiple characters in not more than 300 pages, I must say that it was quite fast-paced. 

"Driven by God, gold, and glory" that is how the author describes Hernando Cortes and his followers. Men have killed for less. 

Motecuhzoma believes his regime supreme, not knowing what fate has in store for him. My favourite character had to be Malintze though. I always like characters like her, which are not made to be in the limelight but are survivors with rich background. Her story, or little of it that she tells Aguilar haunted me. Even the premise is such authentically built that I really felt like I was living in that era through the lives of the characters. I would definitely recommend this book and wait eagerly for Book 2. 

[Leonide Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

The encounter between Spanish conquistadors and the Aztec empire has been told many times, but Rickford's version brings a fresh perspective. Historical accuracy is predominant, and multiple points of view give different lenses. The common myths surrounding Cortéz as a god to the Aztecs, Malinche as a seductive schemer, and Montezuma as an indecisive ruler are avoided. Instead, these characters are complex and multi-layered, driven by motives arising from their cultures and circumstances. As a true historian, Rickford uses authentic spellings (Motecuhzoma, Malintze) that add flavors of Mexico (Aztec) culture. Putting the Spanish beliefs and goals in perspective, background of the recent reconquista of Moorish Spain is given through a "new Christian" (converso Jew) soldier Vitale, who befriends a Moor slave. Likewise, politics and machinations among Mexica generals and courtiers are illustrated through characters in Tenochtitlan, painting a rich portrait of this complex and opulent city. Aguilar, a Spanish priest shipwrecked earlier and enslaved by Mayas, escaped and joined Cortéz to translate, but could not speak Nahuatl. Malintze, sold into slavery to Mayas but Nahuatl-speaking from Mexica regions, moves into prominence as translator, leading to tensions between them. Both leaders, Cortéz and Motecuhzoma, strategize about their pending encounter, giving credence to their intelligence and military expertise. These characterizations and episodes are refreshingly different from other depictions.

Overall, the story is gripping although unevenly paced. Readers get a realistic view of soldiering hardships, challenging terrain, and the extensive indigenous network of advanced cities and complicated political associations. Many details of Cortéz' campaign are told that most books omit, and the research appears solid. Just as the two leaders are about to meet the book ends, setting the stage for the next in the trilogy. I'm looking forward to reading it.

[James White · Rating 5 out of 5]

Author Edward Rickford sets in motion a thrilling adventure story when the indomitable Spanish conquistador, Hernán Cortés, makes landfall in the New World and begins his quest to locate and plunder the Aztec empire.

The story unfolds aboard Cortés' ship, The Santa Maria de la Concepción where we meet the expedition's translator, Father Aguilar, in conversation with Cortés. Their dialogue spins a complicated web of intrigue between Cortés and Father Aguilar that sets the tone for the rest of the story.

Rickford then takes us to Motecuhzoma's court to meet one of his trusted generals, Tezoc, 'The Cutter Of Men.' Using these four characters as the cornerstones of the story's narrative, Rickford weaves in a panoply of action and adventure, taking us across richly described jungles and tense encounters with native tribes as Cortés strives to take Motecuhzoma's gold and return home to Spain a hero.

Cortés' unflagging pursuit is constantly tested as the expedition slogs its way through a beautiful but deadly landscape. I especially enjoyed Cortés' leadership skills; manipulating traitors among his men and negotiating with native adversaries even when his confidence in himself and in those he trusts is put to the test.

As in all good stories, the end isn't what you'd expect. Rickford keeps us on the edge of our seat as Cortés puts together an ambitious plan that leaves his men no way out in order to sustain his expedition for the final assault on Motecuhzoma's capital, Tenochtitlan.

The Serpent And The Eagle is expertly written and painstakingly researched. Author Rickford has captured a fascinating historical moment and turned it into an absorbing story that makes the history come alive.

[Marion Marchetto · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Serpent and the Eagle takes the reader back to the time of Montezuma (Motecuhzoma) when he led the Mexica Confederacy. The year is 1519 and there is no reason not to believe that the Mexica Confederacy will continue to rule of the nation. The arrival of Spaniards, in search of gold and glory, arrive on a mission they believe is ordained by their God. This is the story of the battles between the Spaniards and the Mexica Confederacy, as told from the viewpoints of both the native inhabitants as well as the conquering forces – from leaders to soldiers, the reader experiences the events through differing viewpoints.

Normally I enjoy historical fiction. This story, in spite of its awards, did not draw me in. It was difficult to get into the heads of the characters. Battle scenes were exceedingly descriptive and for me much too detailed. With all of the blood and gore I found it hard to follow the story line. It became too much for me and I set the book down for a period, hoping that when I returned to it I would be in a different frame of mind. For a second time, I began the book on page one but encountered the same problems – shallow characters, too much emphasis on the details of the battles. I repeated this sequence (setting the book aside and taking it up again) a third time. But it was not to be. I made it to about page 100 or so before I threw in the towel.

Readers who enjoy battles and strategy, in all their detailed glory, will enjoy The Serpent and the Eagle. However, for this reader, it wasn’t my cup of tea.

Note: I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Maria Logan-Montgomery · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Serpent and the Eagle by award-winning author, Edward Rickford, is the first book in the Tenochtitlan Trilogy. It is also 1stplace winner in the 2018 Chaucer Book Awards for pre-1750s historical fiction.

It is 1519, and Cortez has landed in Mexico. This book is especially enlightening, as the story is told from the points of view of both the Aztecs and the Spanish conquistadors. It reminds the reader of the Europeans’ greed and unquenchable thirst for gold, and the lengths to which they went to steal it.

While The Serpent and the Eagle tells the story of the months leading up to the meeting between Cortes and Motecuhzoma, it reveals, yet again, how human nature is essentially the same throughout history. For example, while discussing the Spaniards, the local people wondered “…how much longer until they start referring to our lands as their home?” Of course, this is exactly what the Native Americans must have said about our ancestors here in the U.S.

Mr. Rickford has met the challenge of maintaining historical accuracy, while developing a tension-filled, narrative that flows smoothly, and has well developed characters. If he maintains this technique he is in store for many more awards.

What Makes this Reviewer Grumpy?

Referring to people as “that” rather than “who”;
using further in place of farther – they are not interchangeable;
split infinitives;
missing commas;
beginning sentences with conjunctions.

[George · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun read for fans of historical fiction. Edward Rickford’s novel recounts Cortez’s bloody conquest of Mexico through the eyes of the officers and soldiers of his army, as well as through those of the Aztec emperor and the woman Malintze, who rises from the obscurity of slavery to become Cortez’s translator and confidant.

Rickford keeps the action moving around throughout the novel. Between the battles there are forced marches, scheming, and duplicity. Rickford has mastered the details of Pre-Columbian Mexican culture but doesn’t serve them up cold. The Aztec culture, in all its grisly splendor is on display here, with real people as characters and not cardboard cut-outs.

The character of Malitntze is a great one: we experience the Mexica world through her eyes, and the image isn’t pretty. The reason for so many Mexica tribes rebelling against their Aztec overlords and siding with the Spanish becomes clear, however disastrous that strategy turned out to be in the long run.

Hernan Cortez himself comes across as coldly amoral and driven by a relentless urge to conquer—Moors. Aztecs, anything— as long as it propels his fortunes. But there are many human-scale characters around him, each with their own lively tale to tell.

[Chris Matthews · Rating 5 out of 5]

A thoroughly enjoyable novel. As someone who was quite unfamiliar with the history of the Spanish-Mexica War of 1519-1521, this narrative introduced me to several important figures from both sides of the conflict. As a work of historical fiction, it is clearly very well researched, and the author's deep engagement with the subject matter enriches the reading experience. The author's notes at the end of the book show that he is familiar with both contemporary scholarship and primary sources from the period surrounding the conflict.

Events are described from the perspective of several characters, which allows for a more nuanced understanding of the psychological and strategic motivations of important figures such as Mexica leader Motecuhzoma and Spanish conquistador Hernando Cortes, among others. This technique, combined with fluid prose and careful character development, makes for a highly engaging depiction of events. Any reader will come away with a more subtle appreciation of the events leading up to the conflict.

A highly enjoyable work of fiction that synthesizes a careful interpretation of historical sources with vivid, well-paced storytelling. I look forward to the next volume of the triology.

[Ankita · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first book in the Tenochtitlan Trilogy, The Serpent and the Eagle by Edward Rickford has set the bar quite high for other historical fiction books. The book is based on the Spanish-Mexica war. This first book of this trilogy focuses on the greed, ambition, and circumstances that occurred leading to the war. Although Governor Velazquez appointed Hernandes Cortés to lead a trade expedition to Mexica, Captain Cortés had bigger plans for himself.

He had built an army for this purpose. The army was small but it was a powerful one. The soldiers in his army were blissfully unaware of their captain’s real plans. For them, this expedition involved trading for as much gold as possible. In this voyage, they captured many slaves and put them to work on the ship. With every step toward Mexica, their priest and translator, Father Aguilar, was losing his wits and hope. Having been a slave of Indians in the past, he knew the torment that awaited them if they failed. Read full review.

[Annemarie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have long been a lover of Ancient History (a topic I studied in high school) so graduating to Historical Novels was bound to be the next step. The destruction and pillage of places of worship (especially), cities and villages in the name of the Christian God, has always angered me. Why should one religion be classed as superior and the only religion and give followers of this religion the right to pillage, rape and murder in it's name?

The author has really done his homework here, then put his own spin onto events that occurred prior to the conquest, and destruction, of the Aztec civilization. The main characters have been fleshed out to the point where, with the tiniest bit of imagination on your part, you can find yourself experiencing what they are.

The story-line in itself was quite engaging and flowed smoothly. The 4/5 stars was due to the grammatical errors scattered throughout.

I received a free Advanced Reader Copy of The Serpent and the Eagle through BookSirens and have chosen to leave a review. Happy reading. Annemarie.

[Fil Reid · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read this book while Edward was working on it and I greatly enjoyed it. I'm a sucker for historical fiction anyway, and I particularly like a book that shows the writer has done a lot of research. His descriptions of the world of the Spaniards and the Mexica are very well done, as is his characterisation of his main characters. I got a bit confused with the complicated names of the Mexica I'm afraid and my favourite parts were about the Spanish. I very much liked the character of Malinche, the slave girl taken under the wing of Cortez. You'd think she'd be a figment of the writer's imagination - brought in for a touch of romance and femininity, but no, she's a real person. I googled her out of curiosity and was amazed that this whole story that revolves around her is all true.
This is a good read for several reasons - it's historically accurate (I believe Edward visited Mexico a lot during his research), it's engrossingly written, and it's exciting.
Fil

[Brittany · Rating 5 out of 5]

Edward Rickford has done an excellent job bringing to life a story that I, for one, knew very little about. Told through a diverse cast of characters, The Serpent and the Eagle is about two very different civilizations that battle for gold and power, in a time when human sacrifices abound in an "undiscovered" Mesoamerican jungle, and the Spanish Empire is seeking to control new lands.

Expertly researched and told in vivid detail, this work of historical fiction weaves together unique narratives and fascinating perspectives. Action, tension, drama, conflict; that's what you'll get with Rickford's debut novel, in addition to rich scene setting and storytelling.

Anyone looking to branch out in the genre, or learn more about an often-undramatized period of history, should read this book.

[Gina Rae Mitchell · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Serpent and the Eagle is an incredibly in-depth historical fiction novel. The author has obviously invested years of research into this project.

The story covers the time leading up to the battle between Montezuma and the Spanish conquistadors. Each chapter switches between several different point of views. The many characters are well-written with amazing depth. The book is fairly fast-paced with only a few places where it seemed to get bogged down in the author’s desire to be historically accurate.

The settings are richly described putting you deep in each scene. This can be disconcerting if you are a bit squeamish as the period of time the story takes place in is a violent era. The story does graphically cover battles, torture, sacrifices, and more.

Fans of historical fiction and students of the Aztec-Spanish war will enjoy this book.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

History told in the form of a novel is my favourite way to get to grips with what could ordinarily be dry facts. This book is about the Spanish conquest of South America - which I have never known much about. We get points of view from both sides, the action is well-paced and the research is excellent. Names and place names take a bit of tongue twisting when reading about South American history but I liked that the author stuck with original words where possible e.g. Mexica rather than Aztec. It sounds as though this is intended to be a trilogy, so I will definitely be waiting for the next one to appear - and, in fact, will probably read-read this one at some point. I received an advance copy for free in exchange for my honest review.

[Melanie S · Rating 5 out of 5]

The fall of Tenochtitlan

I really liked this book. The Spanish conquest in Mexico is a historical period that comes alive in the eyes of both the Spanish side and the indigenous tribes of the far-flung empire of Mexica. The story of greed, lust for power, enslavement, killing, and deception is a nightmare for those at the lower end of the social scale no matter which empire, and the self-serving arrogance of the powerful is suffocating and appalling. I have learned more of Mexican colonial history from this book than I ever learned in a classroom, and gained a more balanced understanding of the forces that shaped the modern Mexican state. This is grim and fascinating reading, and this voluntary ARC review is 5 stars and a strong recommendation: READ THIS BOOK.