Review: War God, Night of the Witch, The Epic Novel of the Spanish Conquest of Mexico

by Graham Hancock (Coronet, R235)

“Take care that they do not escape. Feed them well, let them be fat and desirable for sacrifice on the day of the feast of our god. Let our god rejoice in them” – priestly regulations (1519) for preparing victims for sacrifice in the Mexica capital, Tenochtitlan (Mexico City).

Tozi, the witch, Coyot, a 6-year-old boy, and Malinal, a sex slave, have been kept in a fattening pen with 520 hysterical women, waiting to be sacrificed by the Emperor Moctezuma to the god of war.

At the same time in Cuba, Cortes is getting ready to set sail to the New Lands. Some go to preach Christianity to the savages, others to take their gold.

The prince of Tlascala is fighting four Mexica regiments. He is determined not to be sacrificed.

The book is based on real events. The people are cruel, the battles brutal. Tozi and Malinal use magic to get what they want. Cortes and his men use ignorance and fear.

A good read for those who enjoy books that unravel the past.

Disappointing, though, was discovering that this 510-page book is the first of three. By the time the other books come out, I will have forgotten the characters. I hope the author is writing at breakneck speed.