"Reading Tenochtitlan Must Fall is like sampling the waters that flowed in the canals at the center of the world, Tenochtitlán: saturated with history, with details of daily life, and with emotions that invite the reader to not abandon its pages."
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From "Inside the Flap"
Ali has been languishing for days caught up in a dream world between dual realities of his life stages. In one reality, he is still a boy living in Mazatzintamalco, reluctantly working in the chinampas with his father, sharing experiences of youth with his best friend, Iztli, and later discovering love at the summit of Little Chapultepec hill in the arms of Huani, all the while dreaming of growing up to become a pochtecatl (merchant) and traveler.
In the other reality, Ali keeps waking up on his presumed deathbed now older (about 19 years of age) to realize that he has been dreaming of his past experiences as a child while recuperating at the home of his parents, which he had not lived in since he ran away at age 14 to find adventure in the great city of Tenochtitlan. But the fact of the matter is that nothing is as it seems when a soul is roaming through the vastness of space between the land of the dead and the living. Upon returning from his voyage through the underworld, Ali is poised to discover a horror beyond his imagining. The Tlatoani (Emperor) Ahuitzotl had not just sentenced him to an ordeal in the gladiatorial ring that left him nearly dead; his punishment was far more ruthless and, to Ali, unforgivable.
In the other reality, Ali keeps waking up on his presumed deathbed now older (about 19 years of age) to realize that he has been dreaming of his past experiences as a child while recuperating at the home of his parents, which he had not lived in since he ran away at age 14 to find adventure in the great city of Tenochtitlan. But the fact of the matter is that nothing is as it seems when a soul is roaming through the vastness of space between the land of the dead and the living. Upon returning from his voyage through the underworld, Ali is poised to discover a horror beyond his imagining. The Tlatoani (Emperor) Ahuitzotl had not just sentenced him to an ordeal in the gladiatorial ring that left him nearly dead; his punishment was far more ruthless and, to Ali, unforgivable.
Reviews For
Tenochtitlan Must Fall
"Tenochtitlan Must Fall, book 1 of the X Series by Gabriel Hugo, involves the reader in a world of simultaneous dreams. In reading we meet Tonali, as a young boy and as an adult, who lives in a Mexico at the end of the fifteenth century. We experience this character's rite of passage from boy to man while we discover the political entanglements that existed in pre-Hispanic Mexico.
Deftly Gabriel Hugo weaves parallel realities that describe Tonali's Mexica-Aztec life: first suffocated by the impossibility of a real change in his life, then as pochtecatl-merchant, traveler and spy for the Mexica-Aztec empire; of his first love, of their family life, of the different indigenous worldviews, of the cultural and linguistic diversity of that pre-Hispanic Mexico, and of the circles of power that surround it.
Reading Tenochtitlan Must Fall is like sampling the waters that flowed in the canals at the center of the world, Tenochtitlán: saturated with history, with details of daily life, and with emotions that invite the reader to not abandon its pages."
Deftly Gabriel Hugo weaves parallel realities that describe Tonali's Mexica-Aztec life: first suffocated by the impossibility of a real change in his life, then as pochtecatl-merchant, traveler and spy for the Mexica-Aztec empire; of his first love, of their family life, of the different indigenous worldviews, of the cultural and linguistic diversity of that pre-Hispanic Mexico, and of the circles of power that surround it.
Reading Tenochtitlan Must Fall is like sampling the waters that flowed in the canals at the center of the world, Tenochtitlán: saturated with history, with details of daily life, and with emotions that invite the reader to not abandon its pages."
-Xanath Caraza, author of Hudson
Reseña de Tenochtitlan Must Fall
Tenochtitlan Must Fall, el primer libro de la X Series de Gabriel Hugo, envuelve al lector en un mundo de sueños simultáneos. En la lectura conocemos a Tonali, joven y adulto, quien habita un México al cierre del siglo XV. Vivimos con este personaje su rito de pasaje de niño a hombre mientras conocemos sobre los enredos políticos que existían en el México prehispánico.
Diestramente Gabriel Hugo entreteje realidades paralelas que describen la vida mexica-azteca de Tonali: primero sofocado ante la imposibilidad de un cambio real en su vida, luego como pochtecatl—mercader, viajero y espía para el imperio mexica-azteca—de su primer amor, de su vida familiar, de las diferentes cosmovisiones indígenas, de la diversidad cultural y lingüística de ese México prehispánico y de los círculos de poder que lo rodean.
La lectura de Tenochtitlan Must Fall es como el agua que fluía en los canales del centro del mundo, Tenochtitlán: saturada de historia, de detalles sobre la vida diaria y de emociones que invitan al lector a no dejar las páginas.
Diestramente Gabriel Hugo entreteje realidades paralelas que describen la vida mexica-azteca de Tonali: primero sofocado ante la imposibilidad de un cambio real en su vida, luego como pochtecatl—mercader, viajero y espía para el imperio mexica-azteca—de su primer amor, de su vida familiar, de las diferentes cosmovisiones indígenas, de la diversidad cultural y lingüística de ese México prehispánico y de los círculos de poder que lo rodean.
La lectura de Tenochtitlan Must Fall es como el agua que fluía en los canales del centro del mundo, Tenochtitlán: saturada de historia, de detalles sobre la vida diaria y de emociones que invitan al lector a no dejar las páginas.
-Xanath Caraza autora de Hudson
A youth's dreams, and his subsequent losses, in the setting of the Aztec Empire
"...the most surprising aspect of this story was how down-to-earth it came across." |
Amazon Customer Review
Did the fall of the Aztec civilization come not so much from without (the Conquistadors), but more so from within? Such is the apparent premise of this tale, brief enough to indeed count as a novella rather than a novel. While this is a fictional work, the opening chapter gave the impression that a formerly lost Nahuatl codex served as the source for this recounting of the main narrator's boyhood (briefly), teen years, and the start of his adulthood in the outskirts of the titular city, evidently before any Europeans set foot in Mexico. For me, the most surprising aspect of this story was how down-to-earth it came across. While I prefer supernatural yarns, nothing like that was found here (the closest might be a purported vision from the afterlife). There's no epic scale, although the subsequent novellas to this planned series may ultimately comprise such a saga. The narrator conveyed how his youthful dreams of a vocation were stifled by the expectations of his dad. A relative -- and later, a love interest -- teased a motive and possible means for the young man to escape. Early on, this book introduced the notion of finding value in nothingness. Only later did it occur to me that this would apply to the narrator, most immediately to his losses (including a sickening betrayal). As revealed by the Addendum, the circumstances behind his greatest ordeals will be covered by the rest of this series -- a sneak-peak to Part 2 was added (which offered what I deemed an intriguing look at a power-mad emperor). Details to a romantic tryst here made it obvious this novella is for a more grown audience. -Raul |
"Inspired and very well executed but... Especially those last ten pages... I mean the tonal shift was very stark... Energetic... And set up the next story... Building tension and interest in the next story..." -Fred Garcia
"I read this book and is very interesting and I really enjoy it. I bought the book full price but 50% off you can’t beat that. Get the book is well worth it."
-Herminia Villareal
-Herminia Villareal
"Tenochtitlan Must Fall is a must read! Picked it up and couldn’t put it down. I’m excited for book 2 in the X series! Definitely will be following closely for the release, and also checking out other books by Gabriel."
- Samantha Sami J Gelil
- Samantha Sami J Gelil
