[5SC]≡ PDF Free Servant of the Underworld Obsidian Blood Book 1 Aliette de Bodard Spring Design 9780857660312 Books

Servant of the Underworld Obsidian Blood Book 1 Aliette de Bodard Spring Design 9780857660312 Books

Download As PDF : Servant of the Underworld Obsidian Blood Book 1 Aliette de Bodard Spring Design 9780857660312 Books

Servant of the Underworld Obsidian Blood Book 1 Aliette de Bodard Spring Design 9780857660312 Books

Its very hard to find historical fiction stories set in Mesoamerica where 1) their magic is real and 2) it wasnt set at the time of the Spanish showing up and ruining everything.

I'm constantly on the look out for pre-Spanish mesoamerican stories that are based on the real world empire instead of just being a complete fantasy civilization with the trappings of the real world societies thrown in. But I also want the magic and beliefs of the people to be real, and actually work.

Thats a hard thing to find. Probably 80% of the books Ive come across have Europeans running around, which completely ruins it for me. Most of the rest that has actual magic isnt at all based on the real world culture, just similar trappings

Fortunately this book hits on all notes. No Europeans, real magic, and its more than loosely based on the Aztec empire. And a murder mystery too!


Tags : Servant of the Underworld: Obsidian & Blood, Book 1 [Aliette de Bodard, Spring Design] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. <b>IT IS THE YEAR ONE-KNIFE IN TENOCHTITLAN - THE CAPITAL OF THE AZTECS. </b>The end of the world is kept at bay only by the magic of human sacrifice. A Priestess disappears from an empty room drenched in blood. Acatl,Aliette de Bodard, Spring Design,Servant of the Underworld: Obsidian & Blood, Book 1,Angry Robot,0857660314,Fantasy - Historical,Fantasy,Fiction,Fiction - Fantasy,Fiction Fantasy General,Fiction Fantasy Historical,Science Fiction And Fantasy

Servant of the Underworld Obsidian Blood Book 1 Aliette de Bodard Spring Design 9780857660312 Books Reviews

This murder mystery set in the Aztec empire reads quickly, and it's refreshing to encounter such a unique setting, where blood rituals, human or animal sacrifice, and slavery are simply everyday aspects of life, as unremarkable to the main character Acatl as the brutality and violence of today's television and movies are to us.

As a main character, Acatl, the High Priest of the Dead, remains realistic even as he investigates a murder to try to clear his brother. Bodard keeps her characters grounded in ordinary frustration; Acatl's not a superhero or Sherlock Holmes kind of fantasy figure, but rather a more ordinary man who's been pushed out of his comfort zone. This can make the book occassionally aggravating, as I kept wanting Acatl to encounter more success. But Acatl's struggles eventually build to an emotionally resonant climax. In that respect, Bodard's writing reminded me of Robin Hobb, where fantasy elements such as magic provide no relief from everyday personal struggles and the emotional costs of love, ambition, and family. Recommended if you like mysteries or want to encounter a fresh fantasy setting more concerned with character than escapism.
Read it as a procedural!
Being immersed in de Bodard's ancient world was a fantastic experience. I highly recommend checking this one out but also would add her other work to the list as well.
Wow! I heard about this series earlier in 2015, only to discover the ebook was no longer available - what a great start to 2016 to discover not only that Aliette de Bodard's Aztec noir trilogy was being re-released (with gorgeous covers) but that the books are all that I had hoped.

Acatl is a noir hero of the grimly frustrated rather than the grimly frustrating variety. The whodunnit plot is fresh and engaging, and the worldbuilding vivid and excellently executed - de Bodard doesn't condescend to the modern reader by moralising over human sacrifice and other practices, but presents the society as a violent but real whole.

Five stars and I'd give it more if I could. I'd say I can't read the next one, but I already finished it...!
This is not a grimdark story, nor a light-hearted romp. The protagonist is a somewhat depressed celibate who grows into his place in life throughout the story. It's exciting enough to keep me reading, and the setting in ancient Tenoctitlan reads very different and yet filled with real people who make sense in my modern mind. I'm looking forward to reading more of this series.
I liked the world-building and the overall story. It was a bit slow in the beginning however.

First, think of it more as an alternate-history/Fantasy adventure than a pure murder mystery. The investigation is mostly there to get the story started.

I liked the setup and I got to like the power struggle that eventually surfaces. However, the first part was a bit slow, with the protagonist running to an fro to investigate different things that, mostly turned out to have little bearing on the main plotline. It's like interviewing suspects in a standard crime story, except, well it drags on a bit. The story speeds up a bit in the second half and switches more into Fantasy than criminal investigation.

The main character had an interesting backstory and was richly developed, though not necessarily in an effortlessly elegant manner. He's not perfect, has his personal and professional problems and is an engaging person to follow around.

These aren't big complaints and I would rate this 4.5 stars. Good author, cleverly handled and novel subjects, but a bit more experience would do wonders.

BTW I don't think the author is asking too much from the reader, at least not a SF/Fantasy reader, in finding their way around the Aztec context. It's pretty standard for SF books to dump you right into the world and assume that the reader will manage to swim on their own. In any case, there is a glossary and a list of characters at the end (which includes the Aztec gods), so it's not that hard to follow. I'd much rather have that than a lot of needless exposition.

Definitely recommended if you want to check out some pretty creative Fantasy/alt-history.
Its very hard to find historical fiction stories set in Mesoamerica where 1) their magic is real and 2) it wasnt set at the time of the Spanish showing up and ruining everything.

I'm constantly on the look out for pre-Spanish mesoamerican stories that are based on the real world empire instead of just being a complete fantasy civilization with the trappings of the real world societies thrown in. But I also want the magic and beliefs of the people to be real, and actually work.

Thats a hard thing to find. Probably 80% of the books Ive come across have Europeans running around, which completely ruins it for me. Most of the rest that has actual magic isnt at all based on the real world culture, just similar trappings

Fortunately this book hits on all notes. No Europeans, real magic, and its more than loosely based on the Aztec empire. And a murder mystery too!