I’m a bit of a history geek so Leopard skin cloaked Aztec warriors hunting Nazis through the ruins of Stalingrad was always going to get my boat out of dry-dock, but while the story and setting of Atomik Aztex are strong, they aren’t what make the book great. This narrative is juxtaposed with the very different world of Zezontil’s dreams, where he endures the grinding existence of a Hispanic meat plant worker in 1940s California. The main character of the novel, Zenzontil, is a ranking member of this society, a warrior leader, slave-owner and general badass. The empire is fighting their timeline’s World War Two, and is engaged on the Eastern Front, allied to the Russians. This is a book that makes you want to read sections aloud to your friends just to hear the rhythms and punches of Foster’s sentences (you may not want to read all of it out though- there are some seriously blood-and-guts-y sections).Ītomik Aztex is a story of two parts, one, a 20th century alternate reality where the Americas were never colonised by Europe and an Aztec Empire, founded on Aztec techno-spiritual practices and continual human sacrifice, is a regional power. Eight years after finishing this book for the first time I still get excited whenever I discuss it, pressing my copy upon friends and relatives with the wide-eyed ‘please read this’ entreaties of a newly saved evangelical.Ītomik Aztex is a wildly enjoyable read, a super-stylised detonation of slick phrases, memorable scenes and some genuinely funny moments.
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