A retelling of the initial encounter in Tenoxtitlan between the Aztecs and the Spanish. I found it a bit hard to get into this book. Translations are always tough since translators are rarely as skilled with words as the original authors and there’s two levels of intention and meaning to work through.

One thing I did enjoy was how Moctezuma and Cortés, both giant historical figures, were brought down to human scale through their point-of-view chapters.

Overall, I found the pacing quite slow and the climax somewhat rushed. I kind of think that a sequel would be more interesting from a plot perspective — although I expect that plot was not what Enrigue was optimizing for.