Book Review: Age of Aztec by James Lovegrove

I don't generally review fiction on this site, I try to keep it all game-related, or at least musings about certain games, and so on. However, I remember the old Dragon Magazine book review column, and they would focus on what might be mined from a book for a game.

This particular book has ideas all throughout. I'll keep it short, however, so I don't ruin anything.

Age of Aztec by James Lovegrove is part of his loosely-related Pantheon series that focuses on different mythologies and the "what if" factor of what might happen if they existed and either ruled mankind or returned. In this particular novel, the Aztec Empire rules the entire world, keeping it under control with iron-fisted police called Jaguars, and with the Great Speaker's own crack teams of Serpent Warriors. The mythology is paid close attention to, and there's even a guide for proper pronunciation of Aztec words since they're used quite often in this science fiction tale.

I found the book a solid read, although I struggled with the slow build through the first 200 pages. Plenty of character development to go around, and plenty of inspiration for games. Since I'm on a Rifts kick, my mind immediately went to the possibility of a nation completely ruled by the Aztec pantheon (and if Siembieda has already done this, I haven't bought that sourcebook yet). Lines of people waiting for death through a sacrifice of their own life to the gods, police state oppression, the equivalent of mega-damage tech, and the return of the gods themselves all feature within the book, and an entire Rifts campaign could be culled form it.

The only criticisms I have is that the book has a bleak outlook on the divine, and I am assuming this is the author putting his opinions into the theme of the book. I'm a religious person, and even though we're talking about mythological figures, some of the statements the characters make about their now-damaged faith are fairly troublesome to me. The language is harsh at times, and I found the cursing a bit "try-hard" at times. Grittiness can be achieved without resorting to pages full of cursing. I have no problem reading it if it fits the story, but this felt a bit like the author relies on it too much to express a character's anger. The ending is a bummer, too, which I won't spoil for you, and I understand why the author did what he did with the no-hope-left resolution. It sticks to the Mayan calendar 2012 end-date. I get it. I just wish there was more book after so I could find out what happened, but I guess that's a good thing if I'm left wanting more.

If you want heroic sci-fi with a touch of fantasy and superheroics, this one's for you. I've deemed it a keeper, and it's staying on the shelf for a re-read eventually, after I finish the 3 other books in the Pantheon series I bought.