War God: Nights of the Witch

As a self-proclaimed connoisseur of Mesoamerican fiction, I confess that every year I devour book after book charting the rise and fall of Mesoamerican empires albeit via fiction. How long have I been doing so? For a good one decade. Hancock's is the first narrative which left a lasting impression on me owing to its viscerality and vivid imagery. To achieve all this (and no I am not claiming to be fussy) through the medium of words alone is a significant achievement. And what makes it all the more effective? The fact that Hancock has no 'slacking off' or 'cooling down' parts in his book where his story becomes monotonous. Rather, its an ascending crescendo of literary orgy set against the backdrop of the New World vs. The Old.

The slight show more issue I had with 'Nights Of The Witch' was that its richness in antagonists and protagonists is offset by the limited time they have in the narrative. I was literally left clawing for more consistency in the narrative. Events switch from Pepillo to Tozi to Moctezuma to Cortez to Hummingbird and even Saint Peter is thrown into the mix. At times this achieves a cliffhanger passion, at others it doesn't.

Overall verdict? Its going to be a long time before Hancock will be beaten at his own game. show less