A review by patlo
You Dreamed of Empires by Álvaro Enrigue

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

GORGEOUS retelling of the historical events of Spanish conquistadors under Hernán Cortés entering the city of Tenochtitlan and meeting with the court of emperor Moctezuma.

It's rare that, as I'm reading a book, I wished it were MUCH longer, or a series. But this one is an entire world, and reimagines a dense and complex world that many of us have some passing familiarity with. It's trippy hallucinogenic; it thrives in court politics and religious variety; its characters are all well shaped. The reader's head swims in a fast paced, dense story with color and flavor everywhere.

Think multicultural Game of Throes meets Hunter S. Thompson packed into a 220 page novella.

TIP: Don't skip the author's notes to the translator in the first pages.

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