Gary Jennings is a journalist, copywriter, and author of first-rate historical novels. The fame came to the writer after the publication of the book "Aztec". His works, sometimes reaching 500,000 words, are filled with little-known facts, interesting information about the traditions and culture of ancient peoples.
about the author
The writer was born in 1928 in Buena Vista, Virginia. After reading his books, it seems that they are written by a professor of history. In fact, Jennings was self-taught and did not go to college for a day. After graduating from Eastside High School in Paterson, he worked as a copywriter for an advertising company, reporter and editor of men's magazines. During the war in Korea, he served as a correspondent and was awarded a bronze star. In his personal life, Mr. Jennings was as indefatigable as in the literary field: he married and divorced three times. He died in February 1999.
Travel and exploration
True success came to Gary Jennings with Aztec, published in 1980. To write a best-selling book, Jennings lived in Mexico for twelve years. In one interview, he said that he had learned to interpret ancient pictograms and understand the Aztec languages.
In the novel, Jennings surprisingly accurately described the Aztec city, their culture and described the characters corresponding to that time. The writer was proud of his research, which opens to readers in all books: from Marco Polo’s travels in The Traveler to the circus life in the novel Sequins.
To write the first, Gary Jennings went along the route of the famous Italian. During the trip he used the same “transport” as Marco Polo: elephants, horses and camels. To describe the troupe of the nineteenth century in “Sequins,” he had to rock around the country with nine circuses.
Gary Jennings Books
His novels became bestsellers, they fell in love with readers for stylish prose, wit and adventurism. Jennings' books are fascinating stories in which, to the smallest details, the characters, life of the time in question, animals, plants, titles, settlements and even natural phenomena are meticulously described.
In addition to adult novels, Gary, under the pseudonym Gabriel Keith, has written ten books for young readers.
Civilization gone
The Aztec series, consisting of six books, is known as a detailed encyclopedia of the ancient Aztecs, which collects their rites and traditions, especially judicial proceedings and trade, the conduct of hostilities and way of life. In the adult novel, Jennings has everything about an adult: war, scenes of violence, erotic episodes.
In the books of the series, the author tells the story of the overthrow of indigenous Mexicans. The decline of the Aztec empire coincided with the decline of the life of the protagonist - Mikstley. It is on his behalf that the narrative is being conducted. He introduces the smallest details of life. Explains how the priest’s clothes differed from the commoner, how the Aztecs procured food and observed good hygiene.
Thanks to the fidget Mikstley, the reader will get acquainted with the many tribes, their culture and religion. He works as a scribe, trader, warrior, ambassador and describes the war with the conquerors from different angles. Mikstley visited the mountains, on the ocean, in the desert and the jungle. He made a huge fortune. He rose from the bottom to the foot of the throne, but then bloodthirsty hordes of Europeans, clad in armor, invaded his country, calling themselves conquistadors.
The author of the book wrote that his goal was to show the Aztecs as people who have all human emotions and feelings, and make them alive. Judging by the readers' feedback, he succeeded.
Way of Marco Polo
Gary Jennings's “Traveler” is a book about Marco Polo. The path through Europe and Asia, which he walked, is described in great detail. Everything is here: joys and troubles, adventures and dangers, war and love affairs. The author did not allow the reader to miss a single detail, not a single significant event on the path of the protagonist.
Returning home, Polo enthusiastically talks about exotic countries, about every village, about the sights of big cities. Countrymen do not believe him and offer him to repent on his deathbed.
Pure hearted, curious, filled with best intentions, Marco Polo will lead the reader from Venice to the East, and it’s hard to part with him. Moreover, at the end of the story, instead of a funny story, the hero of the novel will say that he experienced a lot in his path, he saw a lot, but he does not want to contemplate the “signs of his own decomposition”.
Mayan calendar
The “Prophecy of the Apocalypse” continues the tradition of Jennings. This is a novel about the legendary ruler Quetzalcoatl, about his courtiers and our contemporaries, into whose hands unique historical documents fell. The basis of history is the Mayan calendar, which is written by Stargazer and is sought after by representatives of the modern world. This fact, as readers note, is annoying: you read about the Toltec tribe, then you suddenly find yourself at a meeting of the US president.
You can’t name the exciting plot of the book, there are a lot of stories and hints about the impending catastrophe. The excess of unnecessary details, such as growing vegetables, games and Toltec culture, is only distracting. If in other works these episodes are organically woven into a fascinating plot, here the details are annoying.
The fall of the empire
“Predator” by Gary Jennings is similar to his previous works. The story takes place in the V century - the time of the collapse of the great Roman Empire and the kingdom is ready. The hero is different from previous Jennings characters, he is a predator without pity and morality. A sexless creature is both a man and a woman.
He has an unusual fate. Having become a friend of the powerful of this world, he settled down well in life. His life is a series of destruction, bloody battles, crazy orgies. He does not know what the next day will bring him, but he is sure that it is easier to reach the peak than to stay on it.
Judging by the readers' reviews, the novel is a bit fresh, but this is a fascinating read for long winter evenings. There are no living descriptions in it, as in the Aztec or the Traveler. Still, to create them, the author spent a lot of time in the countries he spoke about.
Despite conflicting opinions from readers, Gary Jennings' novels are comparable to a work of art, as one of the American critics said. These books help to get into a world that is lost forever.