Hummingbird God

By Ron Braithwaite

The sequel to Skull Rack (Oct. 2007), Hummingbird God continues the tale of Rodrigo de la Pena and Enrique Mendoza, two men of God reliving some of the worst atrocities in history. The story of the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 189179924X
• ISBN13: 9781891799242
• Release Date: May 2008
• Publisher: UNKNO
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.5" x 0.8" x 5.5"

Customer Reviews

HUMMINGBIRD GOD

This review applies to both, The Skull Rack and Hummingbird God. Some months ago I was at a medical meeting and a colleague asked me if I enjoyed reading historical novels and particularly if I was interested about the events that occurred around the time when Cortez set out for his conquest of Mexico. My reply was that what I knew a little about Cortez, I had learned at school and had very much enjoyed having read Aztec by Gary Jennings some year's back. Not too many weeks went by before I received a copy of Skull Rack and Hummingbird God both books written by Ron Braithwaite. I took the opportunity of a medical meeting in Europe and the unavoidable time that one spends in airports, planes, etc to read both books. This in hindsight proved to be a fantastic decision as it made the whole trip more memorable. I enjoyed the story and the way it's cleverly developed so much so that I managed to finish both books in record time. The books give you a fantastic perspective of what Spain was at the time of the inquisition and it details the Mexican conquest. The books revolve around the desire of a bishop who also happens to be the Spanish inquisitor General, Rodrigo De La Pena, and an unwilling Jesuit historian who also is an inquisitor, to accurately describe the Mexican conquest. In the beginning of the Skull Rack, the book concentrates on the early years of the bishop and his war experience. Both books then concentrate on the conquest of Mexico by Hernan Cortez and 500 Spaniards (De La Pena being one of them). Even though there is a lot of confusing native names, the books are very well written and easy to read. I would certainly recommend these two books and as other reviews have stated, they need to be read in sequential order as they neatly follow each other. I would like to wish Ron Braithwaite all the luck with these books since it would be a tragedy if he was not to continue and tell us what happens next in what is certainty a very, interesting and memorable part of human history.

Conquest Completed

Great, the novel Hummingbird God, the sequel to Skull Rack, is even more gripping than its predecessor. Truly high adventure and detailed imagery keep the reader envolved and feeling he/she is where the action is. The conquest of Mexico is complete, but the hero, Rodrigo, lives on. Hopefully, we will hear more from him.

Great historical fiction,Braithwaite does it again

I waited months for the sequel of Skull Rack and was not disappointed. Although each book can be read and enjoyed separately, I would recommend reading both in chronological order. This is a great read and puts you right in the middle of Cortez's conquest of Mexico. It brings it down to the level of how things really were,not the glorified stories in many of our history books. The moving back and forth between the story itself and the dialogue between Obispo and Mendoza keeps the reader's interest at a high level and keeps things in perspective. Although I read both books for entertainment, I could not help learning something about history that up until now I had paid little attention to. Both books would make a great movie sequel to Apocalypto which left off when the Aztecs saw the Spanish fleet first coming ashore.

You Did It Again!

Fabulous! After waiting far too long, I finally have an ending to the story! The sequel lacks nothing from the first book - it only adds to Mr. Braithwaite's artistically woven tapestry of history and fiction started by the first. I never knew history could be so entertaining! Although Rodrigo and Mendoza were created by the author, I find myself wanting to search the history books to find out more about them. Genius! I'm looking forward to more books by this author!

Gripping and historically accurate adventure tale

Skull Rack and its sequel Hummingbird God give a factual but fictionalized account of the Conquest of Mexico. In a collision of cultures, Hernan Cortes sets out to conquer Mexico with 500 soldiers. He faces the Aztec empire and its army of hundreds of thousands of warriors. I am biased in that I consider the Conquest the greatest recorded adventure in the history of man. I am also familiar with various factual accounts and am a stickler for accuracy. I rarely, if ever, read fiction. Since this is the first fictionalized account of the Conquest from the Spanish viewpoint that I know of, I decided to give it a try. I was not disappointed; I could not put Skull Rack down. Ditto Hummingbird God. Braithwaite, while remaining true to history, has woven several tales into one great adventure story. You get the Conquest, the Italian Wars, Spain after the expulsion of the Moors and insight into the Inquisition. The exchanges between the protagonist and his unwilling editorial assistant alone make the book worth reading. This book is not only extremely well researched from an historical perspective, it would feel authentic to anyone unfamiliar with the Conquest. The author's knowledge of weaponry, wounds and the treatment of wounds is equally impressive. I'd be more specific, but don't want to tip Braithwaite's hand. One word of caution: don't read Skull Rack until you have Hummingbird God in hand or you'll find yourself looking for an all-night bookstore.