Heart Cutters: The Wonderful and Terrible Chronicle of the Aztec Invasion of Iberia

The Aztecs—driven by the need for fresh hearts and blood to feed their insatiable gods—invade Spain. Two violent civilizations clash. This alternative history unfolds through the archaic records of the Franciscan novice Zolín as he observes the conflagration among Aztecs, Christians, Moors, and Jews against the backdrop of the Spanish Inquisition. How will Zolín survive in the ensuing chaos? Heart Cutters turns history upside down. This riveting epic tale reverses the 15th-century collision between Spain and Mexico, two violent civilizations of great achievements and rampant cruelty. Although the invaders and the conquered dramatically described this invasion, the Aztecs frequently come off as savage beyond redemption, an odd conclusion for the equally vicious perpetrators of the "Holy Spanish Inquisition. Zolín, the protagonist, is conflicted as he experiences the beauty of each culture—its literature, art, architecture, and religion. But he also sees the violence perpetuated by each society often in the name of religion. A tale of God and gods, war and peace, gentleness and violence, despair and hope, sorrow and love reveals what might have been if history had been different. Could these beautiful cultures co-exist without violence?