The pale people have escaped Tenochtitlan. Mexica warriors clamor for revenge, all to no avail. The army is in disarray, and allies are not keeping faith.Perhaps most troubling is the mysterious sickness stalking the land. Known as the Great Rash, it has swept through the One World with alarming speed, devastating friend and foe alike. None have been spared its ravages, none except the pale people.Weakened by sickness and political division, the Mexica can do little besides watch as the pale people carry out a campaign of unspeakable brutality. Nation after nation falls to their unstoppable forces, and the Mexica gird themselves for a war unlike any other. The stakes could not be higher. For if the Mexica lose, they may face a fate even worse than servitude: annihilation.Editorial Reviews for The Bend of the RiverThe Bend of the River is a riveting tale of the encounter between Hernan Cortés and his army and the Mexica ruler Motecuhzoma and his people. It is a story that captures the imagination as two peoples compete for dominance to defend their worldviews in the name of the sacred. Beyond intrigue and lust for gold, it is the story of the human quest for meaning in a timeless universe. This is historical fiction with spiritual significance for contemporary times.-Javier Alanis, PhD, JD, Executive Director, Lutheran Seminary Program of the Southwest, Austin, TexasThe Bend of the River is a rollicking tale of one of history's pivotal wars -the bloody yet far from easy invasion of Mexico by Spanish conquistadors. Lively and imaginative, yet rooted in what is known, Rickford's novel underlines a fact too often ignored: despite the Mexicans' lack of horses, guns and steel, they beat the Europeans soundly in the first round.-Ronald Wright, author of The Gold Eaters and Stolen ContinentsEditorial Reviews for The Serpent and the EagleThe epic encounter of Aztecs and conquistadors has attracted-and tested-many a novelist. The challenge is one of staying believably true to the historical tale and its Mexican setting, while at the same time offering the reader some surprises. Rickford rises to that challenge with considerable aplomb, balancing evidence with imagination, research with flights of fiction. Fueled by a complex narrative tension and a deft deployment of detail, The Serpent and the Eagle is unpredictable in all the right ways.-Matthew Restall, Professor of Colonial Latin American history, Director of Latin American studies at Penn State, author of When Montezuma Met CortésEdward Rickford knows his history. The Serpent and the Eagle is a masterpiece of historical fiction. It's filled with surprises and heart-rending characters, but it's Rickford's attention to cultural details, both native Mexica and Spanish, that puts this book one step above its competition. Plan a long weekend of reading. You're going to love this book.-Kathleen O'Neal Gear, New York Times bestselling author of People of the CanyonsA captivating, well-plotted, bicultural dramatization of the months prior to Motecuhzoma's meeting with Cortés, deftly transporting the reader 500 years back into the eyes and intimate relationships of key participants-Mesoamerican and European, emperor and counselor, conqueror and slave.-Andrew Rowen, author of Encounters Unforeseen: 1492 RetoldWhen two cultures collide, there are always multiple versions of history. A brave and expansive look into the bygone era of exploration by the Spaniards into Aztec lands. A thinking person's novel. Fascinating!-Chanticleer ReviewsA wonderful premier novel.-N.D. Jones, USA Today bestselling author
