COIL OF THE SERPENT

by Dexter Allen ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 26, 1955

Further events in the life of the young emperor, Nezahual, continue the story begun in Jaguar And The GoLden Stag (1954) and carry him through the fortunes of war and the betrayal of his own policies as a war lord, by his wife and boy consort. Mourning the death of his beloved Princess Mecatl, he returns to save his people from Aztec invasion and in turn saves and is saved by a youthful prisoner from the North whom he ennobles. Maztla's whole devotion is given to Nezahual while the Empress to be, Princess Chaciuh, devotes her days to wantoness and criminal depravity, and growing greediness causes her to sample young courtiers. Maxtla lives in Nezahual's love, withers and becomes a prey for Chaciuh, and both pay the penalty when Nezahual, victorious after a bitter campaign, learns of their treachery and sentences them to death. The panoply of the reign of a Tezcucan war lord whose power is in his victories rather than civil rule and to whom the obligations of sovereignty are greater than humanity, this again probes into Mexican history for its brutality and its luxury, its barbarity and its civilization, its bloody sacrifices and its Jeweled, golden idols and rulers. Though not dependent on the first book, its satisfied readers will prove an easy market.

Pub Date: Jan. 26, 1955

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Coward-McCann

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 1955

Categories: FICTION