Book Description

Ce Acatl Topiltzin, legendary figure and cultural hero, did not believe in human sacrifice. The Last Toltec King is a novel of historical fiction about his reign in pre-Colombian Mexico. In Cem Anahuac, the ancient world of the Toltecs, the gods are at war, and they fight their battles through the lives of men. Tonalnan is brought into this world by her peasant mother, Citlali, amidst abduction, suffering and slavery. Through a twist of fate, Tonalnan grows to become an ambitious Toltec noblewoman who builds a dynastic fortune in a patriarchal society. Meanwhile, in a distant corner of Cem Anahuac, the child prince Ce Acatl Topiltzin is favored by Quetzalcoatl, the god of creation and fertility. The prince triumphs over the Queen of Ignorance, a monstrous four-headed serpent, and attains spiritual enlightenment in the pyramid city of Xochicalco. Ce Acatl, now known as the penitent priest, teaches a growing multitude of followers. In time, he becomes the priest-king of the Toltecs at Tula. Enemy forces loom in the distance, as the Chichimeca, a fierce band of nomads led by a malicious sorcerer, plan to destroy the Toltecs and claim the city as their own. Tohuenyo is a Chichimeca warrior who thwarts his tribe's sinister plans unexpectedly. As time passes, the benevolent king Ce Acatl builds a mighty empire, but at prosperity?s zenith and amidst opulent good fortune, he angers the gods through hubris after an exciting tournament, and they curse his house by withholding their bounty. Seizing the opportunity, the dark lord Tezcatlipoca descends from the Heavens on a spider thread to destroy Quetzalcoatl?s people so that he, Tezcatlipoca, will become their favored god and king. Will the ancient Toltecs triumph over the dark forces that threaten their survival? Find out when you read The Last Toltec King. Learn the origins of the ancient Mexicans and their pantheon of gods, discover the difference between Quetzalcoatl the god and Quetzalcoatl the man, and understand the legend of his return.