Nights of the Witch

War God, Book 1

By: Graham Hancock

Narrated by: Barnaby Edwards

Length: 22 hrs and 56 mins

Publisher's summary

A young girl called Tozi stands at the bottom of a pyramid, waiting to be led to the top where her heart will be cut out....

Pepillo, a Spanish orphan who serves a sadistic Dominican friar, is aboard the Spanish fleet as it sails towards Mexico.... This is the epic story of the clash of two empires, two armies and two gods of war.

Five hundred desperate adventurers are about to pit themselves against the most brutal armies of the ancient Americas, armies hundreds of thousands strong. This is a war of gods and men.

Dark powers that work behind the scenes of history show their hand as the prophecy of the return of Quetzalcoatl is fulfilled with the arrival of Cortes. The Aztec ruler Moctezuma fights to maintain the demands of the war god Huitzilopochtli for human sacrifice. The Spanish Inquisition is planning an even greater blood-letting.

Caught up in the headlong collision between two gods of war are Tozi, Pepillo and the beautiful sex slave Malinal whose hatred of Moctezuma runs so deep she will sell out her own land and people to destroy him.

©2013 Graham Hancock (P)2016 Audible, Ltd

Critic reviews

"[P]art historical fact, part fantasy, the effect is as intense as the events themselves. It's a fascinating read that will have you booking a flight to Mexico long before you finish the book." ( Evening Standard)

amazing

it was an easy listen, it ended far to quickly and downloading the other books rite affer

History and fiction mixed

The history and reference to actual people through out the colonization is really interesting and horrid. This is a great book

Yet another great work by Graham Hancock

Firstly, much praise should be given to Mr. Barnaby Edwards for the great read with a full cast made possible by his vocal variety!!! Cheers to a job well done. What else can be said about this book other that it’s is fantastically written and is capable of transporting the listener back in time to the days of Maya and the arrival of the Spanish Conquistadors.

Great Historical Retelling

loved this Book, The narration was great.
An enjoyable read, I was disappointed when it ended, On to the next book in the series

I love this book. Cant wait for the third.

Where does Nights of the Witch rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I really like this series. My favorite so far.

What about Barnaby Edwards’s performance did you like?

He has great voices for the Characters.

Living History

Never has the discovery and exploration of the "New World" been so vibrant and alive.
What a satisfying treaty of a history that was to me, until now, lost in a quagmire of gray all too boring mist.
Well done Mr Hancock!
Thank You.

Great Historical Fiction

I binge listened to all three audio books in the series. The stories were that enthralling.

I am fairly well versed in Mezoamerican history, so knew the blow by blow of Cortes’s subjugation of the Aztecs. Hancock’s fictional portion of what the characters could have said and done blended well with the history of what they actually did say and do. It was believable and added depth to the tale.

I can take or leave the use of “Magic” in historical fiction. Many of the goings on were pinned to magic.

If you don’t like tales of bloody conquests of native peoples by advanced civilizations, then stay away from this series. But that’s how it happened and Hancock does not hold back.

Bring on Book 4. There is much more story to be told.

Engrossing

Hancock puts you ringside to one of the greatest historical events - its like he was there

Great story.

I look forward to listening to the next two books! Engaging and a unique perspective.

Best Book I Have Ever Listened To

Wow, typically I listen to audio books for 30 minute to 60 minutes at a time. This was so engaging that I just listened to 5 hours in a row and could not turn it off. Usually a book this long starts to get tedious, but the author really knows how to build things up to a crescendo so that I actually felt my interest build as it went on and did not get story fatigue.

In history lessons, we get glimpses or brief paragraphs of the fascinating clash of civilizations between the Conquistadors and the Indian empires, but Hancock really brings the whole thing to life and you feel like you are there. He answers alot of questions and unravels the mystery of the encounters that is very satisfying.

His action sequences are amazing and you can tell the small details he throws in are METICULOUSLY researched. Tension, sense of dread, and the cunning and violence are illustrated well.

Narrator was also top notch, even surpassing R.C. Bray, which I thought was impossible. His repertoire of so many different voices and distinct personalities really adds to the deep characterization.

You get to see the motivations of all the different sides and this story flows really really well.

Already bought part 2.