War God: Return of the Plumed Serpent (Volume 2) / Graham Hancock

The conquistador Hernán Cortés is hell-bent on conquering Mexico for the Aztecs’ gold. Having destroyed the Maya at Potonchan, Cortés now marches on Tenochtitlan, the Golden City of the Aztecs, wrapped in the aura of a returning, vengeful god.

His small force of just five hundred men will have to defeat the psychotic emperor Moctezuma and the armies of hundreds of thousands he commands. Cortés expects that the warlike Tlascalans, hereditary enemies of the Aztecs, will join him, but instead finds himself locked in a deadly struggle and a fight for his life. Even as Cortés risks all in the bloody campaign against the Tlascalans, he plays mind games with Moctezuma, aiming to dismantle the Aztec emperor’s confidence and defeat him psychologically before ever having to face him on the battlefield.

The supernatural and compelling rich history combine in this tale of love, brutal courage and triumphs. War God: Return of the Plumed Serpent is a story of staggering magnificence.