Angry Aztecs

Horrible Histories #12

by Terry Deary, Martin Brown (Illustrator)

Find out about powerful priests, weird warriors, and the cunning Conquistadors, in this book which provides the foulest facts about Motecuhzoma, Cuahtemoc and other Angry Aztecs whose idea of fun was ripping out human hearts. Part of a series of books about history with the nasty bits left in!

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Childrens, Historical, Humor, Middle Grade, Education

128 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

About the author

A former actor, theatre-director and drama teacher, Deary says he began writing when he was 29. Most famously, he is one of the authors of the Horrible Histories series of books popular among children for their disgusting details, gory information and humorous pictures and among adults for getting children interested in history. Books in the series have been widely translated into other languages and imitated.

A cartoon series has been made of the series of books and was shown on CiTV for a period in 2002.

The first series of a live-action comedy sketch show of the same name was shown on CBBC in 2009 and a second series is due.

Terry is also known widely throughout children and adult reading groups alike for his True Stories series (see below for series list).

He received an Honorary Doctorate of Education from the University of Sunderland in 2000. His numerous accolades also include the Blue Peter "Best Nonfiction Author of the Century" Award in the U.K.

-Wikipedia

Reviews

[Sophie Crane · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love horrible histories and this book is no different and it's packed with Dreadful details and gory stories too Full of interesting facts that teach you a lot about how the Aztecs and mayas lived. An easy 5 stars.

[Alex W F1 · Rating 5 out of 5]

"People come and go. So do nations. The Olmecs, the Toltecs, the Aztecs. All gone." This book was a great read, providing insight into the various ancient civilizations of Central America. It shows how all civilizations rise and fall, no matter how powerful they were. Even the mighty Aztecs, seemingly invincible, were crushed by the Spaniards with their "metal sticks that shot fire." The book also shows the importance of humanity. The Aztecs treated their neighboring tribes terribly, often sacrificing their civilians or sending them out to war. This brutal treatment played a prominent role in the Aztecs' eventual downfall: all the Mexican tribes immediately assisted the Spanish when an opportunity arose for the Aztecs to be dethroned once and for all. While I usually don't read illustrated books, this one turned out to be surprisingly informative and engaging. I would recommend this to anyone who is looking for a light read about Central American history.

[Chloe Reads Books]

As always, I don't leave a numbered rating for these books! I did really enjoy this one, and it had me physically laughing at several points. I knew nothing about the Aztecs so I found this one really interesting.

[Miku · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kolejna bardzo przyjemna książka dla młodszych czytelników, która ma zaciekawić i pokazać historię w sposób interesujący oraz z humorem. Tym razem będą to ciekawostki na temat Azteków, ich kultury, życie codzienne, dieta czy jak oni wyliczali sobie dni (bo w końcu wtedy jeszcze nie było kalendarza).

Przyjemna, z brytyjskim humorem, który lubię. Oczywiście książka godna polecenia tak jak pozostałe z serii.

[Elizabeth · Rating 2 out of 5]

A bit meh really. Read with my son as part of a project we did about Mexico and its history. I think there is clearer, better information on the internet. The humour felt forced and often fell flat. Was quite boring to be honest.

[Echo · Rating 2 out of 5]

So much was made of how "weird" and uncivilized the Aztecs were compared to the British. Not how I want my kids to learn about other cultures.

[Gavin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think these were the only history books I read until I was 20 years old. It sufficed!

Obviously it's not good for your only exposure to history to be the 100 most dramatic moments, the 100 most elite and unrepresentative people. (For each page of a regular history book I should imagine the lives of a thousand peasants.) But very few people have any grasp of history beyond this superficial roll call, so it didn't hurt me much to delay it.

Our need for "people's history" is great: it at least has a chance of being an accurate picture of the past. (Many particular instances of people's history are fatally false or misleading though, because the contrarianism and ideological heat of the topic draws parasites and shills.)

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yet another great book with easy to remember history. I didn't love this as much as the Celts one, but that might be because I knew lots of what was mentioned, after all those school years reviewing Mexico's history over and over. Nevertheless, there were still new bits of information, the gruesome ones (not that the regular history wasn't with the sacrifices and all), so I appreciate that. I feel I learnt something new, and I enjoyed the book.

[Barbi Faye (The Book Fae) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Why, according to the Aztecs, was the world going to end on December 22, 2012?
Angry Aztecs is recommended reading for grown-ups who want to prepare themselves for the onslaught and an absolute must for children who want to find out a little bit more about the mysterious Aztecs than the serious history books are willing to share.
"Great, grubby fun and an excellent choice for anyone who is curious about these curious of folk."
UM; EXCUSE ME??! I HAD A LOOKY LOO INSIDE THIS TEENSY TOME, AND THE AZTECS WERE NOT... "GREAT GRUBBY FUN FOR CURIOUS FOLK!!!" Even watered down it is sickening what human being do to other human beings. Why, is this a thing, and why, do we have to act this way, then and now. Then, you had violent and bloody human sacrifices and you were lucky if you made it through childhood alive, unscathed. Now, third world children starve and we shoot and kill, and spread hate. Argh! Anyhoo, it is history, the past, and it is still interesting. For Scholastic by Terry Deary, in a series for middle grade readers.

[amelia forcina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gruesome

A very gruesome story but you learn a lot from the book it fun and full of facts read it. (I recommend this book to everyone)😃

[Eule Luftschloss · Rating 3 out of 5]

trigger warning
gore, torture, slavery, child death, possible genocide

[Summer · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was funny and it had a lot of jokes that were funny.

[Alexander · Rating 4 out of 5]

frag mich nicht wann ich dachte dass die azteken gelebt haben aber it defo wasnt 1500 anno domini, ja ich studiere geschichte im sechsten semester, nein ich bin nicht die hellste kerze auffer torte

[Chad CG · Rating 4 out of 5]

(4.4)

See my review for incredible Incas. Additional notes for this are there seemed to be many typos in this edition. Also, the UK flavored references and humor might be a stumbling block for some.

[slbernheim · Rating 5 out of 5]

learnt sooooo many fun facts - fave one was about the. origins of ‘tying the knot’ and freaky aztec beauty standards

[Luke · Rating 5 out of 5]

According to the opening section of Horrible Histories: Angry Aztecs, this book will teach a little bit of history and a lot about people, but the most important thing is that it will teach children everywhere how to drive their teachers stark, raving mad by repeatedly asking the most dreaded question of all: "WHY?" Why did the Spanish want to steal the Aztecs' treasure? Why did Aztecs eat scum? Why did Aztecs drink live toads in wine? And why is the world going to end on December 22, 2012? Angry Aztecs is recommended reading for grown-ups who want to prepare themselves for the onslaught and an absolute must for children who want to find out a little bit more about the mysterious Aztecs than the serious history books are willing to share.

Grab your sacrifice and read him this review before you strap him to a giant stone and rip out his heart for the sun gods. I wouldn't say the aztecs where angry people wierd and mysterious but not angry. They sacrificed a lot of people to there gods out of fear that the sun wouldn't rise tomorrow or the next harvest won't grow i guess they didn't know better but i think it was more down to the crazy priest who i think needed a lust for blood if they wanted the job 😅. When they wasn't keeping hundreds of people a day they read the skys and stars and made there famous apocalyptic calender now as we know the world didn't end in 2012 or did it..... and the world we are in now is hell? 👀 they also collected the rare cocoa bean which they used as currency because of there rarity but they also where the first to make hot chocolate but not what your used to they used to add chillis to it get it hot chocolate 😉 i don't think i would of wanted to try it without milk. And then you had the Spanish and Cortez who was seen as a god by the aztecs at first but not all was fooled but enough was fooled to join his ranks and fight his way to the aztec capital and whipe out there culture and convert them all the Christianity which i agree that the sacrifices needed to end but he didn't have to whipe out there culture and steal billions of gold in today's money from the aztecs it's kinda sad if you think of it. A little trivia for you did you know that Cortez had to wait a whole year to invade the aztecs because there numbers where to big so he waited for smallpoxs the Spanish brought with them to thin the aztecs out before taking over what a crafty bugger. As for the end score i loved it I've always been fascinated by the aztecs and the myans and you learn about both here so much more enjoyed than the last book.

5/5 stars on Goodreads

100/100 Ginger points

[Victoria Zigler · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting look in to the history of the Maya and Aztecs, which is perfect for any history lover who can deal with the gory bits of history, though you'll miss bits if you're using text to speach to read this book. Also, it was entertaining reading a book that was insisting the world would end four years before the date I read it... Guess they got that prediction wrong. *wink*

[Mohammed Rasheen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first book i read in this 'Horrible Histories' series and i'm looking forward to find rest of the books in it n read them. This is very witty book with funny writing and ever funnier illustrations, totally loved this.Even though the facts i found bit extended here and there for humor sake,hats off to terry Deary's and martin brown's Creativity. 4.5 stars

[Raziel · Rating 4 out of 5]

“... start to explore the really, really interesting thing about history. The question, ‘Why did people behave the way they did?’ / If you can answer that then you can begin to understand the question, ‘Why do people behave the way they do now?’ And, in the end you answer the only question that matters in life: ‘Why do I behave the way I do?’”, p. 6

“Historians don't always know the truth about ancient worlds. They guess.”, p. 90

“History can be horrible... but historians can sometimes be horribler.”, p. 92

“The Spanish were the winners and the Spanish wrote the history books. Like most ‘winners’ in history they changed the story and made up the facts to make themselves look right and the enemy look wrong.”, p. 103

“The sacrifices stopped... but people carried on being killed.”, p. 115

“But history is too horrible to allow ‘happy ever after’ endings.”, p. 126

[Dane Cobain · Rating 4 out of 5]

There’s nothing necessarily wrong with this book, it’s just that the Aztecs themselves aren’t necessarily one of my favourite historical civilizations. Still, I enjoyed learning what Deary had to share on the subject and it was boosted as ever by the illustrations from Martin Brown.

Perhaps it’s because of my relative lack of interest in the subject matter, but I also didn’t get on too well with the little quizzes that were dotted throughout. It was kind of annoying to have to flick backwards and forwards all of the time when I would have preferred to have just been presented with the information. But then, I’m not exactly the target audience. Still, I’m glad that I picked this up and I think I learned something.

[cauldronofevil · Rating 3 out of 5]

Working my way through Horrible History, next is Angry Aztecs.

It’s the usual bunch of interesting facts interspersed with what we’d now call ‘Dad jokes’, but still entertaining.

Apparently Aztec kings where entertained by clowns and jugglers while they ate.

They ate in front of the TV too!

’If the Indians don’t convert to Christianity then we’ll torture the and execute them until they do!’

This was a fascinating book about the horrible practices of the Aztecs. What’s sad is that the could have easily defeated the Spanish conquistadors if they had joined with their neighbors instead of terrorizing them.

I highly recommend this book and give it 3 stars, but an ‘average’ Horrible Histories book is better than most textbooks!

[Ryan]

This boom is about the Aztecs and empire that thrived for a pretty long time. The Aztecs were a dominating tribe. Also they were a religious tribe as well. They were mostly leading by a king or pharaoh and the workers for the king carried him everywhere he went. They got ran over by someone named Hernan Cortes.






This book is pretty long and easy because it has a lot of pictures and long quotes of people that lived back then. This book doesn't really interest me. This book is actually very boring. I think it is very long and it has a lot of words on each page. If you like learning about history this book is just the right fit.

[Tyler · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is apart of the horrible histories series.
This book tells us what the Azteks did and how they fell.
It tells us about their sacrifices and ranks, their roles and who ran it.
It goes through the timeline of Azteks.
This is a good book, better than most of the horrible histories books and is longer and has more detail, I loved this book way more than any of the other books written by the Horrible Histories author.

[Helene Harrison · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm thoroughly enjoying rereading these Horrible Histories books that I haven’t read in over a decade! There is plenty of information included that you might not find in more 'traditional' history books.

The cartoons are brilliant and still make me giggle even after all these years and Terry Deary's writing is still as engaging as it was all those years ago.

Even if you're an adult historian you will still enjoy reading these, whether reading them for the first time or rediscovering them!

[Tanmay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another fantastic book from Terry Deary! Absolutely fantastic insights into the life and times of an empire that is largely forgotten and not brought up into regular history books.
The book does a wonderful and hilarious portrayal of the various cultures that the region sustained. I especially appreciated the emphasis on the clash of cultures and the destruction that the White Man brought during the conquests. Would recommend for a quick, informative read.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another old school Horrible Histories book to tick off the nostalgia tour of books I read as a lonely child! Yay!

Again, this definitely has an old school Horrible Histories feel to it, and I remember feeling like the big cheese once I’d read it because this isn’t a period of history that is typically taught in schools or anything like that.

A very typical HH read and I’m running out of ways to describe them!

[MataKovac · Rating 4 out of 5]

Séria Hrozná história upútala nielen môjho syna, ale aj mňa. Prvú som prečítala túto o Aztékoch, kedže z tohto obdobia aj robil referát do školy. Kniha opisuje krvavé rituály a akým spôsobom a v akom veľkom rozsahu prinášali Aztékovia ľudské obete. Informácie sú podávané písaným štýlom bližším pre mladých a dopĺňajú ich vtipné ilustrácie. Určite by som túto knihu doporučila ale starším čitateľom ako je uvádzané 7+, minimálne aspoň 12+

[Chelsea May xxx · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book and learning all about the interesting facts that are in this book. This brought back so many good memories of me reading this as a kid. This book is very interesting but it does also have gory in it as well. I can’t wait to read more of these books. The illustrations In this book are done so well and in so much detail. The illustration of the rat that kept popping up made me laugh xxx

[Katrin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this series!! All of these books are great fun and they actually teach you much more than boring school books could. What would rather stay on your mind, some dates and facts or some fun caricature and some quiz with ridiculous answers? This one was really bloody and ugly, but that's how this part of history was..

[Xanthi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Although the focus is on the Aztecs, the Mayans and a few other civilisations of the Mexican region are also mentioned. Naturally, the ‘horrible’ factor was high for this instalment, given the human sacrifices.
Overall though, this book felt rather flat. There weren’t as many dreadful puns or dark humour, which are trademarks of this series.