 | Malinalli invites the reader into 16th century Mexico. The main character, Malinalli, “was the Nahua interpreter who helped Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés communicate with the native people.” She was a slave gifted to Cortés, who renamed her Marina. It’s always fun to explore the past through “forgotten” or sidelined characters, and this novel is no exception. Today, Malinalli is generally vilified for her role in the destruction of Aztec civilization as Cortés’s interpreter. In this novel she’s associated with an equally reviled goddess, her namesake, the fearsome sorceress-serpent Malinalxochitl. The plot provides many twists and turns, but the strength of the novel is its immersive portrayal of indigenous life. |
Some engaging worldbuilding elements are worked into conversation, as when her mother, who was from Tolteca, says:
“My people invented the healing arts and read the secrets of the earth so well, they could uncover mines of turquoise, amber, crystal, and amethyst just by running their fingers through the land.”
“My people invented the healing arts and read the secrets of the earth so well, they could uncover mines of turquoise, amber, crystal, and amethyst just by running their fingers through the land.”
 | Or through Malinalli’s actions: “I got down on my knees and prayed to Ometeotl, the dual god, both a man and a woman. ‘Oh Great Lord and Lady of All Created Things … May your heart take pity on me. May you help me, answer me, why . . .’ I burned paper that I’d painted with my blood to make it more worthy of their attention. But Ometeotl must not have heard me or seen the smoke of my offering, for no answer came.” |
And when she enters the Temple of Eighteen Moons to become a priestess:
“Unlike my village, where prayers were made with offerings of hearts and blood to Huitzilopohtli to encourage the birth of corn and mark the harvest, the Temple of the Eighteen Moons was a center of learning dedicated to worshipping the gods Quetzalcoatl and Feathered Butterfly, who brought life, not death. … We paid them homage with incense and flowers, honey and corn, and colored streamers made of our finest paper.”
“Unlike my village, where prayers were made with offerings of hearts and blood to Huitzilopohtli to encourage the birth of corn and mark the harvest, the Temple of the Eighteen Moons was a center of learning dedicated to worshipping the gods Quetzalcoatl and Feathered Butterfly, who brought life, not death. … We paid them homage with incense and flowers, honey and corn, and colored streamers made of our finest paper.”
Other explanatory elements are told in Malinalli’s conversational style, as if she’s confiding in the reader as a trusted friend:
 | “The sacred calendar of days was filled with rituals that honored the gods of rain and wind, the goddesses of the earth, corn, and rivers. The world had already been destroyed and reborn four times by tempests, floods, jaguars, and windstorms, and now we were living in the time of the Fifth Sun, which was destined to end with a rumbling of earth so great that it would swallow everything that lived, even the sky.” |
This works well as foreshadowing for the disaster coming with the Spaniards. Unfortunately, there are times the author’s explanations become stilted, tidbits of fascinating research she included, even though they didn’t directly support the overall story.
 | There are times the writing soars, as in this chapter opening after she’s met a beautiful Mayan man: “Pakal Balam. His name was a burst of sunlight upon waves of foam.” Or this description after they become lovers: “As his men laid iguana eggs, orchids, and copal at my feet, and the world turned twenty shades of green, my heart turned to him. My thighs felt caressed by feathers each time he looked at me. The blue sign that marked me as a temple woman became hot to the touch. Every word he spoke enrobed the air with precious jade. His feet stirred the grass to music. His face appeared in the sky every time I opened my eyes.” |
Another excellent passage occurs when she and her friends try to sneak into Tenochtitlan, the capital city of Moctezuma. The author highlights the tension with a standalone paragraph:
“We gained a fifth passenger: silence.”
“We gained a fifth passenger: silence.”
 | Her enslavement highlights the interchange of worldbuilding and plot: “For four days we walked in a single line, a human chain, through the jungle, our collars secured to a long pole. My cut and bruised feet made every step painful, but I did not falter. Woe to those who could not keep up, or who tripped, because the collar and pole that kept us tethered were unforgiving, dragging you until you could right yourself again.” |
And upon arrival at their destination:
“There is a saying that anything in the world can be bought in Xicallanco for the right price. Cloth as sheer as a sigh with a sparkle to rival the moonlight. Parrots that could recite the story of the Hero Twins or any tale you liked. Concubines skilled at performing the Twenty-Four Arts of Pleasure. Emeralds the size of iguana eggs.
And now I, too, would be traded.”
“There is a saying that anything in the world can be bought in Xicallanco for the right price. Cloth as sheer as a sigh with a sparkle to rival the moonlight. Parrots that could recite the story of the Hero Twins or any tale you liked. Concubines skilled at performing the Twenty-Four Arts of Pleasure. Emeralds the size of iguana eggs.
And now I, too, would be traded.”
 | She’s sold to a wealthy man. Her training to become a concubine by an experienced courtesan was great fun to read: “There is the Soft Kiss, the Exchange of Breaths, and the Touching Kiss, where you use the tip of your tongue to explore [his] mouth. To incite passion,” she continued, “there is the Pressing Kiss That Knows No limit and the Fiery War of Tongues.” Malinalli’s opinion of learning intercourse skills: “After a few days of Captured Butterflies and the Cascade of Flower Petals, I was relieved when she returned to lessons regarding the kiss.” |
 | Malinalli’s descriptions of the Spaniards delighted: “Many of the women believed that the pale men were gods. I knew this could not be true, because of one thing: they smelled. There were reports about the odor that these beings gave off when they removed their shells, an alarming stench like crocodile’s breath and rotted meat. No god smelled of anything other than incense and sweet flowers and fields of gold corn standing proudly in the sun.” |
And her take on the priests:
“[A cross] hung from the end of some dark and pretty beads that the holy men liked to rub between their fingers. I thought the beads served to calm the White Robes, for these men seemed as excitable as wild birds.”
“[A cross] hung from the end of some dark and pretty beads that the holy men liked to rub between their fingers. I thought the beads served to calm the White Robes, for these men seemed as excitable as wild birds.”
Part of Malinalli’s backstory includes the murder of her brother and father by the all-powerful Aztec ruler in Tenochtitlan, Moctezuma.
 | She quickly decides to make Cortés her instrument of revenge, due in part to the Spaniard’s indomitable will: “Men enjoyed the sound of their voices, especially when they were speaking about grand plans and dreams. They fell in love with their words. But when Cortés explained that he was going to meet with the most powerful man in the world, he meant it.” She believes she can control the Spanish leader through her web of words: “I would dispose of him when I was ready.” |
One of the most impressive events of the book is the battle between the Spaniards and the Tlaxcallans, whose fierce warriors “wore headpieces shaped like animal heads. Jaguars, eagles, coyotes, and owls moved as if these beasts possessed their human souls.”
 | Their elite Otomi warriors: “Their hair was shaved into bristly crests that fanned down the middle of their heads. They were naked, bodies decorate with tattoos in magical configurations meant to protect theme. In one hand, they held wooden sword studded with obsidian points, and in the other, wicker shield decorated with feathers.” And a Tlaxcallan war-leader: “It was like watching the yellow tail feathers of a strange, giant bird. And now this bird moved toward the front line of warriors. When the smoke cleared, I could see that the feathered banner was attached to the Tlaxcallan battle leader’s back by a tall rack of wicker.” |
Malinalli is terrified of these fierce warriors in their battle finery: “How are we to survive this? There are thousands of them.”
After twenty-one days of battle and thousands of casualties and deaths on both side, Malinalli decides to end the war by calling on her divine namesake, the serpent goddess Malinalxochitl:
 | “I lifted my arms, and without a spell to guide me, I summoned every serpent to come to my aid. The order slides sinuously over my tongue. My mouth and face framed by serpent-fanged jaws that were emerging from my head. I sensed the suppleness of silver scales, and elongation of my neck. I was nahual-animal now.” |
This excerpt highlights two things:
1. The power of immersive worldbuilding’s ability to let readers experience different cultures (shapeshifting into a nahual-animal).
2. The distraction of clumsy, passive-voice writing: “My mouth and face framed by serpent-fanged jaws that were emerging from my head.” This sentence would be smoother ending after the word “jaws,” or re-written in an active voice: "Serpent-fanged jaws emerged from my head and framed my face.”
1. The power of immersive worldbuilding’s ability to let readers experience different cultures (shapeshifting into a nahual-animal).
2. The distraction of clumsy, passive-voice writing: “My mouth and face framed by serpent-fanged jaws that were emerging from my head.” This sentence would be smoother ending after the word “jaws,” or re-written in an active voice: "Serpent-fanged jaws emerged from my head and framed my face.”
Malinalli dithers between wanting and not wanting to kill Cortés and Moctezuma. Both men are vile and arrogant, willing to let their people suffer and die for their own self-aggrandizement. Yet she wonders if she can change them with her silver tongue . . . This got tiresome at times. I also found the epic battle in Tenochtitlan rushed and hard to follow compared to the earlier passages of the story.
Despite these criticisms, the overall reading experience entertained and I enjoyed learning about 16th century indigenous Mexican culture.
If you’re a fan of historical fiction/fantasy, enjoy stories from the “monster’s” point of view, or are interested in indigenous cultures, Malinalli is a good reading choice.
Despite these criticisms, the overall reading experience entertained and I enjoyed learning about 16th century indigenous Mexican culture.
If you’re a fan of historical fiction/fantasy, enjoy stories from the “monster’s” point of view, or are interested in indigenous cultures, Malinalli is a good reading choice.
Read other historical fiction: Babylonia, Ithaca
Read other indigenous-inspired fantasy fiction:
Fevered Star, The Marrow Thieves, A Snake Falls to Earth,
The Witch’s Heart, Song of the Huntress, The Queens of Innis Lear
Read other indigenous-inspired fantasy fiction:
Fevered Star, The Marrow Thieves, A Snake Falls to Earth,
The Witch’s Heart, Song of the Huntress, The Queens of Innis Lear
