Austin Briggs

Austin Briggs has spent over 10 years researching the history of the Aztec Empire and the Spanish Conquest to create his fascinating historical fiction series - even going so far as to experience some of the traditional magical rites of ancient Mexica himself.

He has always been fascinated with other cultures; in addition to his time in the lands that were once occupied by the Aztec peoples, he also lived in Russia, Japan, England, Switzerland, Cambodia, Lithuania, and Uzbekistan.

Austin has been a soldier in the army, an officer in the United Nations, and a global manager in a Fortune 10 company. He has been both a local and an outsider, a member of majority and of the minority, which he feels makes him able to write from the perspective of multiple characters, all of whom have various levels of status and acceptance in their world.

We are often told that history is written by the winners. Austin’s stories are told from the perspective of those who lost - though they went down fighting.

His fascination with the Aztec Empire during the time of the Spanish Conquest began because he is intrigued by the idea of a society that is about to lose itself entirely. He wanted to show how difficult and painful - and sometimes strangely inspiring - that process can be.

Website: http://www.austinbriggs.com
Twitter: @TheAustinBriggs
Facebook: Facebook profile
Blog: http://austinbriggs.com/blog

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adventure    aztec    aztec book    aztec gods    fantasy    fantasy adventure    fantasy series    historical fantasy    history    magical realism    mexico    montezuma    paranormal   

• Pirates of Savannah: The Complete Trilogy (Adult Version) - Historical Fiction Action Adventure on Aug. 14, 2011
  
  Just finished Tarrin P. Lupo's book. What an experience. I feel like I've just come out of the steamy, dangerous, yet hopeful Savannah of the 18th century. I have several comments - and as always when I'm deeply touched by a book, I'll mention 3 strongest areas and 1 area where I believe the book can further improve. The strongest areas: + The depth and breadth of research. Clearly Tarrin has gone through much historical material, and the book rolls, fueled by his passion and knowledge. I got truly excited about visiting Savannah one day; the same way I was excited about London after reading Ken Follett's monumental work. Some locations, it seems, will stay in my memory for a long time: the Thunderbolt, the Jekyll Island, the ships, and others, although I've never set foot in the South of the US yet. I loved the mixture of different characters: the local Indians, the Scots and the Irish, the harlots and the pirates, the aristocrats and the indentures. Lots of thinking has gone into each person, and they come alive on the pages to speak to us. + The ideals of Freedom and Liberty. The book clearly doesn't glorify the pirate's anarchy; but it does take a strong stance against the governmental repression. Every chapter is rich in examples of the British oppression of the colonies, and the pain it has brought. +The humor. While the book, overall, is filled with much danger and pain, the reading gets lighter with Tarrin's sense of humor. He points out the ridiculous, and I enjoyed the soft jokes sprinkled throughout the book. One recommendation: - One area where I'd love improvement is the characters depth. The book has so much to say; and to be honest, I'd have enjoyed a much longer book, even if it were split into series, because then the author would have much more space to dedicate to fleshing out the human reactions to the events. At times, it was difficult to understand what do the heroes really feel in response to the events; the scenes changed too fast for my personal taste. So, overall, an enjoyable read - l was lucky to have some free time during vacation to devour this work in just a few days! :) One word of caution for parents: There's a fair amount of adult content and some gore - as you'd expect in such a book!