# Aztec Century > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Aztec_Century > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Aztec_Century.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aztec_Century > Source revision: 1335814067 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) 1994 alternate history novel by Christopher Evans Aztec Century First edition Author Christopher Evans Cover artist Trevor Scobie and Mark Taylor Language English Genre Science fiction alternative history Publisher Gollancz Publication date 1993 Publication place United Kingdom Pages 352 ISBN 0-575-05540-5 ***Aztec Century*** is a [science fiction](/source/Science_fiction) novel by British writer [Christopher Evans](/source/Christopher_Evans_(author)). In 1994, *Aztec Century* won the [BSFA Award for Best Novel](/source/BSFA_Award_for_Best_Novel).[1] First published in 1993 by [Victor Gollancz](/source/Victor_Gollancz_Ltd), it is an [alternate history](/source/Alternate_history) novel, in which the [Aztec Empire](/source/Aztec_Empire) conquers [Britain](/source/Great_Britain). In this world, [Cortez](/source/Hern%C3%A1n_Cort%C3%A9s) changed sides at the onset of the [Conquistador](/source/Conquistador) era in the early 16th century, leading to the repulsion of the [Spanish Empire](/source/Spanish_Empire)'s invasion and [colonization](/source/Spanish_colonization_of_the_Americas) of [Central America](/source/Central_America). Due to fortuitously strong central leadership, the Aztec Empire has become a technologically sophisticated [great power](/source/Great_power) in this alternate 20th century. Throughout the novel, hints are dropped as to how the timeline differs from our own, though often from the perspective of Aztec officials with an accompanying spin. The Aztec Empire adopts [Christianity](/source/Christianity) in the seventeenth century; an Anglo-French alliance led by [Napoleon](/source/Napoleon), the [Duke of Wellington](/source/Arthur_Wellesley%2C_1st_Duke_of_Wellington) and [Andrew Jackson](/source/Andrew_Jackson) temporarily halts Aztec expansion in [North America](/source/North_America) with a victory at New Orleans in 1815. [India](/source/India) and [South Africa](/source/South_Africa) are claimed to have 'welcomed' the Aztecs' takeover of their nations from the hated [British Empire](/source/British_Empire); [Queen Victoria](/source/Queen_Victoria) is mentioned as having been assassinated in 1893, and the [Caribbean](/source/Caribbean) is stated to have fallen in the early 1900s. Towards the end, a stalemate with the [Russian Empire](/source/Russian_Empire) is broken when, in response to Russian use of an experimental [nuclear mine](/source/Nuclear_mine), the Aztecs deploy an orbital laser and destroy the city of [Rzhev](/source/Rzhev); by analogy with the atomic bombings of [Japan](/source/Empire_of_Japan) at the end of the [Second World War](/source/Second_World_War), Russia surrenders in the face of a weapon it cannot counter. Finally the last remaining resistance to the Aztecs' hegemonic rule over the Earth is removed in a war between the Empire and an alliance of North American states, named as [New England](/source/New_England), [Canada](/source/Canada) and the [Sioux Confederacy](/source/Sioux).[2] ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["BSFA Awards. Previous award winners"](https://bsfa.co.uk/bsfa-awards/). BSFA. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** Christopher Evans, 'Aztec Century' (Gollancz, 1993). ## External links - [*Aztec Century*](https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?8349) title listing at the [Internet Speculative Fiction Database](/source/Internet_Speculative_Fiction_Database) v t e BSFA Award for Best Novel 1969–1979 Stand on Zanzibar by John Brunner (1969) The Jagged Orbit by John Brunner (1970) Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke (1973) Inverted World by Christopher Priest (1974) Orbitsville by Bob Shaw (1975) Brontomek! by Michael G. Coney (1976) The Jonah Kit by Ian Watson (1977) A Scanner Darkly by Philip K. Dick (1978) The Unlimited Dream Company by J. G. Ballard (1979) 1980–1989 Timescape by Gregory Benford (1980) The Shadow of the Torturer by Gene Wolfe (1981) Helliconia Spring by Brian W. Aldiss (1982) Tik-Tok by John Sladek (1983) Mythago Wood by Robert Holdstock (1984) Helliconia Winter by Brian W. Aldiss (1985) The Ragged Astronauts by Bob Shaw (1986) Gráinne by Keith Roberts (1987) Lavondyss by Robert Holdstock (1988) Pyramids by Terry Pratchett (1989) 1990–1999 Take Back Plenty by Colin Greenland (1990) The Fall of Hyperion by Dan Simmons (1991) Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson (1992) Aztec Century by Christopher Evans (1993) Feersum Endjinn by Iain M. Banks (1994) The Time Ships by Stephen Baxter (1995) Excession by Iain M. Banks (1996) The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell (1997) The Extremes by Christopher Priest (1998) The Sky Road by Ken MacLeod (1999) 2000–2009 Ash: A Secret History by Mary Gentle (2000) Chasm City by Alastair Reynolds (2001) The Separation by Christopher Priest (2002) Felaheen by Jon Courtenay Grimwood (2003) River of Gods by Ian McDonald (2004) Air by Geoff Ryman (2005) End of the World Blues by Jon Courtenay Grimwood (2006) Brasyl by Ian McDonald (2007) The Night Sessions by Ken MacLeod (2008) The City & the City by China Miéville (2009) 2010–2019 The Dervish House by Ian McDonald (2010) The Islanders by Christopher Priest (2011) Jack Glass by Adam Roberts (2012) Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie and Ack-Ack Macaque by Gareth L. Powell (tie) (2013) Ancillary Sword by Ann Leckie (2014) The House of Shattered Wings by Aliette de Bodard (2015) Europe in Winter by Dave Hutchinson (2016) The Rift by Nina Allan (2017) Embers of War by Gareth L. Powell (2018) Children of Ruin by Adrian Tchaikovsky (2019) 2020–present The City We Became by N. K. Jemisin (2020) Shards of Earth by Adrian Tchaikovsky (2021) City of Last Chances by Adrian Tchaikovsky (2022) The Green Man’s Quarry by Juliet E. McKenna (2023) Three Eight One by Aliya Whiteley (2024) Authority control databases Open Library This article about an alternate history novel of the 1990s is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by adding missing information. See guidelines for writing about novels. Further suggestions might be found on the article's talk page. - [v](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:1990s-ah-novel-stub) - [t](/source/Template_talk%3A1990s-ah-novel-stub) - [e](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:1990s-ah-novel-stub) --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Aztec Century](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aztec_Century) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aztec_Century?action=history)). 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