Other editions of book Captive Universe

The valley was isolated in time and space, a land of barbarous science and human sacrifice.Coatlice the Dreadful stalked the night, her twin serpent heads dealing death to taboo-breakers.Citallatonac the First Priest sacrificed anyone believed to be possessed by the gods.Chimal rebelled: he wanted to escape the atavistic confines of his lost civilisation, to venture into the unknown world beyond the valley, a world of hope, and nightmare, too.

The valley was isolated in time and space, a land of barbarous science and human sacrifice.Coatlice the Dreadful stalked the night, her twin serpent heads dealing death to taboo-breakers.Citallatonac the First Priest sacrificed anyone believed to be possessed by the gods.Chimal rebelled: he wanted to escape the atavistic confines of his lost civilisation, to venture into the unknown world beyond the valley, a world of hope and nightmare, too.

"For the first fifty pages you'll swear that Harrison has been rummaging in an old trunk. Here's that tired old theme...the lost community of Aztecs who have been cut off in a hidden valley by a landslide centuries ago. Presently they will discover the outside world--our world. The stalwart Aztec maverick may even fall in love with a beautiful white explorer...Of course, any reader of Analog Magazine should know harry Harrison better than that. There are rumblings, even in the first chapters. The Aztecs are blond--that old Fair God bit again. Someone is feeding the vultures meat from an unspecified source. And surely we're not supposed to accept a snake-headed goddess? Trust Uncle Harry. On page 55, young Chimal follows the goddess through a secret door in the cliffs, with his whole tribe hunting him, & the story turns inside out."--P. Schuyler Miller(less)