Certainly the author remains in the tradition of wanting to establish historical facts from a story full of adventure and surprises.
But unlike the first novel, the historical basis is written with a small h and not the big H Azteca.
For if in the first game you are talking about the Aztec emperor Moctezuma, Charles V or Cortes, here it is rather post-colonial anecdotes described us with a succession of scenes and of course sword finally tired after 400 pages.