Category: Historical Fiction
Genghis: Lords of the Bow by Conn Iggulden
(Cover picture courtesy of Open Library.)
For centuries, primitive tribes have warred with one another. Now, under Genghis Khan—a man who lives for battle and blood—they have united as one nation, overcoming moats, barriers, deceptions, and superior firepower only to face the ultimate test of all: the great, slumbering walled empire of the Chin.
Genghis Khan comes from over the horizon, a single Mongol warrior surrounded by his brothers, sons, and fellow tribesman. With each battle his legend grows and the ranks of his horsemen swell, as does his ambition. In the city of Yenking—modern-day Beijing—the Chin will make their final stand, confident behind their towering walls, setting a trap for the Mongol raiders. But Genghis will strike with breathtaking audacity, never ceasing until the emperor himself is forced to kneel.
Lords of the Bow is probably my favourite book in the Genghis series because Genghis Khan’s conquest of the Chin is so improbable. I love reading about warfare and even with what little I know, I could probably tell you that the Mongols, from a technical standpoint, should not have beaten the more technologically advanced Chin. Yet, under the leadership of the brilliant and bloodthirsty Genghis, they best their ancient enemies. This unlikely conquest is beautifully chronicled by Conn Iggulden, one of the giants of historical fiction today.
One of the most impressive things about Conn Iggulden is that he can bring human qualities to someone like Genghis Khan. Don’t get me wrong, though—Genghis is till a monster in this series. But he has realistic motivations for his ruthlessness, like the fact that his people have been trampled on and manipulated by the Chin for hundreds of years. If you poke even the most nomadic, scattered tribes in the eye with a stick long enough, you create the perfect conditions for a unified rebellion with a charismatic and brilliant leader. Genghis was the product of this Chinese eye-poking.
As many of you are aware, I have a love-hate relationship with Conn Iggulden’s novels because he changes history around frequently. Unlike in the misnamed Emperor series (since Caesar was never emperor in our sense of the word), I think that many of the changes in this book are justified. So if you don’t mind authors who sacrifice historical accuracy for a fast-paced plot, you will love Lords of the Bow.
I give this book 4.5/5 stars.
The Horus Road by Pauline Gedge
(Cover picture courtesy of mcnallyrobinson.com)
Using subtle means of political power and economic control, a foreign power known as the “Rulers of the Upland” has taken over Egypt to plunder its riches and eradicate its religion and culture. In The Oasis, the stunning second volume of Pauline Gedge’s Lords of the Two Lands trilogy, Kamose, the son of Seqenenra, continued his father’s fight for the freedom of Egypt and his family.
In this riveting final volume of the trilogy, Ahmose, the brother of Kamose, vows to continue the struggle that has been so catastrophic for his family. He knows that the time has come to lay siege to the Setiu capital, but he realizes that military might alone will not be enough to breach the city’s walls. He will need no less than a miracle from Amun. And he cannot imagine how devious Apepa will be in his attempt to rob the Tao family of its chance for total victory.
Okay, we all know that Ahmose ends up liberating Egypt from the Hyksos. The appealing part of The Horus Road is the journey to victory, not so much the victory itself. Will Ahmose be able to continue on and finish what Seqenenra and Kamose died for? Of course he will, but nothing will ever be the same again in the Tao family.
Ahmose is a three dimensional character, but after reading The Oasis, which is in Kamose’s perspective, he seems pale in comparison to his brother. Yet, throughout the novel, Ahmose steps into the large footprints left by his father and brother and eventually outshines both of them. Ahmose is a great character, but Pauline Gedge has not neglected secondary characters like the resourceful Ahmose-Nefertari or the tragic Ramose. She only gives us hints at the great woman Ahmose-Nefertari would become, but it is enough to make her steal every scene that she’s in.
Since the end of the war is drawing near, the plot moves along at a fantastic pace that makes you never want to put this book down. Cities burn, kings run from danger and betrayal happens on both sides…what more could you ask for in the conclusion to this stunning trilogy? The ending is not a perfectly happy one, but it is satisfying and the characters stay true to themselves.
I give this book 4/5 stars.
The Other Alexander by Andrew Levkoff
(Cover picture courtesy of PRLog.)
The Other Alexander is the first book in the epic trilogy The Bow of Heaven. Alexander, a young Greek philosophy student, is wrenched from a life unlived to submit to the whims of an empire—as a slave of Rome. In a world would without choice, he must use his cunning and wits to gain the trust of one of the most powerful men in the Republic.
Yet no matter how high he climbs, or how deeply he falls in love, Alexander’s life is still bound by the will of another. When his master becomes blinded by revenge, the fates of both owner and owned become slaves to a terrible choice. A choice which will threaten the very life of the empire one has ruled, and the other has been forced to serve.
Perhaps it’s the fact that I prattle on about history constantly, but I can guarantee you that everyone in my family and small circle of friends has heard of Gaius Julius Caesar. How could they not when he is such a cultural phenomenon, even two thousand years later? Yet while Julius Caesar is a household name, very few people have heard of Marcus Licinius Crassus. Even among historians, he is dismissed as the weak third member of the First Triumvirate, nothing more than the man who bankrolled the wars of Pompey the Great and Julius Caesar. But in The Other Alexander, I believe Andrew Levkoff has done for Crassus what Pauline Gedge did for Kamose Tao or what Robert Graves did for Claudius.
In a style reminiscent of Wilbur Smith’s Egyptian novels, Andrew Levkoff chronicles the life of Crassus through the eyes of his unfortunate slave Alexandros, called Alexander. Alexander is very similar to Smith’s Taita in the way he becomes invaluable to his master and ends up running the household. Also like Smith’s Taita, he constantly reflects on life with the complex, sometimes arrogant mind of a philosopher. Alexander’s forceful personality is part of what makes him a good character, but he makes the jump from a good character to a great character because he is full of contradictions, just like real people.
The first few chapters are slowly paced to draw the reader in without completely disorienting them with the foreign world of ancient Rome. However, the pace picks up steadily throughout the novel and by the end it rivals Conn Iggulden’s famously fast-paced novels. However, unlike Conn Iggulden, Andrew Levkoff does not change history so blatantly. As far as I know, The Other Alexander is one of the most historically accurate pieces of historical fiction I’ve ever read. You can certainly tell there was a great deal of research and care put into this novel.
My only true criticism is that this should have been proofread better. I caught several missing quotation marks in the dialogue and even the use of ‘pray’ instead of ‘prey’ in this passage on page 256:
“In that case, Gaius, you are nothing. Pray on some other patrician’s wife.”
Yet these mistakes do not detract from the overall quality of the novel and I would recommend this to anyone who is interested in Roman history, particularly that of the late Republic.
I give this book 4.5/5 stars.
The Oasis by Pauline Gedge
(Cover picture courtesy of Amazon.)
Using subtle means of political power and economic control, a foreign power known as the “Rulers of the Upland” has taken over Egypt to plunder its riches and eradicate its religion and culture. In The Hippopotamus Marsh, the stunning first volume of Pauline Gedge’s Lords of the Two Lands trilogy, the family of the last true King of Egypt chose to end 200 years of submission to King Apepa, and attempted to resurrect a dynasty. Seqenenra Tao began a courageous and tragic revolt that almost led to the destruction of his family.
In this thrilling second volume, Seqenenra’s surviving son Kamose refuses an inheritance of failure, and chooses instead to continue his father’s fight for the freedom of Egypt and his family. He begins his desperate sweep north, collecting fighting men from the loyal towns and villages he passes. Will his savage brilliance bring him victory of defeat? And will his acts redeem him or drive him to the brink of madness?
With his father (Seqenenra) and his twin (Si-Amun) dead, you would think Kamose would be ready to give up. But instead of standing by and watching his family torn apart by the Hyksos king, Apepa, he decides to fight. After all, he has nothing to lose and everything to gain. Kamose’s decision to fight irrevocably changes both himself and the fate of Egypt.
Faster paced than her later work and filled with memorable characters, The Oasis is my favourite book in the Lords of the Two Lands trilogy. Of course I am biased because I love reading about ancient warfare, but Pauline Gedge has still penned a wonderful novel. Told mostly from the point of view of Kamose, she gives us greater insight into the man behind the ruthless reputation. His motivations are very believable and his internal struggles with the war are heart-wrenching, which makes him a very three dimensional character.
“This trilogy is dedicated to Prince Kamose, one of the most obscure and misunderstood characters in Egyptian history. I hope that in some small way I have contributed to his rehabilitation.”
I truly believe that Pauline Gedge has contributed a lot to the rehabilitation of the infamous Kamose Tao, in much the same way Marcus Crassus was rehabilitated in my eyes by Andrew Levkoff. Her trilogy certainly changed my perception of the great leader and I hope it changes yours as well.
I give this book 5/5 stars.
The Queen of the Damned by Anne Rice
(Cover picture courtesy of Simania.)
In a feat of virtuoso storytelling, Anne Rice unleashes Akasha, the queen of the damned, who has risen from a six-thousand-year sleep to let loose the powers of the night. Akasha has a marvelously devious plan to “save” mankind and destroy the vampire Lestat—in this extraordinarily sensual novel of complex, erotic, electrifying world of the undead.
The Queen of the Damned is, out of all the books in The Vampire Chronicles, the one I enjoyed the most. Why? Because I’m shamelessly obsessed with ancient Egypt.
Now, no one really knows much about Pre-Dynastic Egypt and Anne Rice paints a vivid picture of what could have been. The reasons behind the cannibalism practiced by Maharet and Mekare’s tribe are very intriguing, however, there is little to no evidence supporting the practice of such ritual cannibalism in Egypt. In fact, the only real evidence of cannibalism in Egypt is found in the autobiography of Ankhtifi, a man who lived during the First Intermediate Period. As much as it makes a nice story, I have to point out that it was not Akasha and Enkil who united Egypt. It was Narmer (Menes to the Greeks) and his queen Neithhotep who first ruled over a unified Egypt.
Aside from inaccuracies most people wouldn’t notice, The Queen of the Damned is a good book. The plot is not very fast, but Anne Rice made up for it in her sensual descriptions and intriguing characters. Unlike most villains, Akasha is a three dimensional character, with redeeming qualities to complement her gaping flaws. She also has realistic motivations behind her deeds, which makes her stand out from the crowd.
As with all of Anne Rice’s books, this is not recommended for young or sensitive readers. There are explicit sex scenes, cannibalism and violence. Personally, I would not recommend The Queen of the Damned for anyone under the age of fourteen.
I give this book 4/5 stars.