Imaginary Kings (Amgalant Two)

In the steppes of High Asia, the year 1188…

‘Jamuqa rode his trophy mare, off-white, black-pointed, on a Tartar seat, high arches of ornamental silver fore and aft. He wore a winterfur of snow leopard, near white with black whorls. The effect was kingly and fantastic: he might be Irle Khan himself, the king of ghosts, in his eery splendour.’

Aged twenty, Temujin has been named Tchingis, khan over the Mongols. But only a third of his people accept a kingship based on dreams and omens. His own sworn brother Jamuqa challenges his title, and comes in the guise of a mock king against him.

The steppe has been without a great khan for three hundred years – fragmented in the face of giant China. Are dreams and omens enough to unify its peoples? What makes a true king?

Reception

'This series has to rate as one of the finest series of historical novels ever written. By this, I mean that the author has taken no liberties with the raw material we have as sources on Chinggis Khan's life (primarily The Secret History of the Mongols), but having grounded herself in the period and culture, has enriched the story with dialogues and events that ring with truth... These are books so compelling that one is tempted to race through the pages yet has to hold back to savour every detail of every conversation for fear of missing an insight into these figures who become alive under author Hammond's pen. The only series I have found remotely comparable in depth of knowledge and enjoyment is fellow Australian's Colleen McCullough's series on ancient Rome.'

-- Patricia Bjaaland Welch, author of Chinese Art: A Guide to Motifs and Visual Imagery