Swords from the East

by Harold Lamb, Howard Andrew Jones, James Enge

Their conquest was measured not in miles but in degrees of longitude. They smashed the gates of empires, overthrew kingdoms, diverted rivers, and depopulated entire countries. They were the Mongols of Genghis Khan, swift and merciless but also resourceful, bold, and cunning. Their tale has seldom been told in the West, and never by an author with the acumen of Harold Lamb. Ride with young Temujin as he outwits schemers and assassins and rises to conquer Asia as Genghis Khan. Venture to the land beneath the northern lights on a mission of vengeance with Maak the Buriat. Stand with Aruk the gatekeeper and Hugo the Frank as they hold the pass against the Sungar hordes. Lambâ s action-packed Mongolian stories, available here in one complete volume, restore the Mongols to their place in history, portraying them not as mindless barbarians but as men of honor and bravery who laid down their lives for their leader and their lands. (20090928)

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Collections, Historical, Fantasy

496 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Harold Albert Lamb was an American historian, screenwriter, short story writer, and novelist.

Born in Alpine, New Jersey, he attended Columbia University, where his interest in the peoples and history of Asia began. Lamb built a career with his writing from an early age. He got his start in the pulp magazines, quickly moving to the prestigious Adventure magazine, his primary fiction outlet for nineteen years. In 1927 he wrote a biography of Genghis Khan, and following on its success turned more and more to the writing of non-fiction, penning numerous biographies and popular history books until his death in 1962. The success of Lamb's two volume history of the Crusades led to his discovery by Cecil B. DeMille, who employed Lamb as a technical advisor on a related movie, The Crusades, and used him as a screenwriter on many other DeMille movies thereafter. Lamb spoke French, Latin, Persian, and Arabic, and, by his own account, a smattering of Manchu-Tartar.

From Wikipedia

Reviews

[Joseph · Rating 4 out of 5]

The seventh of the eight collections of Harold Lamb's adventure fiction assembled and edited by Howard Andrew Jones. In this case, as per the title, the focus shifts a bit further east to Central Asia and parts beyond, in stories mostly taking place around the 17th Century, although one (The Three Palladins) dates all the way back to 1100 AD.

The two centerpieces of the book are a pair of short novels -- the aforementioned Three Palladins and The Road of the Giants, although I don't think Three Palladins was ever reprinted until it came out from Donald M. Grant Press back in the 70s, and Road of the Giants not until somebody did a POD edition in 2010, around the same time this book appeared.

In addition there are about six other, much shorter tales, and two excerpts Lamb crafted from the memoirs of Babar or Babur the Tiger (and about whom he'd later write a full-length biography).

For my money, Three Palladins is the highlight of the collection and is, by itself, worth the price of admission. It's the tale of a Chinese prince, Mingan, forced into exile by court intrigues who finds himself in company with a young Mongol, one Temujin by name (at least until he changes his name to the better-known Genghis Khan), and who eventually becomes one of Temujin's champions (the eponymous three palladins); it's a stirring tale of war and adventure set in the Roof of the World.

Road of the Giants is no slouch itself, though -- it's the tale of a Scottish cartographer (Captain Minard Billings) who finds himself in 18th Century Russia caught between the Cossacks and the Tatars and the Tibetans, with plenty of chases and intrigues and double crosses and ambushes.

And honestly, all of the stories are great, with Lamb's typical combination of action and attention to historical detail.

If you're only going to read one Harold Lamb book, well, I might still point you to Warriors of the Steppes or one of his other Cossack books, but you could also do far, far worse than this one.

[Marianne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really fantastic historical adventure fiction here. Exciting stories that have characters that still feel real even if the emphasis is on the plot more than character development. I wish more modern historical fiction writers would take inspiration from Lamb's work.

[Ralph Mazza]

Not the best of the Lamb collections. After the 4 outstanding volumes of the Cossack series this volume was kind of a catch all of Steppe stories that didn't really fit anywhere else.

BUT, the not to be missed highlight was the two stories about Babar the first Mughal emperor of India. The second volume of the Cossack stories featured Babar's great grandson Jahangir as a background antagonist and had mentioned how the dynasty started with Babar so it was nice to see these.

Apparently these stories were not original works of fiction (Lamb was also an acclaimed historian) but condensed translations of Babar's own memoirs.

[Bruce Nordstrom · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a collection of Harold Lamb's early writings, taken from the pulp fiction magazines of the 1920's-1940's. Lamb wrote for "Adventure," "Short-Stories," and "Collier's" magazines, among others, but many of these works are forgotten and reprinted here for the first time.

These stories vary in length, but set in the 10th through 16th centuries, focusing on the adventures of Mongol and Moslem tribesmen. Great stuff, and fun reading. Recommended to younger and older readers.