Amgalant Two: Tribal Brawls

Amgalant #2

by Bryn Hammond

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?

Imaginary Kings is the second in a trilogy that gives voice to the Mongols in their explosive encounter with the great world under Tchingis Khan. Both epic and intimate, Amgalant sees the world through Mongol eyes. It’s different from the world you know.

‘Amgalant brings to life a complex, remote society with amazing immediacy’

Genres: Historical Fiction, Historical

642 pages, Paperback

First published April 26, 2012

About the author

Bryn Hammond lives in a coastal town in Australia, where she likes to write while walking in the sea. She grew up on ancient and medieval epics, the Arthur cycle original and modern, nineteenth-century novelists, particularly Russian and French, and out-of-fashion poets, namely Algernon Swinburne.

Always a writer – to the neglect of other paths in life that might have been more sensible – she found the perfect story in The Secret History of the Mongols, a thirteenth-century prose and verse account of Chinggis Khan. Her Amgalant series is a version and interpretation of this original. Voices from the Twelfth-Century Steppe is her craft essay, a case study of creative engagement with a primary source.

Other work in The Knot Wound Round Your Finger (Bell Press), Ergot., Queer Weird West Tales (LIBRAtiger), New Edge Sword & Sorcery Magazine.

Reviews

[Patricia · Rating 5 out of 5]

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, of which many translations exist], but having grounded herself in the period and culture, has enriched the story with dialogues and events that ring with truth. I can only imagine that she sleeps in a towering library of steppe history, drinking black milk and roasting sheep by the day, and visited by the ghosts of Temüjin, Börte, Hülegü, Gür Khan, and every person who figures in this tale by night, waking at dawn to record the words they have said, the smells of their fires, the grains of sand they have tread, the neighing of their horses, the rub of leather on skin, their thoughts, their doubts, their hopes.... 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.

Imaginary Kings is the 2nd volume of a planned trilogy on Chinggis [Genghis] Khan, following volume 1 [Against Walls]. I strongly urge you to begin with Volume One as Chinggis' early background is integral to understanding his life as it begins with the abduction of his mother by his father, which is the flapping of the wings that causes the tsunami half-way around the world. Sorry to mix metaphors but one doesn't understand the importance of this event and its after-effects until one has finished the series.

It may help you to know that Volume I (Against Walls) was originally published as two smaller volumes: Of Battles Past and When I am King--sometimes referred to as Amgalant 1.1 and 1.2; and Volume II (Imaginary Kings) also as the two smaller volumes: Me and Atrocity and The Sheep from the Goats--referred to as Amgalant 2.1 and 2.2. This had me confused in the beginning when ordering the series as booksellers don't make this clear.

The author has a website I highly recommend to anyone interested in researching steppe history. It includes not only a wonderful bibliography and reviews of relevant works (including scholarly articles), but also excellent essays on related topics: https://amgalant.com

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 (The First Man in Rome). Most be something in those Australian waters....

[John Caviglia · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gripping sequel to the first volume of the trilogy, in which the fate of Tchingis Khan continues its extraordinary course. The tale you expect of a conqueror—his unification of the Mongols (and thus the enormous entirety of the steppes) by dint of martial talent, native wit and bloodshed—is here well and intricately told. But less expectedly the story of Tejumin (his given name), the conqueror as human being, is also brought to the fore—in particular his tortured relationship to his blood-brother and erstwhile enemy Jamuqa, here deepened, developed … and brought to an ending that definitely knocked my socks off.

In the treatment of its subject, one could say that Amgalant Two is intimately epic, given that so much of it is devoted to Tchingis/Temujin and his relationships: he and Jamuqa, he and Borte (first wife and queen), he and his various generals and subordinates, he and his various antagonists…. This, as opposed to loving and lingering descriptions of combat in such classic epics as, say, The Iliad. So, in Tribal Brawls, a battle supremely important to Tchingis is succinctly dealt with in two pages.

Not having read The Secret History of the Mongols (yet), I do not know how much of this emphasis Hammond imports from the volume she ‘expands’, though I would be totally surprised to find it is not hers. In the words of her Tchingis: “Wars are fought in the head, always.” And it seems to me that it is right to have the reader’s attention drawn to the personal in what is epic here, for tribal warfare is eponymously depicted—the steppe fighting itself, so to speak, in a kind of civil war (iconically figured forth in the antagonist/love relationship of Tchingis and Jamuqa). Those Mongols as Tchingis did not woo, he had to conquer to embrace. Hammond has Tchingis say: “The whole point of me is freedom for my people.” Tough love, indeed.

I continue to be awed by the ocean of research on which Hammond’s trilogy effortlessly floats. As for the language of Amgalant Two, it continues to be Hammond’s wonderfully personal, and (as I mention in my review of Amgalant One) definitely anachronistic voice—rich with word play, often wry, sometimes formal and hieratic, sometimes chortle-out-loud funny….

If you have not read Amgalant One I strongly suggest you do before embarking on Tribal Brawls. But if you have, I highly recommend this fascinating sequel.

[Julie Bozza · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another re-read, and I loved it more than ever. Comedy, tragedy, romance in all forms, and drama of the deepest most heartfelt kind. All of life is in these books. I love them utterly.

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I have just completed another re-read of this magnificent tale. It is my 'desert island' book, for sure, or should that be my 'steppe' book - the whole of Amgalant, that is, and so I won't be able to run away to the steppe until Book Three is finally published. {drums fingers} {sighs}

What more can I add to what I say below? There are parts of this book that are utterly sublime. Give it a try, if you are interested. You will find exquisite rewards, no matter what you're looking for.

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My sister Bryn Hammond has now published the second volume of her novel Amgalant, titled Tribal Brawls. And it is awesome. But you knew I was going to say that, didn't you? Because this is My Favourite Book Ever, and I find that it just gets better and better.

To recap: Amgalant is a retelling in (eventually) three volumes of The Secret History of the Mongols, the story of the man we know today as Genghis Khan, but whom we meet as Temujin.

This second volume continues with all the strengths of the first. It brings to vivid life this centuries-old story, this far-away country, and these fascinating people. With deft yet deep-delving touches it evokes their lives, their beliefs, their ways of thinking. It is full of respect and affection for the tribes, and yet it does not flinch from their realities. And it is full of the most wonderful humour.

At the end of The Old Ideal, young Temujin had just been named Khan. Tribal Brawls picks up the story immediately:

The first thing Temujin did when he came out of his clan meet was send an explanation to Jamuqa.

Toghrul, the Hirai khan - not to mention Jamuqa's uncle and Yesugei's anda - publically supports Temujin in ringing terms so apt for this oral culture:

The Mongols have been twenty years without a khan. Now is he your warm coat against the winter; unwrap him not. Now is he your neck-scarf of fur; discard him not.

And of course Temujin counts on having his anda, his soul-brother Jamuqa at his side, just as his stalwart wife Borte stands by him. But all goes pear-shaped, and Temujin finds himself facing the master tactitian Jamuqa in battle.

And so it goes. As might be understood from the title, there are battles a-plenty in this volume - and frankly, they are all of great interest. Each time we are clear about who's involved, and what's at stake, the necessary detail of terrain and armaments, strengths and weaknesses. But more than that, the tale of each is told in a different style, or with a different focus. No battle is other than unique.

In between are beautifully drawn set-pieces, such as when Temujin and his crew try to mend matters with Sacha Chief and the Jorkimes. Instead, matters descend into a drunken stand-off, with the handsomest of Temujin's brothers put in charge of the giddy old Jorkimes aunts whom Temujin is holding hostage.

He was a young singer, with a pale forelock in a curl, storm-grey eyes and the most fortunate face of the brothers; he flattered them and grew roguish; the tipsy Qorijin and Qo’orchin in their tilting hats emitted screams, but not for help.

The attempt at peace-making goes pear-shaped, too, but with a great deal of laughter along the way.

And then there are the moments when a message conveyed from Jamuqa in self-exile will touch Temujin or old Toghrul to the quick. Wells of emotion are tapped with a clarity that cannot fail to move you. Meanwhile, Temujin possesses exactly the right kind of fatherly pride.

None of his sons were perfect, though roughly five of the daughters were.

The Arthurian echoes now include the love and the tensions between Temujin, Jamuqa, and Borte. Temujin loves the other two deeply and truly, and they him, but even those relationships seem impossible to get right.

One aspect of the whole that is always perfect, though, is the magnificent Hoelun, truly incredible enough to be the whetstone for Temujin, for Tchingis Khan.

Grey and gnarled, she kept the rags of beauty and that sheer force of character that Temujin had whet himself against as a youngster.

And the whole is told in the most amazing language, with echoes from Shakespeare or from Monty Python and the Holy Grail, or whatever is most apt to convey to us today what these people meant then. Or simply Bryn's own wonderful choices of words.

I think that is his scouringly honest habit of mind.

Isn't 'scouringly' just exquisite...? The latter parts of this book contain the most perfectly sublime prose I have ever read.

If you think I might be even half-right and suspect that you might like Tribal Brawls, too, you can sample a fifth of it for free on Smashwords. I suspect you might find yourself wanting to devour the rest.

[Joseph Spuckler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Author Alliance Link

Amgalant Two: Tribal Brawls is the continuation of the Amgalant series. Hammond studied medieval history and literature while in college. She describes herself as a writer-in-a-garret and someone who does not pay much attention to the practical side of life. She currently lives in Australia.

Tribal Brawls picks up where The Old Ideal leaves off. There is no need to hide the main focus of the book; it is the rise of Genghis Khan. Much has been written on the ruler of the Mongols, and much of what has been written from Roman and conquered peoples’ perspective. Some common knowledge of Genghis Khan is more myth and legend than fact. The West tends to write history from its perspective rather neutral ground. Even the history of something as recent as the American Revolutionary War is not without controversies. It is held as a nearly holy event in American history, while in Britain, it is considered a minor civil war — a minor bump in their history. Perspective determines a person’s view. .

What Hammond does differently than most, and yes, I do know her book is historical fiction and not history, is use the Mongol text The Secret History of the Mongols. This text is thought to have been a copy written in the 14th century. The original was written some time after Genghis Khan’s death. The text remained unknown in the West until the early twentieth century. It is the most detailed account of Mongol history we have. There is, no doubt, some editing of Genghis Khan’s life after his death, but it is actual Mongol history written by the Mongols.

Hammond uses The Secret History as her outline and creates and epic series on the life of Genghis Khan. This creates the background history for the novel, and with it comes hundreds of pages of story. Of course, anyone can open up Wikipedia and get the CliffsNotes version, but you would be missing a great deal. Perhaps most important in understanding another people, is understanding their culture. This is where Hammond takes Tribal Brawls above and beyond most histories and beyond any history of the Mongols I have encountered. History tends to tell the “what”. Culture tells the how and why. Here we have the politics, the rivalries, the explanations of the conquerors, the interaction of the people, the beliefs of the people, and what it meant to be a Mongol. History provides a skeleton and culture provides the muscle, organs, and skin.

Perhaps the other thing missing from the simple history most people have experienced, is Hammond’s passion for the subject. She does not write just to write, she has a calling. A quick look at her Goodreads profile or her Twitter feed will let you how just how much time she spends reading and studying the Mongol empire and the Steppes. This passions shows in her work with her attention to detail and the amount of details included in her writing.


As the story of Genghis Kahn continues in the Amgalant series the reader can expect an outstanding story that holds to history as much as possible. In the first book, I did have to take notes as I read. The culture is different, the peoples names are unfamiliar, and it does take place at a time which is unfamiliar to most. Here too careful reading is necessary and possibly a few notes to keep things straight. Again, it is not a problem with the writing, it is problem of familiarity. The writing is clear and detail orientated. As someone with a history degree I usually don’t promote historical fiction as a way to learn history. They may be an enjoyable distraction for historians, but nothing to take too seriously …much like the tagline “based on a true story.” The Amgalant series is different. There is plenty to learn from reading this series. Extremely well done.

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like to give reviews to people who give their books away for free, feel like I owe the authors a little something in return for the pleasure of enjoying their work.

Now when I read Of Battles Past, the first book in this series of four (so far) I have it three stars. I had found the writing style hard to follow. Also, it was a book that was setting up a premise, the real action and character development came later.

And I'm glad I didn't give up with that first installment. Now the writing style is still a little difficult to understand at times, and you have to ignore some anachronistic dialog (just imagine they used their own equivalents). I'm not a terribly subtle person so when reading between the lines was necessary I sometimes was left wondering what exactly just happened. And keeping everyone's names and titles straight was a challenge, especially with some people having more than one. There is a appendix but it's not easy to flip back and forth in an eReader so I don't blame the author for this.

I took a course on Shakespeare once. After a while I could almost think in "Shakespearian". Sure I didn't understand every reference made but I could always understand the gist, and this series was sometimes like that. I got so used to the writing style, reading a few pages each day on my communte to work, that I was really disappointed when I ran out of pages.

The characters drive this tale, Temujin and Jamuqa in particular. As Hammond mentions in the notes at the end, while the events are accurate as recorded, motivations were left to the imagination. Given the strange behaviour of some of the characters, it took some work to fill in the gaps, but I found it to be a plausible version of events.

I had always thought Tchingis Khan to be a bloodthirsty warlord, and while he was unlikely to be as saintly as portrayed in this series, the truth, as usual, is likely somewhere in the middle. It has really changed my view of the famous Khan.

Hopefully Hammond is still working on the rest. While the fourth book ends at an appropriate chapter with Temujin having united the Steppes, I'm looking forward to see what happens when he takes on China!

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good Read

I bought this book on Kindle and paid full price for it. I was shocked at the errors in grammar in my copy. The errors made the reading choppy.

By this time in Genghis' life, he has his wife and children and was settled as khan over a part of the steppe. He seems to be fair tempered and content in his haven until he is insulted by other khans and friends over a marriage agreement for Jochi. The insult changed history because Genghis heightens his efforts to bring all the steppe people, including the Tatars, into a single nation. Other people push him to take on this feat saying he was the only person to make the unification happen, which is true. Why he is that person is because he knows how to manipulate people and Jamuqa is his friend. Though Genghis and Jamuqa do not see each other, Jamuqa always has Genghis' back. The end of Jamuqa's life is extraordinary writing. Finally we see the other side of Genghis. There was a funny story about Genghis talking a sheep trader out of his flock and enlisting him to Genghis' cause. Like I said, he knew how to manipulate people.

Genghis and Jamuqa are fascinating characters. Their love for one another is a forever kind of love. Jamuqa dies at the hand of Genghis, and the telling of that death is tremendous prose. In death, Jamuqa can better help Genghis in his quest.

Have I liked reading about Genghis through the eyes of other writers better than the present author? Yes! However, no one I have read has delved so deeply into the life phases of Genghis Khan.

Thank you, Ms. Hammond, for a good read.

[Chris O'Neill · Rating 5 out of 5]

I chose to post my review of "Imaginary" Kings together with a review of the first volume of the Amagalant series in the review section of "Against Walls." See my thoughts there. Thanks.