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The Foreworld Saga Universe
Broken Sky
An alternate cover edition exists here.
It is the year 1227; Chinggis Khan, Scourge of the East lies cooling in his grave... His sons ride for Karakorum at the heart of the Mongol empire where they will vie for the succession. Yet beyond the knowledge of any in Karakorum an unwanted child of war is driven from her people and forced to take up a new life as the half-breed niece of a Mongol Khan. When young Cnán is branded a witch and condemned to death by her adopted tribe, she must capture the heart of a young warrior if she is to survive.
Far to the west, Raef of Livonia faces a difficult choice between his values and his desire for vengeance. In a world turned upside down, Raef joins a secret brethren of warrior priests. He must take on their fight to defend what remains of civilization against a rising wave of greed and lawlessness. The ensuing turmoil sweeps Raef from his home and drags him into a world of old gods, warring factions, and sudden death.
Between these disparate cultures, the esoteric league of Binders pursue their own objectives. They know that the Mongol nation will soon move against the weakened Empire of Rome and they fear a world in flames if nothing is done. Through their shadowy intelligence web, the Binders hear of a legendary Red Messenger, destined to stem the Mongol invasion. Somehow, the Binders must contrive to bring the Livonian boy together with the half-breed Mongol girl -- for only together can they summon the Red Messenger.
It is the year 1227; Chinggis Khan, Scourge of the East lies cooling in his grave... His sons ride for Karakorum at the heart of the Mongol empire where they will vie for the succession. Yet beyond the knowledge of any in Karakorum an unwanted child of war is driven from her people and forced to take up a new life as the half-breed niece of a Mongol Khan. When young Cnán is branded a witch and condemned to death by her adopted tribe, she must capture the heart of a young warrior if she is to survive.
Far to the west, Raef of Livonia faces a difficult choice between his values and his desire for vengeance. In a world turned upside down, Raef joins a secret brethren of warrior priests. He must take on their fight to defend what remains of civilization against a rising wave of greed and lawlessness. The ensuing turmoil sweeps Raef from his home and drags him into a world of old gods, warring factions, and sudden death.
Between these disparate cultures, the esoteric league of Binders pursue their own objectives. They know that the Mongol nation will soon move against the weakened Empire of Rome and they fear a world in flames if nothing is done. Through their shadowy intelligence web, the Binders hear of a legendary Red Messenger, destined to stem the Mongol invasion. Somehow, the Binders must contrive to bring the Livonian boy together with the half-breed Mongol girl -- for only together can they summon the Red Messenger.
527 pages, ebook
First published March 26, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
February 27, 2016
The Broken Sky is an intelligent character-driven adventure story that explores the origins of the Mongol incursion, sympathetically from both sides. But please don't let my horribly clunky description frighten you away. This is an incredibly enjoyable, engaging and well-plotted novel. It is simultaneously fast-paced, mature and smart. I highly recommend it to everyone who loves historical adventure - and especially to those who enjoyed The Mongoliad. In fact, it is probably the best introduction to the saga that can be found.
C.B. Matson is a fantastic author. His writing is clear and clever. There were passages in The Broken Sky that remind me of Robert Howard, Ursula Le Guin and Michael Moorecock, without being at all derivative of them. The plot - although complex and wide-ranging - is tightly wound together and each strand is clearly defined. Matson’s range of knowledge is remarkable. Throughout the book we are treated to concise comments on (among other things) linguistics, battlefield medicine, animal behavior, blacksmithing, Mongol culture and medieval occultism. This information is dispensed so seamlessly, so deftly, that one doesn’t even realize that one is learning.
Cnan is one of the most engaging characters I have met in a long time; a wonderful and complex person with almost limitless potential.
This book utterly blew me away. I am eager to read the rest of this trilogy.
C.B. Matson is a fantastic author. His writing is clear and clever. There were passages in The Broken Sky that remind me of Robert Howard, Ursula Le Guin and Michael Moorecock, without being at all derivative of them. The plot - although complex and wide-ranging - is tightly wound together and each strand is clearly defined. Matson’s range of knowledge is remarkable. Throughout the book we are treated to concise comments on (among other things) linguistics, battlefield medicine, animal behavior, blacksmithing, Mongol culture and medieval occultism. This information is dispensed so seamlessly, so deftly, that one doesn’t even realize that one is learning.
Cnan is one of the most engaging characters I have met in a long time; a wonderful and complex person with almost limitless potential.
This book utterly blew me away. I am eager to read the rest of this trilogy.
March 30, 2015
The Broken Sky is C.B. Matson's first novel in an ambitious set of prequels to The Mongoliad, the groundbreaking alternative history opus from Neal Stephenson, Greg Bear, Mark Teppo, and others. Taken together, Matson's prequels will span the historical period from the year 1227 right up to the opening of the Mongoliad cycle in 1241.
The Broken Sky recounts the formative years of of Cnan, the crafty Binder who guides a group of warrior monks in their quest to defeat the leader of the Mongols in the Mongoliad trilogy. Growing up an unwanted half-breed, Cnan struggles to find her place in a violent and unforgiving world as the Mongol people take her in reluctantly and quickly brand her a witch, her reward for proving useful again and again. Matson's depiction of the Mongols as a proud yet violent people mirrors the semi-sympathetic view of them in the original Mongoliad books, with an attention to cultural detail that even those books lacked.
Like The Mongoliad, The Broken Sky alternates between Eastern and Western sets of characters. The latter is grounded by a young man of Livonia named Raef, spurred to a quest for revenge when his family is murdered and their lands taken. He knows about the fabled Shield-Brethren, and seeks to train with them to gain the skills to exact that revenge. But when he does meet up with a group of these defenders of the realm, he finds the reality of their order a bit different than his imagination of them. Along the way he meets a stalwart friend of the order, a master smith named Gelandri, with a heart of gold under his surly demeanor, and Simon Polevoi, a sly conjurer. With a background of his own as a veterinarian from his early farm life, Raef learns new skills from these companions that prove invaluable as he embarks on a journey unlike any he could have imagined.
While Cnan and Raef are the focus characters of the novel, and both wonderfully brought to life by Matson, the supporting cast is equally well imagined, immersing the two of them in richly drawn worlds informed by extensive research. Matson's highly descriptive prose style makes it easy to imagine you are there, and the two nicely-complicated narrative threads find a meeting place by the end, where new twists and turns drive the characters toward the adventures of the next novel in Matson's trilogy.
This novel is highly recommended for fans of the original trilogy, but also to anyone interested in the turbulent cultures of 13th Century Eurasia.
The Broken Sky recounts the formative years of of Cnan, the crafty Binder who guides a group of warrior monks in their quest to defeat the leader of the Mongols in the Mongoliad trilogy. Growing up an unwanted half-breed, Cnan struggles to find her place in a violent and unforgiving world as the Mongol people take her in reluctantly and quickly brand her a witch, her reward for proving useful again and again. Matson's depiction of the Mongols as a proud yet violent people mirrors the semi-sympathetic view of them in the original Mongoliad books, with an attention to cultural detail that even those books lacked.
Like The Mongoliad, The Broken Sky alternates between Eastern and Western sets of characters. The latter is grounded by a young man of Livonia named Raef, spurred to a quest for revenge when his family is murdered and their lands taken. He knows about the fabled Shield-Brethren, and seeks to train with them to gain the skills to exact that revenge. But when he does meet up with a group of these defenders of the realm, he finds the reality of their order a bit different than his imagination of them. Along the way he meets a stalwart friend of the order, a master smith named Gelandri, with a heart of gold under his surly demeanor, and Simon Polevoi, a sly conjurer. With a background of his own as a veterinarian from his early farm life, Raef learns new skills from these companions that prove invaluable as he embarks on a journey unlike any he could have imagined.
While Cnan and Raef are the focus characters of the novel, and both wonderfully brought to life by Matson, the supporting cast is equally well imagined, immersing the two of them in richly drawn worlds informed by extensive research. Matson's highly descriptive prose style makes it easy to imagine you are there, and the two nicely-complicated narrative threads find a meeting place by the end, where new twists and turns drive the characters toward the adventures of the next novel in Matson's trilogy.
This novel is highly recommended for fans of the original trilogy, but also to anyone interested in the turbulent cultures of 13th Century Eurasia.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews