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Horseclans #5
The Savage Mountains
The Horseclans are on the move again. For the Undying High Lord Milo Moray is ready for the next step in his master plan to re-unite all the tribes which once formed the United States....Before the Confederation forces lie the savage tribes of th Armehnee mountains. But a more dangerous enemy is waiting: the Witchmen - scientists from the ancient times who have achieved immortality by stealing the living bodies of men while destroying their soles - have been at work in the mountains. And the Horseclans are riding into danger that could destroy the confederation!
165 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1980
18 people are currently reading
226 people want to read
About the author
Robert Adams
74 books68 followersFranklin Robert Adams (August 31, 1933 - January 4, 1990) was an American science fiction and fantasy writer, formerly a career soldier. He is best known for his "Horseclans" books. He wrote as Robert Adams, an abbreviated form of his full name.
Adams was an early pioneer of the post-holocaust novel. His Horseclans novels are precursors to many of today's attempts at this type of story, many of which do not exhibit his painstakingly detailed world view or extraordinary plot follow-through (many of his Horseclans books are so interlinked that they make sense only when read in order; he did not create many "stand alone" books in the series).
Hallmarks of Adams' style include a focus on violent, non-stop action, meticulous detail in matters historical and military, strong description, and digressions expounding on various subjects from a conservative and libertarian viewpoint.
Adams was an early pioneer of the post-holocaust novel. His Horseclans novels are precursors to many of today's attempts at this type of story, many of which do not exhibit his painstakingly detailed world view or extraordinary plot follow-through (many of his Horseclans books are so interlinked that they make sense only when read in order; he did not create many "stand alone" books in the series).
Hallmarks of Adams' style include a focus on violent, non-stop action, meticulous detail in matters historical and military, strong description, and digressions expounding on various subjects from a conservative and libertarian viewpoint.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
December 30, 2011
A great part of my love of sword-and-sorcery fantasy is due to this cover by Ken W. Kelly. I used to just stare at it. I wanted to be that guy on the horse, spurring it forward through the red mist and into bloody combat. Then, at some point, I realized Kelly and Frazetta were two different artists. Didn't matter. It just meant I had two guys whose works tweaked the hell out of my imagination! Awesome.
Honestly, I hardly recall much of the storyline in Adams' Horseclans books (I do remember liking them), but I do recall what an awesome time it was reading this series, and ERB's Tarzan and John Carter and Pellucidar books and, of course, REH's Conan (!) at the ages of 14 through 16 (I was also into girls, though they probably were romanticized a bit by the femmes in these books). Anyhow, such series are what molded and shaped my ongoing love for heroic fantasy, which has carried through the decades and will undoubtedly do so for the rest of my life. Thank you, Ken Kelly, and thank you, Robert Adams!
Honestly, I hardly recall much of the storyline in Adams' Horseclans books (I do remember liking them), but I do recall what an awesome time it was reading this series, and ERB's Tarzan and John Carter and Pellucidar books and, of course, REH's Conan (!) at the ages of 14 through 16 (I was also into girls, though they probably were romanticized a bit by the femmes in these books). Anyhow, such series are what molded and shaped my ongoing love for heroic fantasy, which has carried through the decades and will undoubtedly do so for the rest of my life. Thank you, Ken Kelly, and thank you, Robert Adams!
August 23, 2024
Robert Adams' Horseclans novels aren't for everybody. In fact, I suspect that many readers will struggle to finish the first volume, owing mostly to Adams' stilted prose and obsession with unmotivated detours. Extremely dated and unpolished, to say the least. The silver lining here is that, although Adams never shakes his obsession with unnecessary detail, his writing gets significantly better as you go along. This improvement first becomes obvious on Revenge of the Horseclans (Book 3), which is also where Adams starts to indulge is fully-developed, multi-volume story arcs. It's a refreshing turnaround that's likely to hook anybody who actually makes it that far into the series. Well, The Savage Mountains is the third installment since this reinvention, and it actually represents a direct continuation of the storyline begun by Revenge of the Horseclans and A Cat of Silvery Hue. It should also entertain anybody who already enjoyed both of those predecessors. The book isn't without its share of frustrating decisions, and it's arguably a slight step down from both of the aforementioned novels, but it stands as further proof that Adams continues to move his Horseclans series in a positive direction.
A Cat of Silvery Hue finished partway through the siege of Vawnopolis, and The Savage Mountains spends its earliest pages concluding that storyline. With the Great Revolt coming to an end, High Lord Milo Morai turns his attention to the ferocious Armehnee tribes of the western mountains. A full-scale invasion is planned by Milo, High Lady Aldora, and Duke Bili of Morguhn, and most of the novel is consumed by that campaign. As with the last two Horseclans novels, Bili Morguhn is presented as the primary protagonist, although frequent perspective-shifting allows Adams to flesh out his universe. Here the secondary narratives include the continuing redemption of rebel leader Drekhos Daiviz, the desperate political actions of the Armehnee high chief, and the travails of an orphaned Armehnee girl named Pehroosz. In general, The Savage Mountains has broader implications upon the overarching plot than either of its predecessors, while simultaneously expanding upon the supernatural side of Adams' worldbuilding. The nefarious Witchmen also play a bigger role here than in any novel since Swords of the Horseclans.
The Savage Mountains is actually a faster read than any of its predecessors. Seeing as it features (largely) the same cast as Revenge of the Horseclans and A Cat of Silvery Hue, Adams has more time to focus upon action and worldbuilding. And that worldbuilding is arguably Adams' best since The Coming of the Horseclans, with special kudos to the psychic abilities of the Armehnee leaders, the Moon Maidens, and the deepening plots of the Witchmen. All of that being said, I ultimately enjoyed The Savage Mountains slightly less than its two direct predecessors. My biggest issue here are the chapters involving Pehroosz, which derail the middle third of the novel and are needlessly graphic. Adams also repeats his bizarre habit of skipping past major plot events and then referencing them in retrospect. In The Savage Mountains, this tendency is made worse by the fact that so many threads are left hanging at the end, and then that Adams unexpectedly jumps thirty years into the future with The Patrimony. Extremely frustrating, especially when all of these shortcoming have nothing to due with the core story and appear so easily fixable.
Despite having a couple of big flaws, The Savage Mountains also includes more than enough great material to earn a decent-to-good, 3-star rating. It's unlikely to please anybody who didn't already enjoy Revenge of the Horseclans and A Cat of Silvery Hue, but it's also unlikely to turn away established fans. Personally, the novel left me hungry enough for more Horseclans material that I immediately started reading The Patrimony.
A Cat of Silvery Hue finished partway through the siege of Vawnopolis, and The Savage Mountains spends its earliest pages concluding that storyline. With the Great Revolt coming to an end, High Lord Milo Morai turns his attention to the ferocious Armehnee tribes of the western mountains. A full-scale invasion is planned by Milo, High Lady Aldora, and Duke Bili of Morguhn, and most of the novel is consumed by that campaign. As with the last two Horseclans novels, Bili Morguhn is presented as the primary protagonist, although frequent perspective-shifting allows Adams to flesh out his universe. Here the secondary narratives include the continuing redemption of rebel leader Drekhos Daiviz, the desperate political actions of the Armehnee high chief, and the travails of an orphaned Armehnee girl named Pehroosz. In general, The Savage Mountains has broader implications upon the overarching plot than either of its predecessors, while simultaneously expanding upon the supernatural side of Adams' worldbuilding. The nefarious Witchmen also play a bigger role here than in any novel since Swords of the Horseclans.
The Savage Mountains is actually a faster read than any of its predecessors. Seeing as it features (largely) the same cast as Revenge of the Horseclans and A Cat of Silvery Hue, Adams has more time to focus upon action and worldbuilding. And that worldbuilding is arguably Adams' best since The Coming of the Horseclans, with special kudos to the psychic abilities of the Armehnee leaders, the Moon Maidens, and the deepening plots of the Witchmen. All of that being said, I ultimately enjoyed The Savage Mountains slightly less than its two direct predecessors. My biggest issue here are the chapters involving Pehroosz, which derail the middle third of the novel and are needlessly graphic. Adams also repeats his bizarre habit of skipping past major plot events and then referencing them in retrospect. In The Savage Mountains, this tendency is made worse by the fact that so many threads are left hanging at the end, and then that Adams unexpectedly jumps thirty years into the future with The Patrimony. Extremely frustrating, especially when all of these shortcoming have nothing to due with the core story and appear so easily fixable.
Despite having a couple of big flaws, The Savage Mountains also includes more than enough great material to earn a decent-to-good, 3-star rating. It's unlikely to please anybody who didn't already enjoy Revenge of the Horseclans and A Cat of Silvery Hue, but it's also unlikely to turn away established fans. Personally, the novel left me hungry enough for more Horseclans material that I immediately started reading The Patrimony.
June 28, 2023
Another middling entry in the Horseclans series that left me feeling a bit impartial. Adams has a bunch of great ideas in this series, but he often seems to fail at executing them or fleshing them out in a satisfactory or thrilling way.
For example, in this book, he once again wasted most of the page count on extremely dull and monotonous details. He'll spend chapter after chapter needlessly showing off his militaristic knowledge, painstakingly outlining the formations of every single marching troop and column... but then, when we finally get a proper battle, he'll completely gloss over all the events that should be the book's most exciting parts.
An example of this is when, after a huge battle, we hear a character talk about how Bili chased and slew the 9-foot giant barbarian leader of the enemy army... but we don't even get to "see" it happen. It's just mentioned after the fact. And it's the same with the prairiecats. Apparently they were heavily involved in the battle and the fighting, which WOULD have been epic to read IF Adams had actually taken the time to write this action rather than briefly mention it afterwards with a hand wave.
All in all, my least favourite entry so far. What began as an epic post-apocalyptic tale of immortals, evil witchmen, and telepathic sabretooth tigers seems to have devolved into little more than an author tiresomely showing off his knowledge of dull militaristic activity in agonising detail, including marching, camping, hunting, cleaning armour, tending to horses, and so on and so on - all at the expense of the story and its pacing.
At this point, these books are starting to feel like a missed opportunity. The Savage Mountains was especially poorly structured and anticlimactic, making this a lacklustre 2 stars for me. I've generally enjoyed this series so far, but its repetitive nature and lack of interesting developments currently has me yearning for Horseclans to pick up and return to the quality of the first two books. Here's hoping.
For example, in this book, he once again wasted most of the page count on extremely dull and monotonous details. He'll spend chapter after chapter needlessly showing off his militaristic knowledge, painstakingly outlining the formations of every single marching troop and column... but then, when we finally get a proper battle, he'll completely gloss over all the events that should be the book's most exciting parts.
An example of this is when, after a huge battle, we hear a character talk about how Bili chased and slew the 9-foot giant barbarian leader of the enemy army... but we don't even get to "see" it happen. It's just mentioned after the fact. And it's the same with the prairiecats. Apparently they were heavily involved in the battle and the fighting, which WOULD have been epic to read IF Adams had actually taken the time to write this action rather than briefly mention it afterwards with a hand wave.
All in all, my least favourite entry so far. What began as an epic post-apocalyptic tale of immortals, evil witchmen, and telepathic sabretooth tigers seems to have devolved into little more than an author tiresomely showing off his knowledge of dull militaristic activity in agonising detail, including marching, camping, hunting, cleaning armour, tending to horses, and so on and so on - all at the expense of the story and its pacing.
At this point, these books are starting to feel like a missed opportunity. The Savage Mountains was especially poorly structured and anticlimactic, making this a lacklustre 2 stars for me. I've generally enjoyed this series so far, but its repetitive nature and lack of interesting developments currently has me yearning for Horseclans to pick up and return to the quality of the first two books. Here's hoping.
July 9, 2023
Another entry in the series. It moves things along, but unless you’re invested in the series this book probably won’t capture your interest and it ends on a bit of a cliffhanger. Below are some observations about this novel:
The first 27 pages of this book should have been the last 27 of the previous novel.
There is a tribe of amazon-like warriors called Moon Maidens whose leader is called a “brahbehrner” aka “bra-burner”, which for you young folks is one of the things they called women who were campaigning for equal rights for women when they didn’t feel like being too complementary about it (google the 1969 Miss America pageant protest for more details). There exists in unison with this tribe of women a separate tribe led by men with a stern patriarchal outlook (to say the least) whose leader is referred to as a “nahkhahrah” which I have yet to parse. The closest I come to is “knock her out” but that doesn’t seem to fit any 1970s lingo I’m familiar with.
We are introduced to another ethnic group called the Muhkohee, who may be Robert Adams’ little jab at what we in the present refer to as rednecks. They are very insular, savage, multitudinous and because of a severe lack of resources are invasive and cannibalistic. One of their leaders, hailing apparently from their Haiden clan was a giant of a man standing nearly nine feet tall called Bubbuh (“Bubba”).
During the course of conflict there is mentioned in an almost throwaway manner another ally of the Confederation called Soormehlyun, which makes me think they might be related to modern day Somalians in the same way the Arhmenee are related to people of Armenian descent. No real information is given on them, so maybe we’ll find out more about them in the next novel.
The first 27 pages of this book should have been the last 27 of the previous novel.
There is a tribe of amazon-like warriors called Moon Maidens whose leader is called a “brahbehrner” aka “bra-burner”, which for you young folks is one of the things they called women who were campaigning for equal rights for women when they didn’t feel like being too complementary about it (google the 1969 Miss America pageant protest for more details). There exists in unison with this tribe of women a separate tribe led by men with a stern patriarchal outlook (to say the least) whose leader is referred to as a “nahkhahrah” which I have yet to parse. The closest I come to is “knock her out” but that doesn’t seem to fit any 1970s lingo I’m familiar with.
We are introduced to another ethnic group called the Muhkohee, who may be Robert Adams’ little jab at what we in the present refer to as rednecks. They are very insular, savage, multitudinous and because of a severe lack of resources are invasive and cannibalistic. One of their leaders, hailing apparently from their Haiden clan was a giant of a man standing nearly nine feet tall called Bubbuh (“Bubba”).
During the course of conflict there is mentioned in an almost throwaway manner another ally of the Confederation called Soormehlyun, which makes me think they might be related to modern day Somalians in the same way the Arhmenee are related to people of Armenian descent. No real information is given on them, so maybe we’ll find out more about them in the next novel.
August 10, 2021
**Got this book as part of an inherited collection from a dearly departed friend and I plan on reading every book in that collection.**
Another pulp series from the 80's in a post apocalyptic setting, but instead of Mad Max, this world reverts back to Medieval times. There are some immortals and evil science people thrown in for good measure but post-apocalyptic Medieval Times is what you're getting. It kind of reminded me of that movie Doomsday, kind of.
I used to really like these pulp serials, but this one didn't really speak to me. Granted, I started pretty deep into the storyline, but even still, I was able to figure out what was going on and get a pretty good feel for the writing style.
This is one of those series that if you are going to invest in them, you should start at the beginning. All in all I know what it is about and am able to move on.
You won't just run across copies of this series just anywhere, if you're lucky you'll probably find them in a thrift store, so if you really want to read it, get to hunting on Amazon and Half price books.
Another pulp series from the 80's in a post apocalyptic setting, but instead of Mad Max, this world reverts back to Medieval times. There are some immortals and evil science people thrown in for good measure but post-apocalyptic Medieval Times is what you're getting. It kind of reminded me of that movie Doomsday, kind of.
I used to really like these pulp serials, but this one didn't really speak to me. Granted, I started pretty deep into the storyline, but even still, I was able to figure out what was going on and get a pretty good feel for the writing style.
This is one of those series that if you are going to invest in them, you should start at the beginning. All in all I know what it is about and am able to move on.
You won't just run across copies of this series just anywhere, if you're lucky you'll probably find them in a thrift store, so if you really want to read it, get to hunting on Amazon and Half price books.
October 18, 2023
This is the fifth book in the series.
It's basically more of the same, with Milo and his Horseclans/Confederation army seeking to overpower a threat to the Confederation by killing, raping and looting everything that opposes them. There is a sub-plot in there about the Witchmen stealing a device of some kind, but it looks like that story will actually be in another book.
While I like that characters, the writing itself with it's "futuristic" way of speaking and Army ranks drives me a little nuts, simply because it is not needed.
Oh well, on to the next book...
It's basically more of the same, with Milo and his Horseclans/Confederation army seeking to overpower a threat to the Confederation by killing, raping and looting everything that opposes them. There is a sub-plot in there about the Witchmen stealing a device of some kind, but it looks like that story will actually be in another book.
While I like that characters, the writing itself with it's "futuristic" way of speaking and Army ranks drives me a little nuts, simply because it is not needed.
Oh well, on to the next book...
March 22, 2019
I found this to be one of the most exciting tales so far.
In this episode Milo and his men are on the move again this time into the savage lowlands where they encounter an insane killer, epic battles and an all female fighting force called the Maidens squaring off against vicious barbarians while all the time the 20th century "Witchmen" are working behind the scenes to destroy any unity Milo is trying to create in the shape of a terrible earthquake to destroy the fighting forces.
In this episode Milo and his men are on the move again this time into the savage lowlands where they encounter an insane killer, epic battles and an all female fighting force called the Maidens squaring off against vicious barbarians while all the time the 20th century "Witchmen" are working behind the scenes to destroy any unity Milo is trying to create in the shape of a terrible earthquake to destroy the fighting forces.
August 1, 2013
(There are 18 books, and I read until Book 10, Bili the Axe)
I read a bunch of these books, and eventually I got bored of it, but man, what a ride. The story is set in a post-apocalypse world. Everything has gone wrong, from nuclear warfare to plagues, so nothing remains from our time. This new world is run by barbarians and swords. In the new world, there are a few changes. Some clans have the ability to mindspeak to a few select animals, such as big cats (which are more like panthers), and a select few have the power of immortality. Such as our main character, the Undying High Lord Milo!
Milo starts up as a small clan leader, and eventually his clan starts growing bigger as the novels progress.
The series is a manly fantasy story with none of the silly dancing elves stuff. Every few pages, someone gets either killed or raped, and the good guys usually are responsible for both. There isn’t a really strong plot or characters to speak off, but if you have to want to pretend you are a man and raping some villagers and chopping off heads, then it can be fun.
I read a bunch of these books, and eventually I got bored of it, but man, what a ride. The story is set in a post-apocalypse world. Everything has gone wrong, from nuclear warfare to plagues, so nothing remains from our time. This new world is run by barbarians and swords. In the new world, there are a few changes. Some clans have the ability to mindspeak to a few select animals, such as big cats (which are more like panthers), and a select few have the power of immortality. Such as our main character, the Undying High Lord Milo!
Milo starts up as a small clan leader, and eventually his clan starts growing bigger as the novels progress.
The series is a manly fantasy story with none of the silly dancing elves stuff. Every few pages, someone gets either killed or raped, and the good guys usually are responsible for both. There isn’t a really strong plot or characters to speak off, but if you have to want to pretend you are a man and raping some villagers and chopping off heads, then it can be fun.
March 29, 2012
I have waited some time to get hold of a copy of this book. It was well worth the wait. It fills in the gaps between book 4 and 5. it describes in detail the events in the savage mountains and the activities of Bili. Now need to go back and re-read the sequel.
January 22, 2016
The Horseclans series is probably the best blend of fantasy and SiFi I have ever read. Pretty much something for everyone in these books. Great characters, epic storyline, fantastic writings. My highest recommendation
July 28, 2010
See my review of the Horseclans series under Swords of the Horseclans, Horseclans #2.
January 29, 2024
BuBuh!!!
October 30, 2008
Good book.
Read
January 17, 2016Horseclans
November 16, 2014
Looking forward to re-reading these. It's likely been a decade but I enjoyed them then.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews