Against the Devil's Men

by Alexander Rooksmoor

In our history, in 1242, abruptly on the death of their overlord, Ögedei Khan, the Mongol forces ravaging Europe withdrew.

‘Against the Devil’s Men’ envisages Ögedei living just ten years longer and the Mongol advance continuing unabated.

By 1267, the Papacy has retreated to eastern Spain and a front line runs from Celestine’s Wall in France up to the River Rhine in the German states. Against this background, an exceptional friar, Brother Cataldo, the half-Mongol Sister Aurea and a hardy band of Cuman warriors, are sent to spread disease among the Mongols in the desperate hope of stemming their invasion.

432 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 28, 2019

Reviews

[Tom Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alexander Rooksmoor is an established Alternate History (AH) author but this is his first work published by Sea Lion Press. A good AH novel needs to use the changed world as the backdrop to a compelling story that would work even if it had a familiar setting, and this is accomplished here. In a world where Ogedei Khan didn't die on schedule and the Mongol hordes overran the German and northern Italian states, the remnant of European Christendom - led by a more militaristic and crusading Catholic Church based in Aragon - fights on from the west. Now a mission is led into Mongol territory to try to sabotage the Khanate from within. Interesting characters and detailed historical notes bring the scenario to life, and the reader feels as if he or she is meeting real people from this era, not time-displaced modern characters. Highly recommended.