By Bryn Hammond

Series description: 'Amgalant' means unity. This story is about the unification of the steppe under Tchingis Khan. From the shattered condition of the Mongols before him, to 1206 when Tchingis is acknowledged khan over the peoples of the steppe. Amgalant likewise follows Temujin, the boy who becomes Tchingis Khan, from an outcast life of poverty to the achievement of his dreams. The forty years from 1166 to 1206 saw great drama on the steppe, although settled societies off the steppe scarcely noticed. That remains true to this day. Temujin's rise to instatement as Tchingis Khan is the heart and guts of the Secret History of the Mongols, more important to its Mongol creators and audience than the off-steppe conquests afterwards. The Secret History of the Mongols is a gorgeous source for a novelist, rich in human interest and incident. Amgalant follows this source with humble fidelity and faith in the art of the original.