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A review by willrefuge
The Judas Blossom by Stephen Aryan
4.0
8 / 10 ✪
https://arefugefromlife.wordpress.com/2023/07/28/the-judas-blossom-by-stephen-aryan-review/
1260 in Persia wasn’t a great year, but it could’ve been worse.
Following the assimilation into the Mongol Empire the year before, fighting was pretty much done by the time the year turned, though the locals wouldn’t’ve known that. Kaivon, a former Persian general-turned-rebel, despises the Mongols with the very fiber of his being, but he’s decided that just cutting the head off the snake would mean very little in terms of vengeance. Instead, when Kaivon ends up saving the life of Hulagu, he has a chance to join the khan’s inner circle—and destroy it from within.
Hulagu and his youngest son, Temujin (named after the great Chinggis), have never seen eye-to-eye. After his most recent failure, Temujin is forced into the army, accompanying his father on the warpath. Though the son is resigned to do his part in the army, Hulagu isn’t thrilled to see his disappointment of a son marching with him. Instead, the khan of the Ilkhanate has more on his mind—hoping to take the Holy Land by the turn of the year. And things aren’t going well. Dissent amongst his kin has strife striking the Empire from within, and more and more enemies hopeful to see them fail without. But when his son Temujin stumbles across an ancient secret that might aid him, Hulagu would be a fool to turn it down. Even though he’s pretty certain his son will end up disappointing him once more.
The Twelve are a secret society that want nothing more than their homeland to be freed. They are willing to fix events, forfeit land, squander money, and spend as many lives as they need to to get the Mongols out, but nothing that is worth doing ever comes easy. Fortunately, theirs’ is the long-game—and what the Twelve have in excess are time and patience.
And time destroys all.
—
I wasn’t even sure how to voice Kokochin’s journey in the blurb, so I skipped it, but to tell the truth I think I found her story the most interesting. For a character that is literally a footnote in history, that’s saying something. So much potential for the author to work with—and he does an excellent go of it. Her story is fascinating, head and shoulders above both Kaivon and Hulagu’s, who competed for the rest of my attention with the Twelve. I could never really get behind Temujin, even though he bears his grandfather’s great namesake.
While Stephen Aryan said he tried to stay as close to the original history as possible, some names and dates were intentionally changed to set the story up as advantageous as possible. Now, this will only seem a complaint if you know the history in any real detail, but I kept getting pulled out of the story to second-guess dates and names and the overall timeline. Again, this is pretty much only a “me” problem, but hey—it’s my review, innit?
The Mongol Empire can form a lovely tapestry on which to build your epic, and the Judas Blossom is just the beginning of what I hope will prove a long and fascinating series (or, likely a trilogy). Much like the Mongoliad before it, there’s just so much to focus on and so many pathways available to explore. Even if one DOES actually follow the history, rather than the Foreword Saga, which decidedly doesn’t. The backdrop of this epic was truly amazing, vividly realized and built, and possessive of an excellent story within. Still, I had minor issues with the pacing and the genre flip-flopping between historical fiction and fantasy, though these are minor complaints when the piece is viewed as a whole.
Where we start is interesting enough, but where the story leaves off is even more fascinating. There’s just so much possible in the next several years, with possibly the greatest dissolution in history on the near horizon (if you’re not familiar with the history, well, it IS history, so maybe google it). The history from that time is a bit sparse, and as we all know history is primarily written by the victors. There’s just so many directions the author can go from here, even while still honoring the true course of events. I can’t wait to see what he chooses!
https://arefugefromlife.wordpress.com/2023/07/28/the-judas-blossom-by-stephen-aryan-review/
1260 in Persia wasn’t a great year, but it could’ve been worse.
Following the assimilation into the Mongol Empire the year before, fighting was pretty much done by the time the year turned, though the locals wouldn’t’ve known that. Kaivon, a former Persian general-turned-rebel, despises the Mongols with the very fiber of his being, but he’s decided that just cutting the head off the snake would mean very little in terms of vengeance. Instead, when Kaivon ends up saving the life of Hulagu, he has a chance to join the khan’s inner circle—and destroy it from within.
Hulagu and his youngest son, Temujin (named after the great Chinggis), have never seen eye-to-eye. After his most recent failure, Temujin is forced into the army, accompanying his father on the warpath. Though the son is resigned to do his part in the army, Hulagu isn’t thrilled to see his disappointment of a son marching with him. Instead, the khan of the Ilkhanate has more on his mind—hoping to take the Holy Land by the turn of the year. And things aren’t going well. Dissent amongst his kin has strife striking the Empire from within, and more and more enemies hopeful to see them fail without. But when his son Temujin stumbles across an ancient secret that might aid him, Hulagu would be a fool to turn it down. Even though he’s pretty certain his son will end up disappointing him once more.
The Twelve are a secret society that want nothing more than their homeland to be freed. They are willing to fix events, forfeit land, squander money, and spend as many lives as they need to to get the Mongols out, but nothing that is worth doing ever comes easy. Fortunately, theirs’ is the long-game—and what the Twelve have in excess are time and patience.
And time destroys all.
—
I wasn’t even sure how to voice Kokochin’s journey in the blurb, so I skipped it, but to tell the truth I think I found her story the most interesting. For a character that is literally a footnote in history, that’s saying something. So much potential for the author to work with—and he does an excellent go of it. Her story is fascinating, head and shoulders above both Kaivon and Hulagu’s, who competed for the rest of my attention with the Twelve. I could never really get behind Temujin, even though he bears his grandfather’s great namesake.
While Stephen Aryan said he tried to stay as close to the original history as possible, some names and dates were intentionally changed to set the story up as advantageous as possible. Now, this will only seem a complaint if you know the history in any real detail, but I kept getting pulled out of the story to second-guess dates and names and the overall timeline. Again, this is pretty much only a “me” problem, but hey—it’s my review, innit?
The Mongol Empire can form a lovely tapestry on which to build your epic, and the Judas Blossom is just the beginning of what I hope will prove a long and fascinating series (or, likely a trilogy). Much like the Mongoliad before it, there’s just so much to focus on and so many pathways available to explore. Even if one DOES actually follow the history, rather than the Foreword Saga, which decidedly doesn’t. The backdrop of this epic was truly amazing, vividly realized and built, and possessive of an excellent story within. Still, I had minor issues with the pacing and the genre flip-flopping between historical fiction and fantasy, though these are minor complaints when the piece is viewed as a whole.
Where we start is interesting enough, but where the story leaves off is even more fascinating. There’s just so much possible in the next several years, with possibly the greatest dissolution in history on the near horizon (if you’re not familiar with the history, well, it IS history, so maybe google it). The history from that time is a bit sparse, and as we all know history is primarily written by the victors. There’s just so many directions the author can go from here, even while still honoring the true course of events. I can’t wait to see what he chooses!