Review
I have just read
this 10 chapters of this historical fiction book just within 1 hour, and I
cannot put the E-book down. Michael B.Hickland's The Guardian of Genghis Khan's
Tomb easily blends and wove historical and fictional account of the hunt for
Genghis Khan's untold wealth in a very exciting and thrilling manner. The
language used is very simple and straightforward, easy to understand without
losing any the tempo in the storyline’s flow. Furthermore, he introduced a lot
of colorful characters and gave compelling historical background with each one
of them. There is a lot of details about the Mongolian culture and history that
added intrigue and realness into the story.
As this is a
historical fiction, I believe he did a lot of research into the WWII struggles
between the Russians, Germans, Chinese, Americans & the Japanese over the
Chinese continent and tweaked it into the storyline. He seamlessly switches
conversations between different factions and countries that were racing to get
hold of the treasure.
And I cannot wait to
finish the entire E-book as the fate of the Genghis Khan's tomb lays waiting.
You can get from Amazon. See this link.
Introduction
Genghis Khan
conquered over 30 countries with around 3 billion people in his lifetime. With such vast territories,
he accumulated tremendous wealth from his conquered nations and tributes to the
Mongolian empire. In 1227 the Great Conqueror died. Since then, finding the
Tomb of Genghis Khan has been the obsession of tyrants, adventurers and
treasure hunters alike.
The legend says
that, in order to keep his tomb’s location secret, Genghis Khan slaughtered
hundreds if not thousands of his captives after they had been forced to dig his
burial site. He had amassed untold wealth with enormous quantities of jewels,
gold and silver from his conquests which is believed to be buried with him.
So why hasn’t his
crypt been found in almost eight hundred years? In Michael B. Hickland’s The Guardian of Genghis Khan’s Tomb, the Great
Conqueror extracts a sacred oath from a special advisor. It binds both this
trusted counselor and his family forever to protect the tomb and the most
immense treasure ever known.
Now, in a remote
Asian river valley, a beautiful English scientist’s chance discovery of an
ancient artifact tied directly to Genghis Khan ignites a furious race among
China, Russia and the United States to find that crypt. The stakes are huge,
putting the young woman along with her American sponsor at the center of the
confrontation.
Can The Guardian of Genghis Khan’s Tomb manage to
keep the gravesite safe and his beloved country, a fledgling democracy, from
being overrun? Or will war break out between the world’s Superpowers? This
e-novel is a fast paced historical fiction thriller full of turns and twists.
It ends with a conclusion that would stun even the Great Conqueror himself.
Summary
The wisdom of Genghis Khan was manifested in all his
accomplishments. He came from one of several nomadic tribes occupying an area
of Central Asia plagued by drought. Game had become scarce and farming almost
nonexistent. Before becoming the Great Conqueror, he was named Temujin. His
father had been a chieftain of the Kiyad and was murdered by another clan.
Temujin recognized early on that the ongoing conflict among the tribes would
end badly for all. Strong and ruthless, he was a brilliant military strategist
who made the necessary alliances to build a small army. With it he set about
conquering each of the warring tribes and bringing them under his banner.
After successfully uniting the tribes into a Mongol confederation,
he sought to feed his impoverished and malnourished people. He gazed beyond his
border. Temujin knew that Western Xia and its Tangut population had irrigated
its grasslands and raised large cattle herds. So he went to war with the Tangut
and invaded Western Xia. By 1209 he prevailed and had it under his control
along with its Hexi Corridor, an important East/West trade route. Once again
Temujin demonstrated wisdom by assimilating the Tangut advances in literature,
architecture, music and the arts into the Mongol culture. He utilized the trade
goods and foodstuffs of this new Mongol conquest to improve the economy of the
combined territories. Having added Tangut soldiers to his army, Temujin also
was collecting tribute.
Soon he received an emissary from the Emperor of the Jin
demanding his own submission and tribute from the Mongols as his vassals. His
people had long suffered under Jin influence and arrogance. The Jin had a huge
army estimated at 600,000 men that dwarfed that of Temujin. But, the Jin Dynasty
was extremely wealthy. From his spies, Temujin knew that the Jin army was
occupied far to the South with border wars. Making the most of his opportunity,
with a force of 70,000, he marched into the Jin Empire, successfully raiding
wherever he went.
He concentrated the raids on rural areas, terrorizing the
inhabitants. Very soon these people were flocking to the cities for protection.
After selecting such a city Temujin laid siege using siege weaponry and
strategy he had taken from Muslim and Chinese engineers. City after city fell
to the Mongols. Soon Temujin and his army, burgeoning with Jin deserters, were
at the gates of the Jin capital Zhongdu (Beijing). The capital was overcrowded and
could not begin to feed all the people. Before long Jin soldiers were ordered
to execute the peasants which pushed the remaining population towards
rebellion. Now the Jin Emperor sued for peace and agreed to pay Temujin a huge
annual tribute. Quickly the Jin Emperor moved his court away to Kaifeng.
Feeling double crossed Temujin took Zhongdu and all it possessed. The Mongol’s
spoils of war were mind boggling. From there Temujin’s forces went deep into
China, plundering everywhere they went. Vast quantities of gold, silver and
jewels were constantly being transported back to Karakorom, then the Mongol
capital.
As a result of his external victories he had been given the
title of Genghis Khan. His first conquest came in the West over the Khanate of
Kara-Khitan, a country of almost a million square miles. Its treasury of
Chinese coins, operating gold mines and annual tribute provided him with new
wealth and ongoing income.
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