Compelling story at the time of the height of the Mongolian invasion of Europe, with loads of action and wonderful period detail. Told from multiple points of view; within the Mongol court, Christian warrior monks and cardinals trapped in Rome trying to elect the next Pope. Brilliantly read by Luke Daniels. ( )

Ben poco da dire, rispetto alla recensione che ho fatto sul primo volume della saga: una lettura piacevole, ottima oper suoperare una noiosa influenzetta, e poco più. Continuano a essere fastidiosi gli errori di latino. ( )

I could not get into book 1, DNF, so book 2 also gets flushed. ( )

The second book of the Mongoliad trilogy picks up right where the first one left off. We follow along with Feronantus's trek to the East, the travails of the remaining Rose Knights in Hunern and at the gladiatorial circus of Onghwe Khan, and the exploits of Gansukh at the court of the Khan of Khans. This book also adds a new plotline that follows a rather contentious Papal election after the death of Gregory IX. This book continues to portray the characters we got to know in the first book in interesting ways, and continues with its detailed descriptions of a number of intense one-on-one fight scenes. I was a little thrown off by the new plotline in Rome, as while it is interesting, it doesn't really have anything to do with the other characters or the Mongol invasion in general, and even by the end of the book it's not connected in any meaningful way. As might be expected, this book doesn't really have a satisfactory ending, as most readers will simply continue on with the next volume. Like the previous installment, I found this an enjoyable read. ( )

The difficult second book of a trilogy. Moving the various plots along, and, in this case, introducing a new one, gaining and losing characters, but not resolving anything significant. I was less satisfied by this book as compared to its predecessor, but should have expected that. I detected a fewer signs of loose editing this time around, particularly a few instances where a plot element was glossed over with little or no explanation only to be returned to later with a rather clunky piece pf exposition. But I enjoyed enough to keep book 3 on my reading list. ( )