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The BookViral Review:
We should be grateful to the writer Brad Graft for shining a bright light upon this often neglected and relatively unexplored period of history. The three volumes of The ‘Brotherhood of the Mamluks’ [of which this is the first] is a vivid and illuminating account of perilous journeys and encounters, ranging over the vast area of the Russian Steppe, central Asia and the Middle East in the troubled years of the mid thirteenth century, where the very different cultures of the Mongols, the defenders of militant Islam and the European Crusader States turned it into a troubled and bloodstained arena in which they ceaselessly clashed and fought in pursuit of their own very separate objectives and agendas.
Book One covers the period of 1236 to 1239, from the Russian steppe to the military fortress of Hisn Kayfa in Turkey. It is focussed upon the life and very difficult times of the adolescent boy Duyal who is violently snatched from his nomadic pastoral homeland amongst the Kipchak people in the Upper Volga river country by Mongol raiders. We then follow his difficult progress from Nomadic herder to a highly skilled Mamluk warrior and defender of Islam, and his journey is not an easy one! He is purchased by a high ranking Kurdish Prince and trained and honed in all the arts of a warrior by a brutal and pitiless instructor against whom he eventually rebels. To reveal more of all that befalls young Duyal would be something of a spoiler. Suffice it to say that Graft weaves an exciting web of a story that is interspersed with gem like facts and insight that so often many writers of historical fiction fail to mention. For Graft, a former U.S. Marine, does not simply talk the talk. He has also walked the walk in his creation of an intriguing and believable world., His superb eye for detail is tribute to the fact that he spent weeks researching and living with Nomadic herders in Mongolia; which makes his accounts of facets of their tough world; of slaughtering and preserving meat or of sheltering from the hostile elements, all the little details, all the more believable.
‘Chains of Nobility’ is an engrossing, compelling and highly readable blend of fiction and fact [much of it learnt the hard way] of a relatively unexplored period and place and is an excellent introduction to the following two volumes. It is highly recommended to the discerning reader of historical fiction.
Senlac is a two-part historical novel that brings to life the turbulent period leading to the Norman conquest of England in 1066, when the English were forced to defend the kingdom against invasions by both the Normans and the Vikings.
Blending fact and artistic licence he creates an absorbing and plausible narrative that moves seamlessly between characters and scenes. A narrative that is fearsomely visceral yet remains exquisitely in period throughout.
We are constantly and enduringly fascinated with fictional accounts of parallel existence, alternative realities and genetic engineering. Films such as ‘The Fountain’ present immortality as attainable, whilst books such as ‘The Book Thief’ (Markus Zusak) explore the nature of death, in this case by death himself acting as narrator.
Never before has the voice of social commentary in literature sung higher. Freedom of speech has brought with it a cacophony of loudly spoken, written and sometimes harshly promoted opinion and judgement.
When Huffpost Editor-in-chief Jimmy Leach announced the closure of its blogging platform he said that “publishing thousands of blogs has been a distraction from the delivery of impactful, targeted investigations, explainers, breaking news and lifestyle and entertainment journalism.”
With the continued growing popularity of the short story, many good collections are released each year and yet sadly the majority go unnoticed by mainstream readers.
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