I picked this book up solely on the basis of Stephenson's name on the cover; without it, I'm sure I would've walked on by a sword epic with too many writers on the cover. That would have been a mistake, and I would've missed out on an engaging history lesson on something glossed over in my schooling; the Mongol takeover of Asia and Europe.

The Mongol Empire, by land area, was the largest empire in human history. Since we tend now to think of the time between Rome and the Renaissance as an unchanging Dark Age, we forget that once all of Europe was either under the thumb of, or in fear of, the Great Khan. This story drops the reader right in the middle of that period, as Eastern Europe begins to suffer terribly under the attacks of the Horde.

A group of Christian (but secretly pagan) knights is looking for a way to save the people of Europe from more suffering. A rumor of a fine point of Mongol law gives the knight's leader an idea...

At the same time, a young fighter in Mongolia is torn from the steppes and installed in the court of the Great Khan, and must learn diplomacy quickly if he's to live.

I've been reading experimental novels and comics all year. It's nice to sit down with a novel with a familiar structure, with a good story and solid history behind it. This was a quick, fun read.