Review: The Judas Blossom, by Stephen Aryan

1260, Persia: Due to the efforts of the great Genghis Khan, the Mongol Empire covers a vast portion of the known world. In the shadow of his grandfather, Hulagu Khan, ruler of the Ilkhanate, is determined to create a single empire that covers the entire world. His method? Violence. His youngest son, Temujin Khan, struggles to find his place in his father’s bloody rule. After another failure, Temujin is given one last chance to prove himself to Hulagu, who is sure there is a great warrior buried deep inside. But there’s something else rippling under the surface… something far more powerful and dangerous than they could ever imagine…
Reduced to the position of one of Hulagu’s many wives, the famed Blue Princess Kokochin is the last of her tribe. Alone and forgotten in a foreign land, Kokochin is unwilling to spend her days seeking out trivial pursuits. Seeking purpose, she finds herself wandering down a path that grants her more power than a wife of the Khan may be allowed. Kaivon, the Persian rebel who despises the Mongols for the massacre of his people, thirsts for revenge. However, he knows alone he cannot destroy the empire. When given the opportunity to train under the tutelage of Hulagu, Kaivon must put aside his feelings and risk his life for a chance to destroy the empire that aims to conquer the world.

"One day, our country will be free". Stephen Aryan's The Judas Blossom is a solid historical fantasy dealing with the Mongol conquest of the Persian Empire. Set in the Thirteenth Century, this sprawling epic tinges history with a dash of magic, giving an arcane and strange power to one of the main characters. Will it be used as a means of conquest, or for a just purpose?

I don't know nearly enough about this part of history to know if real events are followed closely, but through the four main characters we see first-hand the ugliest parts of war, while seeds of rebellion are planted and shadow organizations attempt to steer the course of history.

I do have a gripe with the narration, very didascalic for my liking. Events are described as if in a treatise, rather than a novel. The dry narration doesn't allow the characters' inner lives to shine, only expounding the facts.

One of the main characters is a princess sold into marriage to a Khan; lost amongst the tyrant's many wives, she will find elsewhere a place for herself, and, too, a romance with a woman who is more than she seems.

The Judas Blossom is an intriguing first installation in a series that promises fireworks.

✨ 3.5 stars