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    Raiders from the North: Empire of the Moghul
    Raiders from the North: Empire of the Moghul
    Raiders from the North: Empire of the Moghul
    Audiobook14 hours

    Raiders from the North: Empire of the Moghul

    Written by Alex Rutherford

    Narrated by Simon Vance

    3.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Raiders from the North ushers in a bold, panoramic new historical series that tells the unknown story of the Moghul emperors, chronicling the rise and fall of one of the most powerful, opulent, and glittering dynasties in history.

    Descended from the legendary Tamburlaine, the Moghuls rose out of Central Asia in the sixteenth century. Raiders from the North tells the astounding story of their young king, who led his warriors against rampaging armies and ruthlessly ambitious enemies to found an empire that would dominate the continent.

    Full of action, drama, and character, with epic battles, incredible journeys, and lives ravaged by treachery, this is the perfect book for fans of fast-paced tales of adventure during some of the most tumultuous eras in history.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTantor Media, Inc
    Release dateJun 16, 2010
    ISBN9781400187508
    Raiders from the North: Empire of the Moghul
    Author

    Alex Rutherford

    Alex Rutherford lives in London and has travelled extensively in India. Alex is also the author of the Empire of the Moghul sextet of historical novels currently being filmed by Disney Plus/(Hot Star) in India for a six-series, high-budget TV production. The showrunner is Nikhil Advani. The Empire of the Moghul books are also under motion picture development in Hollywood.

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    Reviews for Raiders from the North

    3.5/5

    23 ratings19 reviews

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    • 3/5
      The book is interesting on account of being Babur's story told from his own perspective. Recommended to anyone who enjoys historical fiction.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 3/5
      As an historian and lover of good adventures, I was glad to discover this latest entry in the on-going renaissance in historical adventure fiction. Nice to see the endorsements on this volume. Was excited to get started on a new series, especially one following the fascinating life of the Moghul Babur. What could be more timely as Central Asia writhes in turmoil and war once more?This is a good read. It isn't fantastic and falls somewhat short of the mark. Sad too say, there is too much fighting and not enough character development/psychology. Nevertheless, let the adventures continue! Looking forward to the next volume in this series. We can/should forgive a lot in a first book.
    • 4/5
      I won this wonderful book on Early Reviewers. Despite some choppy transitions I devoured this story. Sometimes I had to re-read to understand time had advanced either several months or years. The characters were sufficiently developed and "touchable" so to speak. Yes some scenes are savage but that is the nature of time, place and people. You have a confident sense that the author is trying to be true as possible to the time period, culture and people it is not a total figment of imagination. In fact the author visited important sites related to Babur . Many of the characters existed in history. The author illustrated the terrain, geography of the story magnificently. I am looking forward to next book in the series
    • 3/5
      Book 1 of the Moghul series, part of my about India / Indian authors reads this year. Growing up in India, Moghuls form part of our History syllabus. However, the information contained in those books is quite superfluous and very biased. Hence, it was refreshing to read a third party account of the Moghuls.
    • 4/5
      Raiders from the North is the story of the life of Babur, the creator of the Moghul empire. At various times Babur was the ruler of Samarkand, Ferghana (in modern day Uzbekistan), and Kabul. But his lasting impact was the creation of the Moghul empire in Delhi of modern India. The Moghul empire lasted for hundreds of years until it was displaced by the British. Babur's campaign there saw the introduction of firearms for the first time to India as well as a major instance of jihad (Babur was Muslim). The word Moghul is persian for Mongol; Babur was a descendant of Ghengis Khan.Rutherfords' book is a fine novelization of Babur's life. The book moves rapidly (I read it in one sitting), the characters are engaging, and the history seems to be accurate, as near as I can tell. Babur keeps a diary in the novel, which is historical. The battle scenes are engaging, and overall the book compares well with the best of Bernard Cornwell or (perhaps a bit more directly comparable), Harold Lamb's Genghis Khan.In fact readers interested in Babur will enjoy reading Rory Stewart's The Places in Between, the story of a crazy Scotsman who walks across modern-day Afghanistan just after the Taliban's removal. He walks in the footsteps of Babur (even has a dog named after him), and quotes freely from Babur's diary. Stewart's book gives a much more direct view into Muslim culture. In fact Raiders of the North often feels lacking in insight to Muslim culture, often feeling almost medieval European. But I quibble, it's a very good book. Interestingly, Babur was given to debauchery, in contrast to more modern Islamic mores, although he gave it up late in life. A quote from Babur: "Everyone regrets drinking and swears an oath [of abstinence]; I swore the oath and regret that."(I received a copy of Raiders of the North through the excellent Early Reviewers program)
    • 3/5
      I didn’t finish this book, but I did read the first 146 pages (33%), and it was a hard slog at times. I wouldn’t have got that far if I hadn’t needed to review it for Early Reviewers. I stopped when I realized I was having more fun noting its bad points than I was in following the plot. So...Problems, in no particular order:Characters: I found the people in the book generally uninteresting. This was particularly true for the protagonist and viewpoint character, Barbur, but it also applied to pretty much everyone else, who are mostly one-dimensional stereotypes (good and bad characters alike) with no noticeable character development. We are given little insight into their minds and motives, partly because of the tight third-person narrative, which seldom leaves Barbur’s viewpoint after the first chapter. Plot: The plot is straight-forward with little suspense. Boy unexpectedly becomes king, boy conquers another kingdom (with a lot of help from a wise old mentor), boy loses both kingdoms and becomes a brigand, boy eventually reconquers first kingdom… but at this point I stopped reading. Things that could have generated suspense didn’t: when Barbur recklessly undertakes a secret mission in the process of his first conquest, we know he’s going to succeed, so the only question is how (hint: not by doing anything smart). Later, when his mother, grandmother, and sister are being held hostage, their captor suddenly releases them for no apparent reason (He fears Barbur because of the latter’s bandit raids? Really?). And so it goes...Historical accuracy: This I can’t speak to, as this is not my period or geographical area of interest, although some well-researched details are, er, evident (“All the hours of practice with his small, sharply curved double bow using a bronze ring to protect his thumb as he drew back the taunt string had paid off.”). I would assume it was good, except for...Fighting: In the passages where Barbur is involved in combat, many of the details are unlikely to the point of being ludicrous. In the historical note at the back of the book, the author details his research, traveling throughout the area covered by the story and living with the descendants of Barbur’s people. I do wonder, however, if he ever mounted a horse or picked up a sword, much less observed or participated in primitive combat. In the description of Barbur’s scaling the walls and fighting on the battlements of Samarkand, I kept thinking of Mary Renault’s Alexander in Fire From Heaven, who would have laughed himself sick at Barbur’s antics. Later, when Barbur sets out to capture a small fort as a base for his brigandry, my disbelief finally came permanently unsuspended. First, does he gallop toward the objective, drawing his sword as he goes? No, he draws the sword first, then leaps into the saddle. Then, when he rides his horse into the hall of the fort in pursuit of one of the defenders and is confronted by a man with a spear and shield, does he charge, using his horse as a weapon and hacking his enemy down? No, he bandies words with the man (who replies, “Vanquish me in combat if you can.”), then dismounts and advances. Does the man throw his spear at Barbur, who is armed only with a sword? No, he tries to fence with it, then when our hero falls over the furniture and disarms himself, “raising his spear above his head in both hands he was about to stab its point into Barbur’s exposed throat”, only to be foiled by a hastily interposed wooden dinner platter... and so it goes.Other details: This could become a long list. The scene-painting is generally effective, no doubt due to the author’s on-the-ground research. The narrative style, on the other hand, leaves much to be desired. Too many short choppy sentences; no sense of pace; grammatical errors which should have been caught by the editor (“By now, riding hard and light, the mountains of Freghana should have been in sight.”); too many cliches to mention; anachronisms (during “the ninety minutes the five scouts were away”, who held the stopwatch?); wooden dialogue; the fact that everyone speaks exactly the same, with no attempt at individual voices... the list goes on. Sex and violence: Considering the subject matter, I didn’t see that much, although it’s possible that it increases in the remaining two thirds of the book. The violence is run-of-the-mill, except where it’s silly (see above); the only sexual episode I saw (where Barbur deflowers his bride) was unintentionally humorous (“Suddenly Barbur felt that his young blood could be contained no longer. The tension of the day seemed to explode inside him...”). And why is a seventeen year old warlord still a virgin, anyway? Some people seem to have enjoyed this book. I wish them well; for myself, I struggled on, hope fading, until at last I was vanquished by the all-conquering Barbur, who simply succeeded in boring me to death.
    • 4/5
      Impressing HF Impressed me a lot and the story telling was also good.
    • 4/5
      I greatly enjoyed this book. I felt like I was learning while I was reading it, both about the background of the hottest spot in our current history and Islam, but not in a preachy way. The story was engaging, and I really liked that it seemed to be based so closely on the autobiography of Babur. My only complaint is that some of the lines seemed stilted - like he was trying to stay true to the text of the diary, but didn't quite know how to translate it. I also wish that there would have been more maps included, but I found what I wanted on Google. Two thumbs up - I will definitly look for the sequel when it comes out.
    • 4/5
      I received this book as part of the Early Reviewers program and looked forward to reading it as I have an interest in Central Asia and its history. Alex Rutherford takes a complex and daunting subject and distills it to its essential essence. The story is based on the diaries of Babur, the founder of the Moghul Empire. The author traveled extensively through the areas covered by the book as part of his research, and it shows in the rich detail of places in a part of the world that few Americans know anything about. Babur, a descendant of the great Tamberlaine, or as he is referred to in the book, Timur, takes the throne of a minor kingdom in Central Asia at the young age of 12 after his father is killed in a bizarre accident. As with all young monarchs, his life is filled with danger not only from external enemies, but from internal enemies who want to control the throne. Babur loses his kingdom through trickery and deceit on the part of his half-brother, but in the end, gains a much greater destiny as the founder of one of the great empires of Asia. The story of how he gets there is filled with death, struggle, treachery, and uncounted battles. It includes a cast of characters who are ruthless in their desire to crush their enemies. It was a time of great violence, and a throne was gained and protected through the use of barbarism that the modern person can hardly imagine.The thing that finally brings Babur to the height of his power is weapons from the ottoman Empire in the form of muskets and cannon, which were unknown in what is today modern India. The book ends with the death of Babur after he names his eldest son as his heir on his death bed. He leaves three sons who are filled with pride and jealousy to carve out their own destinies. The author reminds the reader that both Genghis Khan and Tamberlaine left empires that fell apart quickly because their heirs were too busy fighting each other to save what the founder had begun. Raiders from the North is the first of a series of books that look at the formation of the Moghul Empire. If the rest are as exciting as this one, it is going to be a series to be enjoyed and savored.
    • 3/5
      This book fell short for me. Character development was lacking, descriptions of settings and action seemed flat, and dialogue was mostly stilted and awkward. Yet the subject was interesting enough and the story occasionally captivating so that I did read all 434 pages.Publication hype compares this author with Wilbur Smith, Bernard Cornwell, and Conn Iggulden. Unfortunately, the comparison is not warranted. While the author does show some promise, he definately does not rate an affiliation with the three writers mentioned... especially Smith's Egyptian series, the Sharpe, Utred, and archer stories of Cornwell, and the soon to be expanded ongoing story of Genghis Khan and the Mongols by Iggulden..
    • 4/5
      I asked for this book because I am currently reading a similar book with my partner. It's about Genghis Khan and it's by that guy who wrote the Dangerous Book for Boys. This is not my usual genre but I have read other very similar books, such as Cornwell's Sharpe series, the other series he wrote about the Saxon guy, and this latest Genghis Khan book.I have lived in Muslim countries and have heard about the Moghul empire in India though I don't know that much about South Asia per se. So I was interested in this period of history and I found it fascinating that these people were actually related to Genghis Khan as well. The book was quite entertaining. I thought the characters were well drawn and realistic. I liked the strong female characters who managed to be interesting and compelling but not anachronistic, and the main character was interesting too, though he does fit a lot of tropes that I've seen in other similar books. (Royal born? Check. Destined for greatness? Check. Deposed at very young age? Check. Becomes a military leader in his early teens? Check. Betrayed by advisors? Check. Etc. You get the picture.)Historically, I think the book had quite a bit to offer, with information about the various political groups and alliances that controlled the different portions of South Asia and particularly about the Timorids (the dynasty that became the Moghuls, founded by this main character who is the grandson of Timor, or Tamerlane as he's known in the West).I plan to pass the book on to my partner who really enjoys this type of book. Though it is not my favorite genre I thought it was well written and it held my interest. I will probably read the rest of the series as it comes out.
    • 3/5
      I got this as an advance review copy and at first could not get into it. Then on the second reading I stuck with it to the end.As I look back at the book I see that it did not grab me. And as I continued through it, still it was not something I could say was outstanding. It dealt with a subject matter that you think could be rich for a historical novel. A conquering emperor who loses his capital more than once. The founder of the Moghul empire. Babur should be rich subject matter.But Rutherford spends so much time telling me about Babur and his life and not showing me, that the reading is dry, not gripping as I mentioned and then rather boring as Babur fails so often that when he finally succeeds there is no passion in the story to show us that is was worth reading.The author admits to making the device of a few characters, and with matters that happened five hundred years ago, I do not fault him. Where i do is that is a great medium to have provided us with dialogue instead of exposition. We have far too much of the latter. Not near enough of the former, and often in the case of dialogue it is long periods of exposition in any event.With a conqueror, we want to hear about the battles, the kingly decisions, and struggles. What we have are long list of decisions but focused on why someone would need to be killed and how to do it. Battles, we don't have much of an overview that a commander would do. Babur gets into fights, we see a first person view, and miss his leading a battle. That surely had a great deal to do with victory, but we see little of it. And then the glimpse we have of his personal experience in the fight doesn't lead me to empathize with the protagonist.This is the first of a multi part series. I would like to know what happens with the dynasty, but I find that I can not get past the writers style and therefore won't be reading any more of them.
    • 2/5
      Like others, I found this book to start out slowly. It did speed up somewhat in the second half, but unfortunately, it still progressed in jerks and starts rather than as flowing narrative.I agree with many of the other criticisms as well, especially with the characters lacking depth, reality, and any emotional draw. It seemed as though Rutherford was unsure what style of book he wanted to write and got stuck competing between focusing on action and military exploits on the one hand and relationships and introspection on the other. In any case, both aspects suffered for the writing.
    • 4/5
      I received this as part of the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program.This refreshing work of historical fiction tackles geography and history otherwise ignored within the genre: the 16th century rise of the Moghul Empire in what is now a region including Uzbekistan, Afghanistan and India.The story follows Babur, who at age 12 is declared king of Ferghana after the tragic death of his father. This sounds like the start of several Bernard Cornwell novels, but in this case it's the truth. Babur and many of the other characters were real. Babur is determined to live up to the legacy of his ancestor, Timur (also called Tamburlaine), who ruled the Earth from Delhi to the Mediterranean. The threats against him are many, including barbaric Uzbeks, spies, poison, and politics.When I started this book, I wasn't so sure about it. The perspective is very male (though the authors are a husband and wife team writing under a pen name), complete with tales of Babur's whoring adventures. Yes, that turned me off. However, what I did like was a book that deeply explored a major historical person I knew nothing about. According to the afterward, Babur wrote the first autobiography in Islamic literature. Though he omitted some periods of his life, in others he described events and delights in great detail. Many of those details come across in this work of fiction. I also found it fascinating to follow a Muslim and see his vantage point on the heathen Uzbeks, the Sunni/Shia divide in his own faith, and his eventual introduction to Hinduism in India.In all, a very interesting book for students of history, but not one I will keep on my crowded shelves.
    • 4/5
      This book is about the life of Babur the first Emperor of the Moghuls, who established the moghul empire in Hindustan. Loved reading the book as the author has described important events of Baburs life in details. This is the first book in the series of Empire of Moghuls and this is the first time I am reading about the moghul emperor. Looking forward to read the remaining books in the series.
    • 4/5
      This is one of those books I wish were longer and which had more details. It's a good read, interesting and full of plot twists, but the log gaps in time sequence were a bit frustrating. I've not seen a book about the Moghul empire before and so it was very intriguing to read about the descendants of Timur (often known as Tammerlane) and the formation of the great Moghul empire., and how they got their hands on the Koh-hi-noor diamond which formed part of the crown jewels.I'm a big fan of lots of description of places, food, clothing, etc. and so that's one of the reasons I wish this book were longer. The maps and cast of characters were extremely helpful as the names and geography were not terribly familiar.
    • 3/5
      I received this book as part of the Early Reviewers Program. Thanks Library Thing.I found Raiders From the North to be an entertaining and interesting read. This is book one of what I understand will be three books in a series. It deals with the life of Babur from his time as a young King to his death after the conquest of India. I knew very little of the history of the 'Stan countries, so I enjoyed this historical fiction.I particularly enjoyed the battles with the introduction of guns, cannons and gunpowder. Must have been a horrific thing to those that had never seen it before.All in all I enjoyed the book. I can't say it was great, but it was a pretty good read. I will likely read the sequels as time permits.Bob in Chicago
    • 2/5
      In Raiders From The North, Alex Rutherford begins his five-book series on the Moghul Empire. The Moghul Empire controlled much of the Indian subcontinent from 1526 until the mid-nineteenth century and was ruled by the Timurid bloodline, founded by Timur Lang (1336–1405). This novel focuses on Babur, descended from both Timur and Genghis Khan. He was born the prince of Ferghana in 1483 and later became the ruler of Kabul. Babur's life was marked by turbulent tribal warfare and military conquest, and this is the story of how he founded his empire.The Islamic Moghul Empire in the sixteenth century was a brutal place, full of torture and cruel methods for carrying out a death sentence. People were impaled, hung upside down, flayed alive, flogged, crushed by elephants specially trained as executioners, and more. It was an unstable time, with princes coming to power and making and breaking alliances, when one wrong move in battle could mean a bloody, ugly death, when to be a woman was to be first and foremost a sexual asset. Rutherford is sensitive to the cultural shock that his readers will experience, and yet he does not hesitate to have his main character Babur order death sentences and lop off the heads of traitors at age twelve. I didn't enjoy the bawdiness or the explicit brutality of the period, but I do respect those facts as historically faithful. Rutherford softens things where he can and it's a testament to his attention to this problem that we don't hate Babur by the end of the book.But sometimes Rutherford is a little too zealous to make Babur and his story relatable for modern readers. Was "perfect physical and mental compatibility" a concept that had been thought of as the ideal relationship between a husband and wife? I don't want to be a chronological snob and assume that only modern people understand and value such ideas, but the word "compatibility" seemed so out of place. In another place Rutherford talks about Babur and his first wife as "emotional strangers." I think the concept was probably existent at the time; maybe it's just the modern-sounding words that Rutherford uses that jarred me as I read.The women in the story are varied and interesting. Esan Dawlat, Babur's grandmother, is a powerful character, and Khanzada is her true granddaughter. Though she is not a congenial character, Babur's first wife Ayisha is certainly memorable. Though women in that time were valued primarily for their sexuality and ability to bear children, they often played some part in the affairs of government. The daughter of the vizier of Samarkand is one such woman who, though never named, plays political games through the powerful men she encounters. Another such woman is Buwa, grandmother of a ruler deposed by Babur, who almost succeeds in her plot of poisoning him. Though their legal and political status is always inferior, it would appear that some women in that period did not hesitate to hatch intrigues and lay hold of whatever political power they could.The writing style is of uneven quality; sometimes it is quite good and other times the sentence structure is so awkward that it's difficult to even understand. There are some jerky scenes that don't flow smoothly in the narrative and feel like they were just thrown in because what happens in them is important to the plot. For this reason I don't think Rutherford entirely deserves the comparisons to Bernard Cornwell and other big-name authors of historical fiction. There is definite potential here, but a lot of polishing still to be done. However, Rutherford does follow the historical period faithfully and that's a plus. Babur really did write memoirs known as the Bāburnāma, considered the first autobiographical work in Islamic literature.This review sounds much more positive than I intended. Though this is a fascinating historical time and place, I'm not sure I will seek out the rest of the series as it is published. The issues with the writing and the occasional anachronistic term (as well as the violence and sexual content) prevented me from thoroughly enjoying this story, though other readers may not be bothered by such objections.
    • 3/5
      Finally got around to finishing this book. It took me several attempts to get into it. The subject matter was so interesting to me I thought this would be a great read, but alas, the author just didn't pull it off. Reading this was like wading through mud. difficult and rather boring. Pity as the historical background is rich fodder for a novel.