ARC Review: Mongol Ascension, By Andrew Varga

A thrilling jump into history where war and honor coalesce into a memorable, nail-biting narrative showcasing the brilliance and ruthlessness of the Mongol empire.

This was my first experience with the Jump in Time series and I wasn’t lost at all. Varga did a fantastic job recapping the critical information from previous books in a way that flowed well and felt relevant for the plot of book 3. I personally hate when books spend a bunch of time recapping every detail from previous books. Varga’s approach was masterful.

The character’s Dan and Sam were multifaceted and interesting. They were easy to root for. I found Dan’s awkwardness with dating relateable and his confusion about his feelings very realistic for his age, which is something I don’t encounter often with YA books, which typically try too hard to create an adult minded teen so they can do cooler adult things. Dan and Sam’s behaviors were very teenager-esk, but not in an annoying way. It was really easy to root for both of them.

Varga did an amazing job with the world building and culture details of the mongol empire, right down to clothing, hygiene, and fermented drinks. I felt like I was experiencing this world for the first time right alongside Dan.

I know very little about the Mongol Empire, most of which I learned from the Netflix series Marco Polo, so who knows if that’s reliable, but I pleasantly surprised how much I learned from Mongol Ascension about Genghis Khan and the beginnings of his empire.

I highly recommend this novel for fans of ancient history and YA adventure novels. I listened to the audiobook, courtesy of Netgalley, and am leaving this review voluntarily.

Use this affiliate link to purchase your copy on Bookshop.org and support Save Ancient Studies Alliance.