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A review by wildwolverine
The Tiger Queens by Stephanie Marie Thornton
3.0
Tiger Queens sheds light on people and a time in history that is often overlooked. Genghis Khan is one of those figures everyone knows about, and that's it. It was fascinating delving into this time in history and meeting all of the different women and their impact on the surrounding landscape. With that said, this is not for the faint of heart. While it was interesting as a first dive into Mongolian history, I didn't find it especially captivating but more gruesome and shocking. This is a brutal and tough time period, with several dynamic female characters. Even so, I found myself often wishing for the book to end.
For starters, I just want to warn readers that there is a lot of sexual violence in this book. The Mongolian steppes were incredibly dangerous, particularly for women; although, warring tribes usually were hazardous to women, no matter where they were located. It's a difficult subject to tackle, and some readers might be uncomfortable with just how much rape there is in this book because there is a lot, especially at the beginning, so I just want to warn readers of that.
Aside from the rape, I often found the women's stories were watered down and made too mundane. Unfortunately, there are so few sources from this time period, so it probably wasn't easy researching this book. That said, I was personally put off by the fact that the majority of the stories centered around rape and birth. There were so many child birthing scenes. I suppose that's why Thornton tried to spice it up by creating a prophecy that Borte's actions would wreak havoc over the steppes. Unfortunately, that fell flat too, as it's extremely clear that Borte's actions have nothing to do with the wars being raged between the clans.
That's the thing I've noticed with Thornton's books. With both this and Hatshepsut, she has these fascinating subjects, gives them both prophecies to add some drama, but then the prophecy happens independently of the central characters. It makes their stories sometimes seem superfluous. I wish Thornton took more artistic license to have the women be more involved in politics, so she could show us how they could be cunning and competent and not just doomed.
I do think this book got better over time. Alaqai, Fatima, and Sorkhokhtani were all very dynamic women with desires, schemes, and fears. Although, I found that sometimes Thornton would move away just as things became exciting. Alaqai, in particular, sounds like she had an eventful life, but it didn't really play out that way in the novel. Meanwhile Sorkhokhtani is on the edge of the story for so long that when she finally takes center stage, she still doesn't really take command of her story.
Despite its faults, this book is very interesting, and I'm glad I read it. I recommend it for the historical fiction reader who is looking for something different and challenging and isn't about Nazis. Just remember to proceed with caution, as it's a very heavy read.
For starters, I just want to warn readers that there is a lot of sexual violence in this book. The Mongolian steppes were incredibly dangerous, particularly for women; although, warring tribes usually were hazardous to women, no matter where they were located. It's a difficult subject to tackle, and some readers might be uncomfortable with just how much rape there is in this book because there is a lot, especially at the beginning, so I just want to warn readers of that.
Aside from the rape, I often found the women's stories were watered down and made too mundane. Unfortunately, there are so few sources from this time period, so it probably wasn't easy researching this book. That said, I was personally put off by the fact that the majority of the stories centered around rape and birth. There were so many child birthing scenes. I suppose that's why Thornton tried to spice it up by creating a prophecy that Borte's actions would wreak havoc over the steppes. Unfortunately, that fell flat too, as it's extremely clear that Borte's actions have nothing to do with the wars being raged between the clans.
That's the thing I've noticed with Thornton's books. With both this and Hatshepsut, she has these fascinating subjects, gives them both prophecies to add some drama, but then the prophecy happens independently of the central characters. It makes their stories sometimes seem superfluous. I wish Thornton took more artistic license to have the women be more involved in politics, so she could show us how they could be cunning and competent and not just doomed.
I do think this book got better over time. Alaqai, Fatima, and Sorkhokhtani were all very dynamic women with desires, schemes, and fears. Although, I found that sometimes Thornton would move away just as things became exciting. Alaqai, in particular, sounds like she had an eventful life, but it didn't really play out that way in the novel. Meanwhile Sorkhokhtani is on the edge of the story for so long that when she finally takes center stage, she still doesn't really take command of her story.
Despite its faults, this book is very interesting, and I'm glad I read it. I recommend it for the historical fiction reader who is looking for something different and challenging and isn't about Nazis. Just remember to proceed with caution, as it's a very heavy read.