Of Wind and Wolves (The Steppe Saga)
This first book of The Steppe Saga takes place on the high plains north of the Black Sea sometime in the fifth century BCE and chronicles the early career of a female warrior of the nomadic Scythian culture. Anaiti is betrothed to the High King of the Scyths, but since she is half hamazan (Amazon), she is not free to marry until she has made her first kill. She is sent with the war band of Prince Aric into the steppes to raid and patrol. It’s a dangerous job, but the greatest danger is the enmity of some of the warriors themselves, resentful of their leader’s predilection for this female archer with her bobbed breast and her mysterious swoons that seem to take her into the realm of the dead.
The author, who has both archaeological and equestrian training, has given us a book that is so much better than it sounds from that brief summary. Copious research into the little-known life of the Scyths, familiar mostly from Herodotus, is supplemented by reconstruction from Indo-European and other contemporary sources, resulting in a richly detailed and plausible glimpse into a savage horseback world—a man’s world, in which a woman must prove herself daily. The prose is often lyrical, and the pace is as relentless as a horse’s gallop across the fierce steppes. Fans of Steven Pressfield’s style will gobble this one up and howl for more. Highly recommended.
