Until the Sun Falls

by Cecelia Holland

Book Overview

A novel set during the reign of Genghis Khan and his Mongol Empire from the acclaimed author of Ghost on the Steppe, "a master storyteller" (Houston Chronicle).

Cecelia Holland's historical fiction is well known for its immersion in exotic cultures, and Until the Sun Falls, one of her most successful books, takes the reader into the heart of the Mongol horde during the conquest of Russia and eastern Europe in the...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1504011082
• ISBN13: 9781504011082
• Release Date: April 2015
• Publisher: Open Road Media
• Length: 518 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 5.3" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

One of the best historical fiction novels ever

Cecilia Holland, like Rosemary Sutcliff, has written many historical fiction novels of high caliber, but "Until the Sun Falls" stands in a category by itself. This novel is remarkable, all the more so for telling a tale rarely broached by Western writers: the invasion of Russia and Eastern Europe by the descendents of Mongol leader Temujin Genghis Khan in the 13th century. Holland's writing captures the violent and brutal--but also occasionally tender--world of these hordes as they sack city after city with their superior cavalry skills. You very quickly get caught up in their world and find yourself rooting for the main characters despite their brutality. The attention to detail--particularly on Mongol military tactics and horsemanship--is outstanding and will greatly appeal to militarists and equestrians as much as historical fiction fans. I have read a LOT of historical fiction, and "Until The Sun Falls" is in my top 5 all-time. Wading through the difficult (for ignorant Westerners such as myself) names and relationships of the main characters takes some effort, but the payoff is well worth it.

A True Classic

In 1970 I got a paperback of this book. I have read it as much as 3 times a year and at least once a year ever since. I am currently wearing out my third copy. The historic events and details of the life style of the peoples represented in this book are as close as one can get to being there without actual time travel. This is the book that got me interested in Russian history to the point that I made history my major in college and focused on Russian history as my speciality. I took my user name from the main character of this book many years ago both as a tribute to Ms. Holland and it is one that I will never forget. Of all of Cecelia Holland's novels, this one should have been made into a movie by now.

One of the finest historical fiction novels ever written

I am thrilled this is back in print. When I first read it 25 years ago at one point I actually put it down in tears, as I could not bear for it to end.You end up identifying so strongly with these terrifying warriors, and yet they come across as totally human, and able to separate their military duties from teir family life.When I found myself mentally sitting on a horse beside Psin Khan as he calmly torched a Russian church filled with villagers, and I felt TOTALLY cold-hearted about it,I knew this author had accomplished something extraordinary.As a post-script, historical novelists stand and fall with me as to how they can describe horses and the physical act of riding.Perhaps this is unfair, but I am a riding instructor and these things ,done incorrectly,grate. Holland is ALWAYS spot on.I do not own this bok, but it is easily in my personal Top Ten Books list.

Possibly Holland's best work

I first read this book not long after it's first publication, in the early 70's. It sparked a facination that's lasted all this time with the Mongol Empire, and the people who created and peopled it. I've probably read "Until the Sun Falls" 10 times over the years, and each time it's been a joy to read. The other research I've done has never uncovered anything to contradict Ms. Holland's history in the book. The foreward is as good a capsule history of the Mongols as anything you'll find anywhere. Her handling of the interpersonal relationships of the characters,and the politics of Empire are fascinating and keep the reader turning the pages. And nobody does battle scenes like Cecelia Holland.It's a huge story, placed on the canvas of the biggest empire the world has ever seen (and the greatest threat Western civilisation ever faced) and the book more than does justice to the story.

A Magnificent Story of World-Shaping Events

Historical novelists who write in the English language seem to be mostly preoccupied with Western events, peoples and personalities. Their usual subjects are European - Greeks, Romans, Englishmen, Germans, Frenchmen, Scandinavians - or even Egyptians or Americans. Not too many have focused their attention on events east of the Danube, at least until Napoleon fatefully pointed his legions into the Russian heartland. But every now and then a book will come along which acquaints Western readers with Eastern cultures and histories of which they previously had only a vague, general sort of knowledge. If they are well written, these books can be provocative because they help a western reader develop a broader world view and provide a new perspective from which to consider the evolution of Western civilization. Until the Sun Falls is one of these books. Cecelia Holland has given us a wonderful account of the Mongol invasion of Russia and eastern Europe in the 13th century. Her fortunate readers will be transported right into the Mongol camps and will come to understand the cataclysmic significance of the western incursion of their armies. The Mongols, when they poured onto the plains of Hungary and Poland in the 13th century, were pure nomadic warriors. From Temujin, Genghis Khan, they had totally absorbed the concept that it was their destiny to conquer the world. Indeed, by the time of his death in 1227, they had already overrun a good part of it. By 1237 their armies stood poised on the Volga, looking westward. Their military leaders were Sabotai, Temujin's veteran general, and Batu, Khan of the Golden Horde, a grandson of Genghis Khan. Those armies consisted of one hundred and fifty thousand horsemen, each with remounts and armed with compound bows that could kill at three hundred yards, the finest light cavalry in the world. Opposing them in the west were squabbling armies of armored knights mounted on enormous horses, whose tactics were to charge an enemy headlong and close with him. They would soon find themselves utterly unable to cope with the tactics of the Mongols. Temujin had instilled in his warriors what no other nomadic horsemen have ever had -- iron discipline and a marvelous system of communications. They were, for the time, invincible, and all of Europe lay at their feet. This is a splendid, unforgettable work. Its scope sweeps across half the world. The Mongols ruled the largest land empire the world has ever known. How many people today realize that amazing fact? Holland's research is very impressive. She has stood on the ground she describes. The wind of the steppes has blown in her face, and she has walked among the descendants of those terrible horsemen. If you like historical novels, don't miss this book. You will probably never find a better one.