The Snow Leopard

by Daniel Leston

The saga of one man’s epic struggle to survive during the tumultuous early years of the 13th century as two powerful and aristocratic families—one Russian, one Mongol—are inexorably drawn into bloody conflict, fated to play opposing sides in the creation of the largest empire of the medieval age. Cruelly betrayed while a mere boy by his brother’s vaulting ambition, he eventually overcomes bitter slavery far from his native land, achieving the status of a legendary warrior without peer among his adoptive people. Ultimately forced by tragic circumstances to choose between these two diverse cultures, he must finally decide where his true loyalties lay.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction

490 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 15, 2010

Reviews

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

It ended too abruptly! I enjoyed the history of it (sent me researching several topics to learn more) and enjoyed the main characters--well developed etc. The protaganist is very likeable and I enjoyed following along his unusual life path. Although the ending is...tragically appropriate in the manner of Russian storytellers...I wanted more!!

[Kurt Kallmeyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

a fun read

I love this book! I thought it was very well written and I could not put it down. For me a real page turner.

[Sharonb · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was enjoying it mostly but got just past 1/2 way and lost interest. If it was nearly done I would have continued but have better things to spend my time reading

[Eric · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wordy, long, and more than a bit drawn out, this book tells the story of Alexei Antonov, a Russian noble teenager from early 13th century Kiev captured by the Mongols.

I won't bother with explaining the plot. The only characters really developed were Alexei and Subudei, the book is nearly twice as long as necessary, and isn't very well written. More than once there were odd perspective shifts within the middle of a scene that forced me to go back and reread what had just happened. In addition, the formatting left lots to be desired - it seemingly randomly shifted from full- to left-justification, making for some very odd looking screens on my Kindle.

I, frankly, disliked the ending as well.

It goes from 1 to 2 stars because there's the core of a good book in there. It's just too much work for the reader to extract it.

Not recommended.

[Dixie Petersen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating read!

I have read three books by this author and each one has been more and more, well, fascinating! This author is one I will be keeping my eyes on. His books are very written; the topics more fascinating than I thought they could be as I've never really had any interest in those areas of history; his characters are fully developed, especially Alexia from this book -- I could fully believe the levels of his joy and the depths of his pain and anguish. Yes, I will definitely be following this author (I think he has two more books at the time of this writing --I enjoy his "Manning duo" very much).

[Peter · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hmmm. It is the 13th century and a young man born to aristocracy in Russia has been sold into Mongol servitude. He grows to become a mighty Mongol warrior with an eye to correcting the misjustice. Will he do it? How will he do it? And what will his Russian relatives think about him doing it.

Read on--or not.

[Jeannette · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was very good ,but I didnt like how it ended, without telling how :-)

[Nigel Courtenay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bit drawn out and a few too many gaps in the story. Ending was a bit disappointing

[Kristie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Throughly enjoyable. Well worth a read if you like this type of genre.

[Pam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read!

Leston is a fantastic storyteller. History comes alive in this tale of a Russia boy captured by Mongols who becomes a trusted leader of their clan.

[Margareth8537 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting read. Could have done with proofreading, but I would try another one by this autor