8.2 /10 1 Votes
Originally published 1967 Genre Historical novel | 4.1/5 Goodreads | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Year of the Horsetails is a historical novel, written by R.F. Tapsell and published in 1967, that is set on the Eurasian Steppe, probably in the area that now known as Eastern Europe. The time frame of the book is not specified, but is probably set between the birth of Attila the Hun in 406 AD, and the rise of the Mongol ruler Genghis Khan in 1162 AD. The story begins with the central character Bardiya, a Saka tribesman, escaping westward across the steppe on horseback from the brutal Tugar people. The fictional Tugars may have been modeled on the Pannonian Avars (580-804 AD), a Turkic people who were a nomadic confederation also ruled by a Khagan (emperor).
Plot Summary
Bardiya had been a conscript soldier in the Tugar army as a light mounted cavalryman but sentenced to death for desertion. Bardiya encounters a sedentary and pastoral Slav people called the Drevich and he decides to stay and live with them, possibly influenced by Marissa, a beautiful woman from the tribe. Bardiya warns the Drevich that the dreaded Tugars are traveling towards their region and that they will be overrun unless they leave, or are determined to fight. Bardiya then trains the Drevich in the war techniques and methodologies of the Tugars and prepares them to defend their homeland. The final scenes comprise the battle between the Tugars and the Drevich, who by tactical ingenuity and discipline, manage to avoid being beaten by the Tugars and inflict a stinging defeat on the invaders.