Book Review: Birthright: Book 1 of the Temujin Saga by Adam J. Whitlatch
Temujin has always known he is special. He is, after all, the clone restoration of Genghis Khan, endowed with strange alien powers and destined to conquer the Earth. It is his birthright.
Alexander Walker has never even suspected he is special. He’s just a normal Iowa farm boy, getting up the nerve to ask the girl he has a crush on to watch fireworks with him. But he too has a birthright, and this Fourth of July will be unlike any other.
Quintin MacLaren doesn’t really have a yardstick for “special”. Brought up by an alien scientist, he only met other humans a short while ago, and they’re all immortal bounty hunters. When the team gets a mission to the forbidden planet Earth, Quintin stows away on the ship. Perhaps it is there that he will find his birthright.
These three young men are about to have a meeting that will change all their lives.
This young adult science fiction action book mashes together several different concepts: aliens, immortals, psychic powers, all in the service of a coming of age story. Alex is our primary hero, the farm boy who is far more than he appears or ever imagined, soon joined by faithful (mostly) sidekicks and then extremely cool allies. Quintin is his twin brother, created when aliens tried to cram too much awesome into one human body.
It takes a while to set up all the pieces, but the second half of the book is slam-bang action as Temujin tries to eliminate the one person (Alex) who can foil his plans for world conquest. Boys and boys at heart should enjoy this immensely.
On the other hand, Temujin is literally a mustache-twirling villain, and the story pits our American(ized) band of heroes against the fanatical hordes of the East, a trope that raises some hackles. This is also very much a boys’ adventure book–female characters are girlfriends, mothers and rescuees, whatever their nominal job description is. Conservative parents might look askance at how intimate some of the rewards for rescuing are.
One of the characters also uses “sister” as an insult for his male teammate. Repeatedly. There may be a story behind that, but as is, it came off unnecessarily sexist.
The book’s plotline reaches a satisfactory conclusion, but Temujin is still around to try again (he’s in the series name, it’s not a spoiler.)
Recommended for teenage boys who like this sort of thing, but parents may want to discuss the “Eastern Hordes” trope with them.
