Q&A with Andrew Varga

 

 

 

Andrew Varga is the author of the new young adult novel The Mongol Ascension, the third in his Jump in Time series. He lives in the Toronto area.

 

Q: The Mongol Ascension is the third in your Jump in Time series--do you think your character Dan has changed from the start of the series to this novel?

 

A: Dan has definitely changed over the course of the series. In the first book, he’s a somewhat typical modern day 16 year old who knows nothing about time travel or the threat that Victor Stahl and his group of rogue time travellers pose to the world. So when Dan accidentally sends himself off to England in the year 1066, he is impulsive and reckless, and only focussed on getting home.

 

But by book three he has had multiple attempts on his life, has been part of three famous battles from history, and has spent a week enslaved by the Romans. So he is definitely not the same careless teenager that he was in book one. He still makes mistakes, but he understands the huge responsibility that he faces as a time jumper, and the incredible risk to the world if Victor isn’t stopped.

 

Dan’s relationship with his time-travelling partner Sam has also changed. In the first book, he was completely dependent on her because of her previous experience in time travelling. She taught him how to dress, how to act, and how to survive in the past. But by book three they are working more as a team, and together they are learning more about Victor’s plot and forming plans on how to stop him.

 

Q: Why did you decide to focus on Mongolian history in this book?

 

A: I wrote about the Mongols because I’ve always been interested in them. Most empires in history are the result of gradual expansion over time as a larger or more technologically advanced civilization conquers its smaller or less advanced neighbours.

 

But the Mongols are an exception to this. They were neither larger nor more technologically advanced than the people they conquered. They built their empire solely through the determination of one man—Temujin. His vision and his incredible cunning in battle allowed him, in the span of a few decades, to defeat all the foes he faced, even when they heavily outnumbered him.

 

The Mongols ended up ruling the largest contiguous land empire in history, and completely altered the history of Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, yet most people know little about them, other than that they had a reputation for violence and killed millions.

 

Q: How did you research the novel, and what did you learn that especially surprised you?

 

A: Over the years I had read a lot of Mongol history books by modern-day authors, so I already had a good knowledge of the subject before I started my research for The Mongol Ascension.

 

But one book that I hadn’t read, and which became an invaluable source of information for my novel was The Secret History of the Mongols. It was written just a few years after Temujin/Genghis Khan’s death and is the only primary source actually written by a Mongol.

 

What particularly surprised me when reading The Secret History was how much suffering Temujin had to endure in his early life, and his single-minded determination to overcome these hurdles and to forge the various Mongolian tribes into one united group.

 

I had originally planned to write a story about the later Mongol empire, when they were conquering the Middle East or threatening Europe. But when I read about this early part of Temujin’s life I found a story that I really wanted to tell—one that contrasted the brutal and violent leader that Temujin becomes with the unfortunate teen who was just trying to get his life on track.

Q: What do you hope readers take away from the story?

 

A: In my books, I hope to teach readers about a side of history that I find intriguing, but that is not well covered by most schools.

 

In book one, The Last Saxon King, I write about The Battle of Hastings, which completely altered the English language and turned it into what we speak today.

 

In book two, The Celtic Deception, I write about the Celts, a people who once lived all across Europe, but who were conquered by the Romans and assimilated into the Roman Empire and are now mostly forgotten.

 

For The Mongol Ascension, I hope readers learn something about the Mongol Empire, which was the largest contiguous land empire ever, covering almost five times as much land as the Roman Empire, yet while so many people know of Rome and it leaders, so few people know about the Mongols.

 

I also hope that some readers get inspired. Through strength and determination, Temujin went from being an exile from his own tribe, surviving off roots and fish and whatever food he could steal, to become ruler of this huge powerful empire. Hopefully his tale will encourage people to overcome their own challenges in life.

 

Q: What are you working on now? What’s next in the series?

 

A: I’m currently working on the final edits of my fourth book in the series, The Spartan Sacrifice, which comes out in August 2025.

 

This book takes Dan and Sam to the legendary Battle of Thermopylae in 480 BCE where a small group of 300 Spartans and their Greek allies fight valiantly against an overwhelming force of invading Persians. It’s a fantastic story of courage and sacrifice, and I’ve also thrown in a twist that hasn’t been seen in the previous three books.

 

Book five, The Orleans Ordeal, which follows Joan of Arc at the Siege of Orleans, and book six, The Roman Betrayal, which takes place in Rome during the time of Emperor Domitian, are both in various stages of early editing.

 

In addition, I’m also halfway through writing my seventh book, which is the final book in the series. This one takes place in Constantinople during the Fourth Crusade, when an army of Christian crusaders sacked the largest Christian city in the world. And, more importantly, this will be the book that finally brings a conclusion to the story of Dan and Sam’s quest to stop Victor Stahl.

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: It has been a year and a half since The Last Saxon King came out and so many great things have happened since then. The book was selected by the Ontario Library Association to be part of the Forest of Reading program, which is the largest school reading program in Canada.

 

I was fortunate to visit so many schools to promote The Last Saxon King. It was incredibly humbling to meet so many students who were excited to hear about my book.

 

Not to mention that as part of the Forest of Reading I attended a huge celebration with almost 2,000 cheering students in attendance. I felt like a rock star when I stepped up on stage with all my fellow authors and saw this huge crowd in front of me.

 

The Last Saxon King was also nominated for the Best Teen Fiction award by the Independent Book Publishers Association. My wife and I flew out to Denver for the award ceremony and it was incredible to sit there in this huge dining room with all the other nominees—it felt like we were at the Oscars. And when the announcer said “And the winner is . . . The Last Saxon King” I felt so shocked and honoured.

 

Based off the success of this book, I’ve had many school visits and book signings, and I hope that this incredible run continues with the other books in the series.

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb. Here's a previous Q&A with Andrew Varga.