Thande, many thanks for that review. I tend to come off poorly on GoodReads so I do not visit it often and never now to view comments on my own books. 'Against the Devil's Men' was helped by the fact it started as a novella in 2013 (written madly over 2 days and edited on the 3rd; first copy sold the following day), which used to be on sale on its own and then became a long chapter of 'Deviation'. As a consequence, when I felt there was more to say about the scenario and set about 20 years earlier, it had all been in my mind for quite a long time.
I agree wholeheartedly with the sentiment about a good AH story needs to be a good story first. The AH element can open up opportunities that otherwise would not be there, but I tend to seek something to write about beyond that aspect. I think it helps that I did two things before coming to AH novels. One was to write in other genres, first fantasy and then crime. The second was to indulge in lots of analysis, first on a blog and then in books. In many ways that second process allowed me to get some things 'out of my system' so I do not feel compelled to 'drown' my books with them. I am conscious though, that perhaps too many of them are slipping back in. I was very alert to this with 'Scavenged Days' which in reflection probably saw me put in too many 'trainspotter' bits.
The funniest/most annoying review I ever got about the novella which preceded the novel, was that because it was written from the French perspective rather than the Mongol, it was deemed to be like a primary school project! The reviewer is a great fan of the Mongols of the medieval period and will not have anything bad said against them.
Thande, I think there is a lot of capacity for more extended Mongol invasion AH stories. We have a long way to go even before we are up to the level of the ones with a greater Black Death PoD let alone the most popular sub-genres like a Nazi or Confederate victory.