Genghis: Birth of an Empire | Conn Iggulden

Genghis: Birth of an Empire | Conn Iggulden | The Best Conn Igguldenn book I have read so far!

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Genghis: Birth of ...

	Genghis: Birth of an Empire Conn Iggulden Dell, 2008 - 560 pages average customer review:based on 41 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Spectacular

Wolf of the Plains in Australia.....

Absolutely brilliant reading. Nevermind the idiots who scream for perfect historical accuracy. Last time I checked, there's no one left alive from that era. It is a novel, it presents itself as a novel. If you want a history, then buy a history text book and go away.

On the other hand if you want a book that engulfs your senses... this is it. Iggulden, Jacq, Manfredi all spectacular authors.

The Best Conn Igguldenn book I have read so far!

Great book. Thoroughly enjoyed it. It starts off very similar to the first emperor book, but just when you think you can guess what is gonna happen next some really unexpected yet amazing things happen. Really enjoyable, and I can't wait until the next installment in this series..... By the way, someone really needs to consider turning his books into movies.

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A Brutal and Intriguing Novel

This historical fiction book about Genghis Khan is phenomenal. I could not put it down. Raised in a clan of hunters Temujin and his family encounter many hardships. After being betrayed by a neighboring clan, and their closest friends, Temujin's family endures several years of hardship. These hardships shape Temujin into a skilled warrior that kills before he is killed, and conquers whatever, or whomever, comes across his path. This brutal and intriguing story transports readers to another time. I can't wait to read the other books in this series.

Genghis: Birth of an Empire

Conn Iggulden's ability to tell a story is outstanding. I have read his Ceasar books and cannot wait for this author to produce his next work.

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Good first novel in what will be entertaining series - but what about the ponies?

Conn Iggulden's "Emperor" series was a fun, a-historical take on the life of Julius Caesar and his best friend, Brutus. Iggulden did not attempt to write a series that closely tracked the historical narrative (that's been done many times over, and Iggulden wasn't about to try to replace Colleen McCullough's "Masters of Rome" series). Historical liberties aside, Iggulden's take on Caesar was fun and action-packed.

"Genghis: Birth of an Empire" appears to follow the same track. "Gates of Rome," the first novel in the "Emperor" series, used less-famous personal names for Caesar and Brutus in order to obscure their identities while they were children. Iggulden does the same here, as the boy that will grow to become "Genghis" is named Temujin. He is the second oldest of five brothers, all sons to Yesugai, Khan of the Wolves. Born with a blood clot in his palm - a dire omen - Temujin will become one of the world's great conquerors.

But first he must survive his youth, which is a difficult struggle. Iggulden has spent his time in Mongolia, and it shows. The strengths of "Genghis" lie in Iggulden's depiction of the harsh Mongolian landscape and the life scraped out by its inhabitants. Iggulden uses several Mongol terms without definition, such as "ger," "deel," and the like, but it's pretty easy to figure out what is going on. Telling details like having one's hair frozen to the ground while sleeping transport the reader to the life-or-death edge that Temujin and his family live on most of their lives.

Temujin begins his life as the favored son of a brave military man. But intrigue rears its ugly head, and before Temujin realizes it, he and his family are cast out and left to die on the steppe without so much as a bow or sword. In addition to the brutal winter, Temujin is also hunted by his former clansmen as well as the hated Tartars. But that which does not kill us makes us stronger - and Temujin emerges as hard as iron to reclaim his family's rightful station . . . and then some!

This is a strong, entertaining novel. I don't know nearly as much about Genghis Khan as I do about Julius Caesar, so I am not able to quibble with Iggulden's historical fidelity. But I don't think that is one of Iggulden's primary goals - he seems more focused on good storytelling, and he excels at it.

My only significant problem with "Genghis" is that there is so little attention paid to the bond between man and horse. The Mongols are still a horse culture to this day, and Iggulden professes in his Afterword that the Mongols adore their ponies. So why is there not one scene of a single Mongol bonding with a horse? There is basically no attention paid to life on horseback - the horses in the book merely serve as mounts and as the occasional source of nourishment. This seems to be an odd omission for a book about the Mongols.

But for whatever faults it may have, "Genghis" is an exciting read. Iggulden writes a good battle scene, and he convincingly conveys the misery that formed much of Temujin's youth. I will definitely read the next volume in this series, and look forward to it eagerly.

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