Not Bow-led over (Lords of the Bow - Conn Iggulden)

Member Name: mogdred

Product:	Lords of the Bow - Conn Iggulden
Date:	02/04/09 (362 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Interesting details about Mongol culture

Disadvantages: Not engaging enough as a story

"Lords of the Bow" is the second in the Conqueror series based on the life of Genghis Khan by Conn Iggulden.

Iggulden is the author of the popular Emperor series which was based on the life of Julius Caesar. Although full of historical inaccuracies (which Iggulden himself admits) this series has been well received. Having read the Emperor series previously I was looking forward to the new series on Genghis Khan as I did not know much about him.

Genghis Khan is famous for uniting the nomadic tribes of the Mongols and attacking the Chin Empire. He led many campaigns across Central Asia and his empire was substantial by the time of his death in 1227. His descendants, including Kublai Khan, cemented and added to this empire impressively.

The first in this series " Wolf of the Plains" dealt with Genghis's childhood and the death of his father, the khan of the Wolf tribe. We see Genghis's attempts to survive and then forge the tribes together in an unheard of alliance.

This second book deals with Genghis's attempts to attack and conquer the Chin Empire which has suppressed the Mongol tribes for as long as they can remember. This series is very interesting in that it gives a good insight into the internal politics of the Mongol tribes and their nomadic way of life.

The individual characters are interesting but Iggulden doesn't go very far with character development or motivation. By the end of the book I still didn't really understand why Genghis was so determined to conquer everything in sight. The only reason we are given is that they hate the Chin and because they are strong so they should take what they want.

The character of Genghis is not a particularly sympathetic one and he is not very likeable but he is interesting nonetheless. The characters of his brothers are more engaging, especially Khasar and Temuge. Khasar is a typical Mongol warrior but has a more humane side to him and is more likeable than Genghis. Temuge is selfish and vain and looks to imitate the luxurious Chin way of life.

The shaman character Kokchu is quite enjoyable as you will love to hate him - you know that he is always up to no good and cannot be trusted.

I enjoyed reading about Mongol culture, especially the "cold face" of the warrior. The male children are taught from a young age not to show their emotions, instead assuming the cold face. This is a recurring theme throughout the book and could explain why Iggulden never seems to really let us know Genghis as a character.

The military problems Genghis encounters are interesting as well - the tribes are used to open plain warfare - charging the enemy on horseback and picking them off with their bows. These tactics do not work with the Chin towns and cities which are surrounded by stone walls.

Throughout the book we switch to the Chin viewpoint and see the Emperor's side of things. This is also useful and the historical detail is involving, although I don't know how accurate it is.

I did enjoy this book but not as much as I had hoped to. I found that I enjoyed the Emperor series a lot more and found the characterisation more in-depth. I would recommend this book to those interested in Genghis Khan but would remind you that Iggulden does use poetic license as and when he sees fit!

This review is also posted on Ciao.co.uk under username mogdred1.

Summary: An interesting look at Genghis Khan