Genghis Strikes Back At The Chin (Lords of the Bow - Conn Iggulden)

Member Name: Andy.mack

Product:	Lords of the Bow - Conn Iggulden
Date:	03/11/09 (33 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Another very addictive book from Iggulden, great characters and description

Disadvantages: You will need to read the previous book first

Having taken back his father's tribe Temujin of the Wolves has now become Genghis Khan and unites the tribes of all the Mongolian factions. As one he now plans to strike back at the Chin emperor's who have for years tried to keep the Mongolians divided and fighting amongst themselves. Now as one the Mongolian Khan leads his people into battle against the Xi Xia and the Chin forces in order to seek revenge for the years of torment and tyranny they have suffered under their closest neighbours.

This is the second book in the latest series from historical fiction author Conn Iggulden. It follows on from Wolf of The Plains and see's Iggulden pick up the story of Genghis Khan where he left off at the end of the last book. As the follow up series to Emperor I was still wondering what to expect from this second book in the Conqueror series as although I'd enjoyed the first book in the series I wasn't sure that Iggulden could keep the quality of the stories up.

Thankfully he answered that question within the first chapter of this second book, opening with the battle that unites the tribes and starts to really get into the story of Genghis. It's a story that I'd always had an interest in and while Iggulden does use his poetic licence to great effect in his books all of the events he creates are based around historic events that are known to have happened. He has obviously researched the Mongolian tribes in great detail and put a lot of work into finding out the true events behind the stories he wishes to tell. The book gives an insight into the nomadic way of live the Mongolian tribes seemed to prosper in.

Like the previous book in the series and the whole of the Emperor series Iggulden hooks the reader into the world of his lead characters. With the close family of Genghis making up the remaining lead characters Iggulden uses the relationships between them to reveal some very clever twists and motivations of his characters. His characterisations leads on from the first novel and while we learn a lot more about Genghis and his brothers thoughts and ideas it is important to have read the Wolf of the Plains for the simple reason that this doesn't recover the old ground and that book is essential to where the characters are and why they are doing what they are doing in this one.

He uses some very descriptive passages to give you a mental image of the Mongolian camps and how their Gers would look and smell. It's one of the real draws to Iggulden's work is the way he combines the history of his subject and the way he describes it to really bring it to life for the reader. It is an impressive talent that makes the 452 pages fly by before you even realise it. When you consider that including the Emperor series this is his 6th book of historical fiction it makes it an impressive feat that they have all been of such quality.

While I like books by the likes of Bernard Cornwell, there is something about the way that Conn Iggulden writes that makes his books slightly more addictive and therefore enjoyable. He seems to put you into the mindset of his lead character and the way it's written lets you see through the eyes of Genghis Khan as well as those who opposed him. Of course this is the second book in the series and perhaps that is it's only down fall in that this isn't a book you can pick up and read as a one off and needs to be read after Wolf of the Plains.

Overall it's a thoroughly enjoyable story that I wouldn't hesitate to recommend to anyone who enjoys historical fiction. Whilst reading the Emperor books I had a feeling that Conn Iggulden's books would make for an excellent movie and once again the Conqueror series has that same effect. It seems almost inevitable that these will one day become a movie or TV series and my last piece of advice for now would be to read these books before Hollywood gets hold of them because they really are that good.

Amazon: £4.45
Amazon Marketplace: £0.01

Summary: The second book in the Conqueror series