Tagged: conn iggulden
Conqueror by Conn Iggulden
(Cover picture courtesy of Iceberg Ink.)
A warrior who would rule a fifth of the world with strength and wisdom.
A scholar who conquered an empire larger than those of Alexander or Caesar.
A brother who betrayed his own to protect a nation.
From a wise scholar to one of history’s most powerful warriors, Conqueror tells the story of Kublai Khan—an extraordinary man who should be remembered alongside Julius Caesar, Alexander the Great and Napoleon Bonaparte as one of the greatest leaders the world has ever known.
It should have been a golden age, with an empire to dwarf the lands of the mighty Genghis Khan. Instead, the vast Mongol nation is slowly losing ground, swallowed whole by their most ancient enemy. A new generation has arisen, yet the long shadow of the Great Khan still hangs over them all.
Kublai dreams of an empire stretching from sea to sea. But to build it, the new khan must first learn the art of war. He must take his nation’s warriors to the ends of the known world. And when he is weary, when he is wounded, he must face his own brothers in a bloody civil war.
Conn Iggulden’s latest book chronicles the life of Kublai Khan, son of Tolui, grandson of Genghis Khan. To anyone who has read the Genghis series, Conqueror is a great addition to the story of the Mongol nation. If you have not yet read the Genghis series, I would recommend you read it first to get a richer background, but reading Iggulden’s previous books is not a pre-requisite.
Conqueror paints a vivid picture of Mongol life post-Genghis and Iggulden masterfully brings almost legendary characters to life. As with all of his novels, he inserts many details from everyday life, which makes the story more authentic-feeling. He masterfully puts believable motivations behind all of his historical figures, which is the part of his writing that I love best.
The one thing I do not like about Iggulden’s writing is the fact that he constantly screws with history. This is a pet peeve of mine and is perhaps just a product of my meticulous personality, but it is still annoying. Then again, one must take into account that he is not writing for historians or people like me—he is writing for the mass market, which he excels at. The way he writes makes reading one of his novels an almost cinematic experience and he makes history accessible to the ordinary person. I’m actually surprised that none of his novels have been snapped up by ambitious Hollywood directors. (If any directors or screenwriters are reading this, I think you may have a blockbuster here!)
I give this book 4/5 stars.
Upcoming Reviews
Here are reviews you can expect this week and which days they will be posted:
Sunday: City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare
Monday: Scroll of Saqqara by Pauline Gedge (plus an extra article dealing with the YA genre!)
Tuesday: The Awakening by Kelley Armstrong
Wednesday: Conqueror by Conn Iggulden
Thursday: Pretties by Scott Westerfeld
Friday: Eldest by Christopher Paolini
Saturday: The Magician by Michael Scott
All of these are by authors I’ve reviewed before, but only 5 of them are the second books in their respective series. Next week, you can expect a lot of book reviews of Conn Iggulden books since I’ve recently re-read his two series. I’m also planning something special for my 42nd review. Fellow geeks can probably guess which book I’ll review that day!
Emperor: The Gates of Rome by Conn Iggulden
(Cover picture courtesy of Barnes and Noble.)
In a city of grandeur and decadence, beauty and bloodshed, two boys, best friends, dream of glory in the service of the mightiest empire the world has ever known. One is the son of a senator. The other is a bastard child. As young Gaius and Marcus grow to manhood, they are trained in the art of combat—under the tutelage of one of Rome’s most fearsome gladiators. For Marcus, a bloody campaign in Greece will become a young soldier’s proving ground. For Gaius, the equally deadly infighting of the Roman Senate will be the battlefield where he hones his courage and skill. And for both, the love of an extraordinary slave girl will be an honor each will covet but only one will win. But as Rome is thrust into the grip of bitter conflict, as every Roman prepares to take sides in the coming battle, Gaius and Marcus’s friendship will be put to the ultimate test.
For two thousand years, people have been wondering who Gaius Julius Caesar really was and in his bestselling novel, Conn Iggulden attempts to answer this. Very little is known about Julius Caesar’s childhood and he presents a semi-plausible explanation for what shaped the great general’s early years. While I commend him for his cinematic, dazzling novel, I wish he had not sacrificed historical accuracy for the sake of drama.
Conn Iggulden admits in his ‘Historical Note’ at the end of the novel that he changed how Caesar was related to Marius, when Marius died and even how the dictator Sulla himself died. The first change was completely unnecessary, the second and third were for the sake of drama alone. Many of the changes Conn Iggulden made were unnecessary, but he was writing for the mass market instead of Roman historians.
The character of Julius Caesar is an excellent, well-developed one. His determination to prove himself and his love for Cornelia are all very realistic and make the mythical figure of Caesar into a living, breathing human. The Gates of Rome is a good book for people who do not mind historical inaccuracies and complex politics in historical fiction.
I give this book 3.5/5 stars.
Genghis: Birth of an Empire by Conn Iggulden
(Cover picture courtesy of Open Library.)
Genghis Khan was born Temujin, the son of a khan, raised in a clan of hunters migrating across the rugged steppe. Shaped by abandonment and betrayal, Temujin endured, driven by a singular fury: to survive in the face of death, to kill before being killed, and to conquer enemies who would come without warning from beyond the horizon.
Through a series of courageous raids, Temujin’s legend grew until he was chasing a vision: to unite many tribes into one, to make the earth tremble under the hoofbeats of a thousand warhorses, to subject all nations and empires to his will.
While the blurb at the back of the book pretty much gives away the whole plot, Birth of an Empire is an amazing novel. The name ‘Genghis Khan’ is practically synonymous for a cruel, bloodthirsty ruler, but Conn Iggulden has managed to put a human face on a legend. Birth of an Empire starts off slow, but the tension slowly ratchets up until the reader flips furiously through the pages to get to the end.
This book is not for those of weak stomachs or faint hearts because life on the plains of Mongolia was harsh and cruel. There are graphic scenes of violence (particularly after Temujin’s wife was kidnapped by Tartars) and a few sexual references, so this book is definitely intended for older teens and adults. Birth of an Empire is a great book and Conn Iggulden does a fabulous job at describing life in Temujin’s time. The only place this book falls flat is in the beginning, where the prologue starts of slow and is confusing until you read the whole prologue. Despite this one little thing, Birth of an Empire is an excellent example of how historical fiction should be written.
I give this book 4/5 stars.