Conn Iggulden

From the critically acclaimed author of the Emperor series comes a sweeping novel chronicling the rise to power of Genghis Khan, one of the world's most powerful and fearsome rulers, from his tragic beginnings, to the murder of his father, to his legendary exploits as a feared warrior who conquered much of the known world. Reprint.

Birth of an Empire

Genghis

Lords of the Bow

altlovesbooks

I read (or, listened to, I guess more correctly) the first book last year and liked it a lot. I actually think I like this second book more than the first, if only by a very little. Genghis, now khan of the unified clans, sets his sights on the Chin lands and Yenking. His straightforward approach towards unifying the clans and warfare up until this point meets with an unyielding foe, and different approaches are necessary. 

The author uses different perspectives to spread the narrative out on a wider field, and we really get to know some of the characters that aren't Genghis fairly well, which I appreciate. I think my favorite part of the book, as small a part as it was, comes near the end when (view spoiler)[Genghis and Kachiun are watching their spoils leave Yenking, and they have a quiet moment of introspection about where they see their tribe and their people go from there (hide spoiler)]. It's a very well written book, war is bloody, brutal business, and the author doesn't sugarcoat it at all. 

I will say that it starts out very slow, but if you give it the time to play out, the book is an extremely satisfying adventure.

I greatly enjoyed this adventure, and the afterword about the actual person. The audiobook narrator was also spectacular. Highly recommend.

Genghis Birth of an Empire

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