Customer Reviews

Genghis: Lords of the Bow

5 star:		(32)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In this second novel in `The Conqueror' series, the metamorphosis of Temujin of the Wolves into Genghis Khan is completed. Gathering the tribes is the first step towards Genghis building a nation which he will then lead against the fortress nation of the Chin.

This is an epic story magnificently written. From the beginning, as Genghis seeks to unify the tribes as one nation, we can sense the magnitude of the task ahead. The Mongolian tribes are people of the plains, fighters on horseback and nomadic in lifestyle. Their greatest strengths are their capacity to move quickly, their iron discipline and their skill with the bow. To prevail against the Chin, they need to travel vast distances over desert, cross inhospitable mountains, and deal with complex fortifications.

Tackling these challenges and keeping the nation together in a strange environment presents new challenges for Genghis. The success of this campaign depends on his ability to effectively govern the tribes, manage his own generals, mediate between his ambitious brothers and deal with his own feelings. The transition from young warrior to conqueror of nations is not easy, and is not without cost.

`Some of you will die, but the sky father loves the warrior spirit and you will be welcomed.'

This is a deeply satisfying novel. If the first novel gave us the boy who would become the man, then this novel gives us a sense of both the conqueror himself and the challenges of command. The fiction is largely supported by the known history and will provide a wonderful adjunct to those interested in this period.

`We ride because we have the strength to rule.'

I am looking forward to the next book in the series.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

This is a good and solid sequel to the author's Birth of an Empire, which recounted the life of Temujin up to the merging of the tribes. In Lords of the Bow, the tribes are united (some with more enthusiasm than others) under Temujin, and the first steps towards an empire are taken. The Xi Xia to the south and the Chin to the east are conquered.

There are good descriptions of the culture shock that greets the Mongols when they come upon the stone-walled cities of the Chinese, the permanent houses, the writing, the caltrops which can wreak havoc upon horsemen, and writing. You get a good feel for the problems with communication over distance, Temujin's reluctance to leave any living enemies behind him when he advances, and the Mongol style of warfare.

Birth of an Empire had Temujin as the dominant central figure: you saw the forces that shaped him. In Lords of the Bows, Temujin is still, of course, the dominant figure, but the novel spends more time with his brothers than with Temujin himself. In a way this is good: you get to see more details of life. But in another way, it may not be so good: there is something to be said perhaps for seeing things through Temujin's eyes, and seeing them through his ears, so to speak. Unlike Birth of an Empire, Temujin is no longer in a position to travel on his own--he is always surrounded by tens of thousands of people, and so he must learn, must experience most things through the eyes of others. It's the difference between a general and a scout: the general is usually well behind the front lines and must depend on others. I presume that we will, before long, be seeing the next installment in this well-done series: the move westwards. Until that time, if you want a fictional account of the campaigns in the west, try Cecelia Holland's superb novel Until the Sun Falls.

"And hear the lamentation of the women."

Poor China - seems they can't get a break these days. Like it's not bad enough with the "Free Tibet" crowd and the Olympic Torch fiasco, here we've got Conn Iggulden piling on, sending Genghis Khan and his fearsome horde crashing through the "Chins" walled cities and wrecking the kind of havoc made popular in John Kerry's now infamous "Jenghis" Khan testimony to Congress in post-Vietnam America.

And like it's predecessor, "Genghis: Birth of an Empire", "Genghis: Lords of the Bow", is a raucous, swashbuckling mayhem fest that is at the same time intelligent and illuminating - a rare peak under the covers of a man as ruthless as he was a great - make that extraordinary - field general and tactician. A man who through sheer determination and the magnetism of his personality united tribes of the northern plains that had been warring among themselves for centuries, succeeding in bringing their foes of far superior resources literally to their knees. As with "Empire" before it, "Lords of the Bow" puts a human face on Genghis - but just barely this time. For unlike the man-child we were introduced to in the first volume, we see the transformation from the child turned out on the steppes to die to a conqueror larger than life, the vanquisher who tramples his enemies not out of cruelty, but simply of cold efficiency. Iggulden resists the temptation of putting a politically correct kind face on the Genghis of nightmares, penning a masterful portrait of a leader with military brilliance of Alexander, forged with the diabolical cleverness of Machiavelli.

"Lord of the Bows" reads a lot like an Eastern version of the venerable Bernard Cornwell, and in fact, the similarities between the tactics and success of the English long bow and the short, composite bows of Genghis' pony-mounted denizens are uncanny. Battle scenes are gripping and realistic. The author's depiction of the battle of Badger's Pass is a rare literary treat, as fascinating in the strategy and tactics as it is entertaining and suspenseful. But to allay any fears that this is simply a book military maneuvers, take heart: the story is spiced with politics, treachery, deceit, and chicanery - a stunning profile of justice and accountability honed and hardened by Mongolia's unrelenting climate and terrain.

Yet more fascinating than the conquests and the carnage is the "why" - is rape and pillage really the end, does conquest and submission trump occupation and even unimaginable riches, painting a curious dilemma as Genghis and his tribes leave a broken Chin empire behind and return to their beloved seas of grass and snow?

In short, another remarkable and enjoyable effort from Conn Iggulden has me anxiously waiting for the final chapter in the saga of the inimitable Genghis Khan. Well done!

I really, really want to adore Conn Iggulden's "Genghis" series. Iggulden is a talented, prolific writer, but as with his take on Julius Caesar, his "Genghis" series seems to be skimming along the surface of the legend of one of history's astounding characters.

The first novel saw the rise of Genghis from absolute despair to early triumphs. Iggulden's tale was evocative of the time and place of the Mongols' rugged, harsh homeland, and he captures the rigors of life on the plains and in the mountains incredibly well. And yet there were strange gaps in the story - such as virtually no discussion of the ponies that play such a huge part of the Mongols' story. It was an odd omission.

There's another similar omission with "Lords of the Bow" - there's virtually no discussion of archery! The Mongols may have been the greatest archers the world has ever seen, and Iggulden indeed shows the Mongols using the weapon to great effectiveness against the hated Chin armies. But again there's virtually no discussion of how a Mongol becomes such an amazing archer. When contrasted to Bernard Cornwell's treatment of a similar topic in his Grail Quest series ("The Archer's Tale," etc.), this omission is jarring. To be fair, Iggulden doesn't try to give the reader an honorary PhD and must sacrifice some worthy material for pacing, but largely ignoring the cultural side of horses and archery just ain't right.

For all that, Iggulden has written a fun, violent story - Genghis is marching against the Chin. Iggulden revels in scenes where scouts struggle over lethal mountain passes to circumvent Chin walls and in the slaughter of thousands in mighty battles. He has created some fun supporting characters to boot, not least a cunning shaman (is there any other kind?) who uses duplicity to get close to Genghis.

Read this for a lark - it'll do just fine.

This book is a good bedside novel, it manages to have some rhythm (most of the time, not always) and has some interesting passages regarding battle strategies. But by no means it is the masterpiece that other reviews seem to suggest.

As part of a semi-fictional, semi-biographical series, it will give you an overview of who GK was, but it is does not have that information density, that heavily researched sensation that conveys, say, Coleen McCullough's series on Rome.

And much of the plot (especially when the author strays away from known epic facts and attempts to create some character development), lacks verisimilitude or is downright silly.

In more than one occasion, the author introduces new characters in a clumsy way, leaving the reader wondering who did what. And the family conflicts of GK, which would make and break empires, are treated in a rather shallow, soppy fashion.

An OK, not very intellectually demanding, somewhat entertaining introduction to the birth of the Mongol Empire.

Ok, LotB isn't terrible but it's pretty mediocre historical fiction. I think that the only reason I actually finished it was because the subject matter appeals to me. (That's also the only reason why I didn't give it 2 stars). The actual writing is decent but the book seems to be searching (unsuccessfully) for a plot. Sure, there is the historical meta-story of the invasion of China but, as a novel, the plot is weak.

Not recommended.

After a great beginning with Volume One, I had high hopes for this novel and even bought the hardcover edition in my haste...Unfortunately, the author really loses focus here (something it generally takes series book #3 or #5 to attain!)...The story becomes absorbed with petty dealing and transparent conspiracies, as boring as they are predictable, completely undermining the sweep of historical force that was Genghis Khan...Stick with Cornwell.

Conn Iggulden really brings the character of Genghis Khan to life, in a way that he couldn't with that of Julius Caesar, maybe because Caesar is almost a godlike figure. Genghis seems very much a flesh-and-blood man. His descriptions of life among the tribes and his take on the Mongol mindset ring true to this reader. An excellent series so far.

There's too many rave reviews for this series, and new buyers should know what they are getting because "historical fiction" by this author is very misleading.

His Genghis series is more enjoyable than his absolute historical garbage "Emperor" series, which drags you mindlessly through a fantasy Roman world that is utterly pointless. If you are looking for a good airplane read, Genghis LOTB will do so long as you don't expect to learn anything of historical authenticity or value. Conn is way too liberal in his alteration of people and events, for no apparent or necessary reason. His portrayal of major characters is way off base, and his lack of knowledge of this subject is apparent throughout the book.

I expect historical fiction writers to first do their homework and have a degree of expertise on the subject before they churn something like this out. Conn clearly failed in this department. At the end, the one book recommended by Conn is "The Secret History of the Mongols". Ok, that's essential reading for sure, but its no easy read and based on some of the 5-star reviews many fans will find themselves challenged. In a few very rare parts of the book Conn obviously used The Secret History, but the vast majority of the content suggests he has no regard for Mongol history. If you want to read an author who followed The Secret History true, check out "The Blue Wolf" by Inoue Yasushi. It puts this amateur book to shame, though it certainly does not read as well and I do give The Conn credit for this.

I would rather see him recommend something good for his readers like "Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern world". I personally would have been impressed if he recommended "Arms and Armour of the Nomads of the Great Steppe in the Times of the Mongol Expansion" by Witold Swietoslawski or "The Travels of an Alchemist -The Journey of the Taoist Ch'ang-Ch'un from China to the Hindukush at the Summons of Chingiz Khan" by Li Chih-Ch'ang. Unfortunately, his representation of this history suggests he doesn't have a clue.

I give the book 3-stars, because if I suspend all I know about the Mongol rise and conquests, I can enjoy the pace of the story. Its just very disappointing that Conn couldn't keep the historical base true, and provide a little more detail on Mongol life with greater authenticity.

If you like action stories with a build up of characters and twists and turns that make the action visualize in your head as you read it this is a book for you. Yeah Iggulden takes some liberties with historical fact but he also takes pains after the respective book to point out where he embellished or changed the story to suit the path he was taking the book.

Great read, hard to put down, makes you crave the next book like a crack junkie between paydays.