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Wolf of the Plains

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Asian history is often not a topic of choice for many writers, but Mr Iggulden brings the early life of Temujin (alias Genghis Khan) to life between the pages of this most memorable book. It is easy to believe the glitzy Hollywood interpretation of events, as depicted in two major films by John Wayne (an odd choice!) and Omar Sharif, but nothing written to date as far as I know so vividly portrays the sheer raw brutality and unforgiving sweeping scope of the harsh realities of life on the bitter Mongolian plains.

Temujin is the second son of the warlord Yesugai of the Wolf Clan, and his wife, the equally strong willed Hoelun. Born with a blood clot in his hand (a dire omen to the Mongols) he is destined for a turbulent life of hardship, bloodletting and conquest. Although daily life is a battle to survive against the bitterly cold elements and to maintain the all-important herds of goats and sheep against disease and raiding war parties, Temujin is sustained by his parent's hard but loving support and the cameraderie of his equally tough brothers, the mischievous and wiry Khasar,the thoughtful Kachiun and the timid but intelligent Temuge. The eldest brother, Bekter, remains aloof from the close bond his younger brothers share. When the 13 year old Temujin is sent away to another clan for a year to further his life experience, he meets his future wife, Borte, a feisty tomboy who leaves a lasting impression on the future Great Khan. His boyhood comes to a savage end when Yesugai is assasinated by a greedy unscrupulous rival, who promptly usurps the chieftainship of the Wolf Clan and leaves the widow Hoelun and her family (now including a baby daughter, Temulun)to starve in the merciless Mongolian steppes. It is here that the young brothers are forged into the adult role of savage fighters and providers well before their time and where Temujin emerges as the undisputed leader. In a confrontation with Bekter, who selfishly and deceitfully keeps whatever food he can find for himself without sharing with his starving family, Temujin kills his own brother - and the stage is set for the boy to grow into a remorseless, formidable warrior who upon reaching manhood solemnly vows to wreak vengeance on his enemies and to regain everything his family has lost - and much more besides.

As well as a cracking good story, Mr Iggulden captures perfectly the hard but close fraternal ties of this remarkable family and each character is brought splendidly to gritty life. If this book has a fault, it is that for whatever reason Mr Iggulden has overlooked the historically accurate close friendship the young Temujin had with his boyhood friend Jemuqa (who Genghis often referred to as his other brother)that would end so tragically many years later in blood and rivalry. By the end of this first book (there are at least three more in the Mongol series, the latest being Empire of Silver), the stage is set for Temujin, now the rightfully reinstated chief of the Wolf Clan and conqueror of several rival clans besides, to spread his influence over all Mongolia and unite the savagely warring tribes into one nation. It is here that he changes his name from Temujin to Genghis Khan.

The second book in this memorable series is "Lords of the Bow".

This is the story of Genghis Khan's early life, when he was known as Temujin, and his rise to power told in novel form. It starts with Temujin in his early teens and finishes with a major battle between the newly-united Mongol tribes and the invading Tartars from the north.

I remember watching history TV shows about him when I was younger and I'd seen the 1965 film with Omar Sharif, so that almost acted as a spoiler since I knew something of the story beforehand. But I still found it a page-turner because it was intriguing to see how he was going to protect his family and if they were going to survive the trials and tribulations that were unleashed on them by a brutal betrayal. There is something compelling and suspenseful about Conn Iggulden's writing that draws you in and keeps you going to see what will happen next.

A cursory glance over the historical accounts sometimes make it sound like he was a genocidal maniac, but when you see the story in this kind of detail, you start to understand nomadic life in 13th century Mongolia and the hard brutal reality that one often had to kill or be killed in the process of eking out a living on the cold and windswept plains. There are many accounts of killing, but each one has a reason behind it and often it is to protect one's own or to prevent further wars. Temujin's achievement was to unite the tribes and put an end to such waste of their considerable skills as warriors by all the inter-tribal fighting that went on. Death is a constant companion, the situations the characters find themselves in are desperate, and only the reputation of their father, their self-reliance and their skills as hunters, archers, horsemen, and swordsmen kept them alive.

Iggulden finishes off with an afteword that explains exactly where he got his information from, where he took liberties for dramatic and readability reasons (there aren't many), and then gives the prologue and first chapter of the second book in the trilogy. I'm definitely on my way to getting the second book, Lords of the Bow.