Ferrone does a nice job with the novel, but I was used to Stephan Rudnicki, who read the first book. I listened to the unabridged audio edition (Recorded Books), read by Richard Ferrone. I am looking forward to reading the final book in the trilogy, Genghis: Bones of the Hills. Genghis: Birth of an Empire covers about the first 30 years of the khan's life and provides the needed background for understanding the relationships among Genghis and his family and presents the key events that shaped Genghis's personality and desires. Lords of the Bow did not repeat information given in the first book. I recommened this trilogy for those wishing to learn more about medieval Asia and the story of the khan. Some quick research (via reliable and respected sources) shows that Iggulden has stuck to the facts fairly well, making some changes to suit the flow of fiction. I didn't know that much about Genghis Khan's life or how he and his sons conquered most of the known world. Boys are caught between feeling love and respect for their fathers while seeing them as flawed individuals.

Men look at their sons with mixed feelings and wonder if they are raising them correctly.

Men remember their childhoods and wish their fathers could see their successes or offer advice. Despite the power play, each group learns from the other - whether it be book learning, the arts, and luxuries or warfare, discipline, and ingenuity.Ī running theme in the book is the relationship bewteen sons and fathers. The book ends on a cliff-hanger, as the Chinese break the pact of peace and Genghis sends his brothers back to the city to destroy everything in their path.īesides describing the battles and politics, the books delves into what happens when two very different cultures come in contact under hostile conditions. After a long siege, which includes interludes of spying, poisonings, and assassinations both in the Mongol camp and within the city walls, the starving Chinese (who have been reduced to cannibalism) surrender, and the boy emperor is forced to kneel before the great khan. The growing army conquers vassal states, makes allies, burns cities and fields, and kills millions on its way to the capital city of Yenking (Beijing). The Mongols are all about conquest, and Genghis leads tens of thousands of men and their families across the Gobi Desert to seek revenge on the Chin (Chinese), who have long held military and trading power over his people. In the early years of the 1200s, a young Genghis has done the unthinkable: united the warring tribes of Mongols under his rule. The second of Conn Iggulden's trilogy of the life of Genghis Khan concentrates on the conflicts between the wandering Mongols and the urban Chinese.

Genghis by Conn Iggulden