Lords of the Bow by Conn Iggulden
Posted by IronMac on January 23rd, 2009
It’s rare for me to come across a book solely dealing with the Mongol conquests, with the last two being Gabriel’s Genghis Khan’s Greatest General in 2007 and an old book (translated from a French author?) based on The Secret History of the Mongols back in the ’80s. So, a fictional account from the perspective of Genghis himself seemed a bit interesting.
A bit interesting might be the best way to describe this book. I don’t know if it is just me but Iggulden’s work seems leaden. Leaden as in his Genghis character doesn’t have as much heart or feeling as in, let’s say, Cornwell’s Sharpe; leaden as in his battle scenes lack excitement whereas a good author can make you think that you’re standing there in the line of battle. It’s the sort of book that you can skim and, admittedly, I did skim about ten to twenty pages and I felt as if I didn’t really miss anything.
It’s not a bad book but it’s not a great book. It should be a basic primer for anyone interested in the early Mongol conquests but don’t expect to be any more wowed by it than if you’d picked up a good history book.
