Genghis: Birth of an Empire | Conn Iggulden

Genghis: Birth of an Empire | Conn Iggulden | It's Good But Not Rome...

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Genghis: Birth of ...

	Genghis: Birth of an Empire Conn Iggulden Dell, 2008 - 560 pages average customer review:based on 43 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

He was born Temujin, the son of a khan, raised in a clan of hunters migrating across the rugged steppe. Temujin?s young life was shaped by a series of brutal acts: the betrayal of his father by a neighboring tribe and the abandonment of his entire family, cruelly left to die on the harsh plain. But Temujin endured?and from that moment on, he was driven by a singular fury: to survive in the face of death, to kill before being killed, and to conquer enemies who could come without warning from beyond the horizon.

Through a series of courageous raids against the Tartars, Temujin?s legend grew. And so did the challenges he faced?from the machinations of a Chinese ambassador to the brutal abduction of his young wife, Borte. Blessed with ferocious courage, it was the young warrior?s ability to learn, to imagine, and to judge the hearts of others that propelled him to greater and greater power. Until Temujin was chasing a vision: to unite many tribes into one, to make the earth tremble under the hoofbeats of a thousand warhorses, to subject unknown nations and even empires to his will.

From the Hardcover edition.

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The Rise

I have been a huge fan of British authors David Gemmell and Angus Wells, both of whom have passed away in recent years. I saw Conn Iggulden's book Genghis on the shelf in the store. The unusual name first drew my attention and then the title. I am a fan of the history of Genghis Khan, Alexander the Great, Napoleon and many other great generals over the ages. On a whim I purchased the book and took it home. Covering the life of Temujin from birth until his rise as Khan of 3 tribes. This book is non stop adventure. The writing is very good and I found myself drawn into the story from page 1 on. If you are a fan of David Gemmell, then this is the author for you. He writes in a very similar way with larger than life heroes, and villains you can really despise. The story is also very well researched. I enjoyed the author's afterward that gave details on where his story split from the known history of Temujin. I went back and purchased all 4 of the emperor books and I eagerly await the next release in the Genghis series.

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It's Good But Not Rome...

The story of the beginnings of Khan and his reign are good, make no mistake...but they lack the mesmerizing factor of Iggluden's earlier works on ROME...the Emporer Series...I feel there was much more for him to write on that subject, after the death of Julius Caesar, and I am disappointed that he chose to drop that vein and move to something so unlike it.

Please...give us more of the Roman sage

Genevieve

Brutal but insightful

While this novel was a little too brutal and bathed in blood for my taste, I did enjoy the insight into how the young boy Temujin-Uge grew up and eventually fashioned himself into the warrior we all know as Ghengis Khan. Fans of historical fiction who enjoyed Iggulden's other books should really like this.

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My First Historic Fiction Read

I usually stick to hard science fiction (not Star Trekkie stuff) and the lady at the book store checkout really pushed this one on me. That being the case, I was very skeptical about diving into it and held it for later. Looking back on it, my normal genre disappointed me while this one swept me off my feet!
I did not find the book boring at all. It was an intense ride through a very traumatic childhood, to say the least. I liked the pace and the author sprinkled descriptiveness here and there to flavor it up without turning it into boring mush.
I understood from the beginning that this was FICTION and that things were changed to add flow, continuity, and drama. That being said, I would not go into trivializing over "adjusted" timelines, facts, and faces. Why waste your time and get all huffy for no reason?
I gave it four stars due to some of the written scenes being overly gory, but I suppose lots of stuff happened that would make anyone cringe. But I was very entertained and that is the most important thing.

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