Genghis: Lords of the Bow: A Novel (Conqueror series Book 2) Kindle Edition

The first book in this series is wonderful. But perhaps it raised the bar too high that the author couldn't match it a second time.This second book in the series is not nearly as good. There is still action, violence, and lots of conquering. This is still Genghis Khan, after all. There are still battles being fought, and they are still described by the author in exciting and gripping prose. We see the Mongols destroying their enemies and then looking at their enemies cities and just being awestruck by it all. It is kind of funny to read of them acquiring so much wealth in their conquests and yet not having the slightest idea of what to do with all that wealth. Despite the fact that they can take down more advanced civilizations, they prefer to live in a less civilized way. Who needs all this gold and all these buildings anyway? I kind of like that. I feel that way myself many times.But while the action scenes are exciting, there are three things about this book that make it a much less enjoyable read then the previous book in the series. First, there is an overemphasis placed on the sexual drives of many of the male characters in the story. With the exception of Genghis' youngest brother, it seems that every male character in the story has a goal of sleeping with as many women as possible. Are you going on a long journey? Let's find some women along the way so we can sleep with them. Found a beautiful woman after the battle was done? Take her to your tent and keep her there for a few days. See a beautiful woman who is already married? Find some way to kill off the husband and take the woman for yourself. Have a big decision you need to make regarding your family's future or your nation's future but you're not quite sure what the best choice would be. Put off the decision until later. Go have sex first. It really got repetitive and disgusting after a while.Another reason why this book is not as good as the first is that there are major sections of the book that just slowly drag on without anything exciting happening. The first book had constant excitement and suspense. This book has some exciting scenes, but so much of it is slow. So much of it plods along. It is simply not the page-turner that the first book was.And the third reason that this book is not as good as the first is that in the first book the author took his time to flesh out multiple characters, making them all interesting. They each had significant time in the spotlight. You got to know Genghis' wife Borte, his ally Aserem, all his brothers, his mother, and his enemy. In this book, the author has dropped that approach. We see a lot of Genghis, his youngest brother, and Genghis' new shaman. But that is it. All the other interesting characters are virtually silent. They are still there in the narrative. But you don't learn anything more about them. They don't do anything. You never really see how they feel. It is quite jarring. You grew to really like these characters in the first book, and now it is like they don't matter anymore. It was a huge difference in focus, and the main reason why this book as not as good as the first.I hope the rest of the series returns to the form set by the first book or this will be a major letdown.

I loved the first novel of the series to the point that I rushed to purchase the sequel with high expectations. But I found myself reading this book lazily, only when I had nothing better to do. Which was not the case with the Birth of an Empire. The characters lost their vividness and became boring or one-dimensional. It felt as though I was reading a reader-friendly account of Mongols conquering Xia Kingdom and then Yenking and not the action-adventure character-driven historical fiction I enjoyed so much in the first book. Not moved to continue with the series, regretfully so.

Where to begin? It was such an amazing series!I love historical fictions, they give you a front row seat into how our world was shaped while breathing life into long dead people. This series did that and MORE!I recommend starting at the first book and, if you are half as into these books as I was, you won't be able to put them down.Pros:- Battle scenes, very descriptive and exciting. I would like to congratulate the author on keeping the types of battles written throughout the series fresh and interesting. They fought constantly for generations but always a new location, new odds, new strategy, new obstacles. Very EXCITING!-Character development. The number of characters is never overwhelming and you become emotionally invested in their lives. They have varying personalities, goals, dreams, while still keeping a bit of humor.-Extremely well written-Great mix of historical fact and page turning dramas. I really enjoyed understanding the life of the Mongols. They are strong people. Very impressive.-Scenery descriptions, I loved the changes in scenery and I have a much deeper understanding of the climate and environment of the Mongol, Asian, and Islamic parts of the world. Plus the struggles that had to over come to survive and conquer.-Assassins~! Only the Mongols would take on assassin strong holds...The author truly captures the essence of this book in his final note:"This story began as a single starving family, hunted and alone on the plains of Mongolia -- and ends with Kublai Khan ruling an empire larger than that of Julius Ceaser or Alexander the Great. Over just three generations, that is simply the greatest rags-to-riches tale in human history" Conn IgguldenI am now going to read his Ceaser series and any other historical fiction Conn Iggulden writes!!WONDERFUL!!!!

Genghis Khan continues to sweep all before him showing a vision for an empire that will stand long after he has gone. The strategy of the Mongol army is fascinating when and how to outsmart their enemy is as much the achievement as the battle itself. The discipline of military planning and execution, the weapons and machines for battle, and the network of scouts and the infrastructure around the armies is absolutely amazing for its time.They meet the age-old enemy the Chin and the battles are fierce and bloody and on a knife edge at times. With the victory, everyone starts to realise that to fight Genghis’ armies they will face an intelligent, brutal and merciless foe. Fight and you will be slaughtered, surrender and you will be integrated into the Mongol empire. The choice for many becomes obvious.The pace of the narrative is relentless and breath-taking. It is jaw dropping to appreciate all the elements the Mongol armies brought to bear in conquering cities and regions, that were so much more advanced than anything that came before.

Lords of the Bow is the second book in a set of 4 which traces the life and times of Genghis Khan. History has never been my strong point, but the way that Conn Iggulden has written this series of books has me fascinated. From the conditions under which the Mongols survived to the brilliance of Genghis on the battlefield, Conn has created a spellbinding novel out of history that makes it very difficult for me to put the book down. He freely admits that he has had to use some guesswork and that some events have been used out of order but this does not detract from the story, rather it enhances it. I am currently on Book 3 but will shortly be looking at the Kindle library to see what else Conn can tempt me with. I strngly recommend these books to anyone that likes action mixed with fact mixed with history and detail.

I picked up the third book in the series while on holiday in South Africa. It was so refreshing to read about history in a book that you can't put down. It makes you go off and research the topics to verify the facts, and Conn has stuck to most of the facts religeously. When I found out I had read book 3 first, I was both annoyed and elated at the same time. Annoyed I had read the book out of order, but elated there were more. I then read the first book and am now into the Lords of the Bow and it gets better and better.I cannot recommend these book enough to anyone who likes history, in fact to anyone, because whether you like history or not these are very entertaining books and are only more so for the fact they are based on reality.

I'm a convert. My favourite genre is epic fantasy, but after a recommendation from a friend, decided to give this series a try. I've become addicted to this series. The narration is flawless, the pace is gripping, and the way Iggulden has given life to a legend is fantastic. The fiction is well interspersed with historical fact. Unlike many historical fiction writers, he doesn't avoid the filth and fetor of the times. There is no prissying up of basic human functions, and this brings a sense that the story is actually biographical fact, rather than a well padded out basic history.

Iggulden is superb. He writes about historical characters and combines their tale with as much action and conspiracy as the best of thrillers. Unlike some thrillers that focus on the main character, Iggulden also brings to life the minor, bit players as real, living breathing individuals who are woven seamlessly into the fabric of his sagas.We missed out on one of his books and local shops were unable to obtain I was very pleased to find "Lords of the Bow" on Amazon and very pleased with the booksellers price and service.Iggulden's stories progress and the characters develop as the plots unfold. I strongly recommend that to get full value, any new reader should start with the first book in each series.