Review: Bones of the Hills

Great conclusion to a brilliant trilogy.

`I am the land and the bones of the hills. I am the winter.'

Genghis Khan is the powerful leader of a nation united from the tribes and victorious in the long war against the Chin, the Mongolians' ancient fow. But now trouble arises from another direction. His embassies to the west are rebuffed, his ambassadors killed or mutilated.

So Genghis and his armies, led by his brothers and trusted generals, embark on their greatest journey, through present day Tibet, Iran and Iraq and on to the shores of the Mediterranean. Conquering city after city, one empire after another, by battle, by the siege warfare they have learnt from the Chin, by fear and by persuasion, the Mongolian power stretched over the entire region.
Genghis Khan conquered a greater empire than any other man. This achievement was made even more extraordinary as during these years, over these campaigns, his sons as well as his brothers were vying for his favour, for the right to lead the most successful of his armies, to bring in the greatest conquests, to achieve the succession.

He had already proved himself a great warrior. Now the challenge is to show himself as an outstanding ruler for his people and that rare leader, one who can manage his succession.

This is the final book of the Conqueror trilogy and maybe the best one of the series. This is high praise indeed because the other two books where excellent as well.

In this book Genghis turns his ‘attention’ to the West – to Muslim Central Asia. A governor of these lands killed the envoys that where send there by Genghis’ brother. Genghis, never a man for envoys and negotiations himself, is outraged and decides to teach the governor and his Shah a lesson.

This results in another book full of military strategism, intrigue, bloody battles, cruelty & heroism – and as always Iggulden’s writing style puts the reader right there in the front lines; feeling the sand between the teeth, seeing the blood and the guts and smelling the horses.

What made this book even deeper than the previous installments is the further development of the characters we already came to love or hate, like Genghis’ brothers Khasar, Kachiun and Temuge, the shaman Kokchu, the generals Tsubodai, Jelme and Arsan. Also important in this book is the story of the sons of Genghis. We especially get to see the struggle between the oldest two sons: Jochi, the brave but bitter eldest son of who Genghis doubted if he was really a trueborn son or a bastard as a result of the rape Genghis’ wife had to endure during an abduction by a band of Tartar raiders; and Chagatai, the treacherous second son looking to usurp the position of his elder brother, who by rights of birth, should inherit his father’s position. Here we get to see Genghis at his most vulnerable. He is the great leader, the cold and calculating strategist and ruthless conqueror, but also the father who has mixed feelings about his sons and who doubts his own ability to do the right things regarding their upbringing. Especially the character of unwanted and unloved Jochi and his special connection to Genghis’ best General Tsubodai leads to heartbreaking developments. Good stuff!

Conclusion: the last installment in the Conqueror Trilogy is a must read not only for fans of historical fiction but also for anyone who loves an action packed tale of war and conquest. Be sure to read ‘Wolf of the Plains (Birth of an Empire) and ‘Lords of the Bow’ first!

9 / 10

Review: Lords of the Bow

Deeply satisfying sequel.

For centuries, Mongol tribes had warred with one another. But now, under Genghis Khan, they have united as one nation, setting their sights on a common enemy: the great, slumbering walled empire of the Chin. Genghis will lead his warriors across the Gobi Desert and into a realm his people had never seen before—with gleaming cities, soaring walls, and canals. Laying siege to one city fortress after another, he will crush each enemy in a different way—until his army faces the ultimate test of all.In the city of Yenking —modern-day Beijing— the Chin will make their final stand, setting a trap for the Mongol raiders, confident behind their towering walls. But Genghis will strike with breathtaking audacity, never ceasing until the Emperor himself is forced to kneel.

This impressive sequel to Wolf of the Plains / Birth of an Empire starts at the point where Genghis, formerly known as Temujin of the Wolves, is finishing up his campaign to unite all the Mongol tribes.

After becoming the undisputed leader and melting all these different tribes into one nation, one army, he turns his attention to the South – to the Xi Xia Empire and next to that the great Chin Empire. We get to see the preparations, the logistics involved in moving a 100.000 person army with followers over vast distances; we are part of the trek through the Gobi desert and the arrival at a fortified mountain pass that guards the access to the wealthy empires in the south, which will be the scene of the first major battle in this book. We get to see the learning curve of the Mongols, who have to adapt their warfare methods. On the plains the Mongols never knew stone buildings, nor walled cities with defensive weapons like they encounter in the empires in the south.

Like the first book this one has a lot of bloody action and intrigue; more than the first book this one has major, large scale battles. Iggulden’s descriptions of these battles, his eye for detail and for strategy and tactics are sublime. In this book we don’t spend all the time with Genghis. We see the adventures of Genghis’ brothers Khasar and Temuge on their ‘scouting trip’ into the Xi Xia Empire. We get to know these brothers better than we did in the first book; Khasar the crude warrior, Kachiun the intelligent leader, Temuge the soft schemer. Also we are introduced to Tsubodai – a heroic youngster who will be the best known general in Mongol history; a real historical figure. All these characters feel real and have their own distinct personalities.

In this book the period is covered of the first steps into the Xi Xia Empire to the siege of Yenking (present day Bejing). We get to see not only Genghis’ victories, but also his doubts and frustrations. Lengthy sieges were not exactly to the Mongols taste but sometimes unavoidable.

Interesting detail and real historical fact is the tactic Genghis and the Mongol invented to cower the besieged city into surrender. On the first day of the siege they would put up a big white tent. This tent symbolized the possibility for the city to surrender without bloodshed. Without the besieged city’s surrender the Mongols would put up a red tent the next day – indicating that surrender was still possible but now only the women and children would survive. If necessary the next day a black tent would be raised – meaning surrender was now impossible and everybody inside the city walls would be killed. Implemented without exception this was of course a perfect way to install fear in cities that where next on the Mongol’s route.

Iggulden simply is a master storyteller. His style makes the reader feel right in the middle of the action and paints a vivid picture of the day to day life in an army on the move and also of the life and machinations in the Chin cities.

The end of the book lets us see a brooding Genghis who longs for the plains of home and who wants to see his sons grow up (although they are not equally loved by their father...) And with just a little knowledge of history we know Genghis still has to look to the West… Anyway: enough promise for the last book!

Conclusion: Lords of the Bow is a deeply satisfying sequel to Wolf of the Plains and appetizing prequel to the last book in the series: Bones of the Hills. Outstanding!

9 / 10

Review: Wolf of the Plains (Birth of an Empire)

Excellent historical fiction.

A remarkable story of heroism and adventure, of a boy who had to become a man too soon, of a family and a tribe who had to learn to win to survive. A man without a tribe was at great risk, so the young boy abandoned with his siblings on the harsh Mongolian plains had to struggle to avoid death. He survived both starvation and hostile attacks by learning remarkable leadership skills and gathering a group of outsiders like himself. Hunted and alone, he dreamed of uniting the tribes into one house, one nation. He became a great warrior. He would become father to his people. He would be Genghis Khan.

I read this book a while ago and didn’t get to writing a review yet. But a review is in order, because this book deserves the highest recommendation imho. For me there’s just a fine line between an enjoyable historical novel or a good fantasy book – I like my fantasy light, with low key magic. I enjoy good stories however that focus on massive battles, political machinations and adventure in various interesting settings. The real world can be as good a stage for me as a well developed fantasy world. Because the (13th century) Mongolian plains that make up most of the stage of this book was almost like a ‘new’ world to me it is easy to recommend this book also to readers who tend to stick exclusively to (epic) fantasy.

Wolf of the Plains is the story of Temujin, who would be later known to his people and the world as Genghis Khan. Temujin was born a son of the khan of his tribe, the Wolves. Although there’s little written account of the life of Genghis Khan, there are some facts known of his early life. It is known that when his father died Temujin, his mother and siblings, were cast out of the tribe and left to die on the frigid Mongolian plains. Temujin’s older brother was too young to take on his father’s position and they were abandoned. Circumstances made Temujin leading figure in the survival of his family and his slow and difficult rise to a position of power.

Historical purists or fanatics always have criticism on historical fiction because authors take creative liberties. I am not a purist nor fanatic but I simply enjoy an engrossing story with characters you care about. Iggulden carefully explains in his afterword where he took some artistic liberties and what is based on actual fact. Even so: it’s not called historical fiction for nothing. So don’t expect a history book but a straight up action packed and fast paced read that’s hard to put down.

Another reason that makes this book a high quality read is Iggulden's description of the life as lived by 13th Century Mongol tribesmen. He clearly thoroughly researched the era and the people (as he explains in his notes). Their way of life really comes alive and is completely believable: The strong tribal structure, the nomadic lifestyle of the Mongols, the prowess with bow and arrow, the importance of horses and good horsemanship; what they ate; the drinking of the blood of their living horses when there was no food available; the constant warfare and uneasy, shifting alliances between the tribes, and the warfare and tensions between the Mongols and other races in the area such as the Tartars in the north and the Chin in the south.

This book covers Temujin’s youth. So keep in mind that this is the first book in a three book series! We get to know Temujin through his hardships in his early years and we see him develop in a hard, brutal, ambitious, vengeful and intelligent leader of men. Funny thing is that we get to see the development of his empire through the Mongol eyes. History tells us Westerners that the Mongols were a ruthless an barbaric kind of people who paved their empire by ways of death and destruction. And although Iggulden does not try to sweeten the picture of the exploits of Genghis and his peers and ruthlessness was definitely part of their tactics, the fact that we see it ‘from their side’ does make you think. We are more inclined to think of Alexander the Great or Julius Ceaser or Richard Lionheart as great conquering heroes. But people like Atilla the Hun and Genghis Khan are barbaric tribesmen in our collective history’s eyes. Depends on which continent you grew up I guess…

But I digress… Wolf of the Plains (Birth of an Empire in the US) is a terrific start to a three book series. And although the pace of this first installment may be a little bit slower than that of two following books it’s a truly wonderful book. Don’t let the slow start put you off, but enjoy the atmosphere / ‘worldbuilding’ and the introduction of the characters. Soon enough you’ll be engrossed in the life and trials of Temujin and hungry for the next installment!

9 / 10