Guitars and Life

I've loved this series since the start with Wolf of the Plains which began with Gengis Khan, then just known as Temujin, as a young boy being abandoned by his tribe in a power struggle after his fathers death.  That book and the two that followed took us through his entire life and the remarkable story of him pulling the Mongolian tribes into a single nation and fighting back against their oppressive neighbours the Chin.  After his death however the empire stuttered and the previous book in the series Empire of Silver chronicles the amazing push West into Europe that Ogedei Khan inspired.  However his death stopped the marauding hordes and they return to Karakorum the new capital that Ogedei built. This is the setting for the beginning of Conqueror when all the nation are waiting for a new Khan to be selected.  At this point the level of political and family intrigue is amazing in the Mongolian royal line and Conn makes good use of this to weave plenty of inter fam...

Haven't done a book review for ages. This book follows on from Conn's trilogy that was all about the life of Genghis Khan - which I really enjoyed. I've always had a bit of a fascination with the Khan story, how this nation that wasn't even a nation but a load of squabbling tribes was forged into the incredible military power that took on the Chin and won and then forged out West to Europe as well. So the story picks up after Genghis is dead and there is a power struggle with the family left behind - Genghis had set up Ögedei Khan as his successor. He starts to build a city, contrary to the nomadic lifestyle under Genghis. Also under his reign the expansion of the Mongol empire reaches it's height reaching far into Europe and China. If I am honest I found this slightly heavier going than the original series, I think to be honest I'm more wanting to get to the next stage in the saga that leads to Kublai Khan taking over which is another era I've interest ...