Aided by his brothers Kachiun and Khasar, Genghis strikes first against the Xi Xia Kingdom south of the Gobi Desert-a route into China that circumvents the Great Wall. Here, Genghis turns to the conquest of the “bloated, wealthy” cities of the Chin, or Chinese, Kingdom. In the debut volume, the Great Khan rises from the barren plains of central Asia to unify the scattered Mongol tribes into a nation. , continues his masterful series on Genghis Khan (following Genghis: Birth of an Empire If not, the book will likely fall short of your expectations.Iggulden, coauthor of the megaseller The Dangerous Book for Boys It’s great additional research for my own Mongolian fiction.ĭo I recommend the book to others? Only if you’re fascinated by Genghis Khan and his empire.

Will I keep reading the series? Yes, if nothing else but for the details about their way of life. What will happen next? I’ll find out soon enough, though to be fair history has already answered that question for us.

Genghis has taken the Chin emperor’s home wit the promise of peace, even if temporary, but the emperor betrays him. Lords of the Bow ends with something of a cliffhanger. The use of psychic distance and head-hopping Iggulden uses to tell the story can make it hard to really dive deeper into their thoughts and emotions. Like the previous book, I enjoyed the story, but I had a hard time investing in the characters. While the author clearly took some liberties, he also clarified those issues in his note at the end of the novel.

As the Mongols grow stronger and wealthier, opposition to his rule dissolves in the wake of his overwhelming success.Īnyone who knows a bit about Genghis Khan and his conquests would not be surprised by anything that happens in this book. Genghis and his massive army march further and further south into Chin lands, conquering and burning in brutal fashion the Mongols were famous for. Lords of the Bow is a battle-filled sequel to Wolf of the Plains, part of the Khan Dynasty series. Now he turns his attention to the Chin dynasty that has torn his people apart for centuries. Genghis Khan has united the Mongol clans and risen to power.

Genghis lords of the bow