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Rating  - 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.
Rating  - Disappointed
I was expecting a good read as I am a fan of the Mongol Conquest. This book seems to just drag on and on. I had just finished reading Gemmell Troy series (Excellent)and had high hopes. This book is just BORING. I only resd it when I go do laundry!!
Rating  - Birth of an Empire
The book is very interesting but the title is different here in Australia. The same book is called Wolf of the Plains and from Amazon it is called Birth of a Nation.
Rating - One of the Best
Conn Iggulden has written one of the best historical novels I've ever read. To be honest, I hate most novels and rarely finish them because they either become too stupid, too boring or both. I couldn't get enough of Genghis, though, and was sad when it was over. It ranks up there with Byzantium (Stephen Lawhead) and Isle of Stone (Nicastro).
Here's what I liked about Genghis:
1) Like Isle of Stone, maintained otherworldliness throughout. Never did it seem like the author just plopped some 21st century Americans (or Brits) onto the Asian steppes and called them Mongols. These Mongols seemed like Mongols.
2) Like Byzantium, the book told a story from page one. Very tightly focused, never wandered into pointless descriptions of domestic life. Boring meanderings were quickly reined in.
3) Women characters didn't ruin the book (as they usually do). Until authors feel confident writing convincing women characters in historical fiction, they should lay off it, as Iggulden does here. It was a close-run thing though. Part 2 of the book begins to drag as it looks like he plans to change the focus to the mother and wife characters. Fortunately, this is a short-lived left turn and the book gets its focus back before too much damage is done. Interestingly, the mother and wife characters seem to disappear in the 2nd half of the book. I'm betting there are a lot of anachronistic domestic scenes laying where they belong -- on the cutting room floor.
The only bad thing:
1) the wife character saved herself for Genghis. This is laughably outrageous, pure Hollywood contrivance. Again, no permanent damage done here. Probably lots of this stuff edited out.
This book is far and away better than the author's Caesar books, so much so you wonder if they're written by the same guy. Huge improvement. I like the trajectory of Iggulden's skill and I can't wait to read the next in the series.
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