Plains of the Wolf by Conn Iggulden is the first book in the Conqueror series. It is about the journey of Genghis Khan.
It's a good book, slightly slow on the pick up but carries on to become very interesting and engaging. If anything I would describe it as an almost page turner, almost like Sidney Sheldon's books, with the exception that this book has a soul, it has depth. It's historically quite accurate, all the more reason to like it. He writes well, crisp, to the point and never overly verbose unlike Christopher Paolini in the last books of the Inheritance Cycle. Clearly a much more seasoned writer, and a stronger story to tell. That would be the advantage of writing historical fiction, you don't need to invent worlds and a true story is usually the root or inspiration of our imagination. There is only so much we can imagine, if we imagine a dragon it is mostly what we already know about a dragon. Exception exists but many literary fantasy worlds lose their steam after the first book itself. Historical fiction takes you to a part of ourselves, of our history that is now alien to us. Terribly captivating. After my Philippa Gregory phase about the Tudors and Plantagenets, it seems this could be a new obsession. I would recommend this to everyone who likes adventure books.
It's a good book, slightly slow on the pick up but carries on to become very interesting and engaging. If anything I would describe it as an almost page turner, almost like Sidney Sheldon's books, with the exception that this book has a soul, it has depth. It's historically quite accurate, all the more reason to like it. He writes well, crisp, to the point and never overly verbose unlike Christopher Paolini in the last books of the Inheritance Cycle. Clearly a much more seasoned writer, and a stronger story to tell. That would be the advantage of writing historical fiction, you don't need to invent worlds and a true story is usually the root or inspiration of our imagination. There is only so much we can imagine, if we imagine a dragon it is mostly what we already know about a dragon. Exception exists but many literary fantasy worlds lose their steam after the first book itself. Historical fiction takes you to a part of ourselves, of our history that is now alien to us. Terribly captivating. After my Philippa Gregory phase about the Tudors and Plantagenets, it seems this could be a new obsession. I would recommend this to everyone who likes adventure books.
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