Genghis Khan is one of those names that, when uttered, triggers an immediate response on the part of a listener. Some think about some half-remembered history lesson, or a historical movie, or a hero or villain in some pseudo-fantasy story.
He was the leader of the Mongols, a group of tribes he united that raided and sacked China and Asia, and caused the ruination of several cities and cultures. I’d never thought of him being a boy or a young man, the precursor to this indomitable warrior known for his fierceness and skill.
Conn Iggulden has written an exciting book about Temujin (the name Genghis Khan was born with) in his early years. The beginning few pages didn’t quite pull me in, but once Temujin became the center of action, I was hooked. He and his father didn’t quite see eye to eye, and I think that’s one of the reasons the novel was selected as a National Library Association Alex award winner, which is an award given to adult level books that might prove interesting to teenagers.
Birth of an Empire is exactly that kind of book. As a teen, I would have devoured this novel, then looked for the next two in the trilogy. I already have those on my shelves as well and look forward to reading them.
Iggulden presents a sweeping epic chock full of action and emotion. Temujin’s life is a hard one, filled with the setbacks and challenges that make a man a warrior. Once I finished the novel, a looked back over biographical notes about Genghis Khan and was surprised to find most of the events I was certain were fictional to be true. I’d thought that Temujin’s necessity of killing his older brother to preserve his family to be a fictional device, that such a thing couldn’t be true. I was surprised to find that it is one of the primary facts historians know about him.
Article comments