Lords of the Bow :: Conn Iggulden

I've just finished this and it’s a cracking read.  I read the first book, Wolf of the Plains, sometime ago and received the second book for my birthday earlier this year.   It reads really well and sets a terrific pace.



The book covers Genghis Khan’s conquest of China and the abortive siege of the Chinese capital.  As you’d expect the battle scenes are superb but the book has a number of interesting sub plots built around characters close to the Khan. These add variety to the narrative and make the book more episodic.

One of the book’s main themes is how the Mongols acquired the skills and equipment necessary to successfully besiege the walled cities of the Xia Xia and the Chin.  I enjoyed this a lot especially as I’ve just built, and half painted, some Chinese artillery pieces for my Mongol Conquest army.

A great book.  Now that I’ve got a lot of time on my hands, I’m really pleased that the third book in the series arrived in the post this week.  Highly recommended.