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Who knew Genghis Khan could be so fun?
Barbarity aside, Iggulden's new novel shows the imagination behind the Mongolian Empire.
By Yvonne Zippfrom the May 8, 2007 edition
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I have a confession: I'm not much of a swords-and-sandals gal. With apologies to fans of "300," if there's historical mayhem involving sharp pointy things, I'll be at home watching "Miss Marple" reruns. Make the hero one of history's most ruthless conquerors – rather than, say, a valiant band fighting to save their country from a million Persians – and it would take a CPA to calculate the probability of my liking that book.
Meet Conn Iggulden, defier of truly astronomical odds. The British writer is no stranger to historical novels, having written the acclaimed "Emperor" series about Julius Caesar. He's also familiar with subjects dear to boyish hearts, having written, with his brother Hal, "The Dangerous Book for Boys," a nonfiction book about skipping stones and tying knots that was voted Book of the Year at the Galaxy British Book Awards in March.
In Genghis: Birth of an Empire, the first of a planned series, Iggulden recreates the coming of age of the founder of what became the largest contiguous empire in history.
Iggulden is helped by a childhood right out of myth. Facts about the early life of Genghis Khan (more properly Chinggis) are sketchy, since 12th-century Mongolian nomads were typically illiterate, but Iggulden easily fills a book with the few known facts. Born around 1162 to 1165, Temujin was the second son of the khan of the Blue Wolves. By the standards of the day, when spoiling your child could get him killed, he had a loving family life until he was 12 (some accounts say 9). Iggulden excels in describing the spartan joys of life as a nomad. (Hint: Mongolian barbecue is nowhere on the menu; cheese curds and salt tea are delicious treats.) The novel opens with Temujin and his brothers racing flat out across the plains on their horses, then climbing to capture an eagle chick for their father. That's pretty much the last time he has any fun.
As is tradition, Temujin is sent to his mother's tribe to live for a year. His uncle and cousins aren't exactly welcoming, since his dad, Yesugei, had kidnapped his mom in a raid, killing one of her brothers and wounding the other. (Iggulden makes Hoelun a woman of strength and resolve, but he never answers the question of how she came to love her husband.)
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