A dangerous book for big boys
British author tackles the Mongol steppes


by Joe Foster

Genghis: Lords of the Bow by Conn Iggulden. Delacorte Press, 2008. 387 pages.

Independence Day is upon us, so bring on the fireworks, parades and DUI checkpoints. July is the month when our neighbors over-buy New Mexican fireworks and spend weeks destroying the surplus at 2 o’clock in the morning, risking forest fire. July is also the first full month of summer and is filled with summer reading suggestions. I’ve never understood the perception that summer reading should be fluffy and frilly and empty. So in that spirit, I’m going to suggest some relaxed lawn chair time with an epic work of historical fiction about a ruthless Mongolian warlord. We’re not talking Joyce or Tolstoy here, but Conn Iggulden’s story about young Genghis banished from his tribe, a death sentence, and his eventual resurgence as the man that brought all the Mongol tribes together under one banner, is fairly heavy and immensely enjoyable.

Iggulden is most widely known for a book he co-authored with his brother, The Dangerous Book for Boys, which single-handedly spawned a new genre of books, a genre that laments the “safety first” style of hyper-parenting in which little boys and girls are never allowed to do anything stupid or dangerous. Seriously, a little guy’s not even allowed to jump his bike over a flaming car without wearing a damned helmet anymore. Helmets … pfffft. Igguldens’ Dangerous Book for Boys is all about allowing kids to be kids again, or, frankly, allowing their parents to be kids along with them. Conn is also known for a pretty decent four-book series of historical fiction about Julius Caesar. From his childhood to “et tu,” we follow Julius and Brutus as they expand and, eventually, rule Rome. Conn’s dialogue started out a little weak in the first few books of this series, but his writing got better as the series progressed. By the final book, Iggulden’s dialogue clipped along and, frankly, the dude can write a heck of fight. The first book in the Genghis series is the best he’s written yet, with book two close behind.

I must admit to a fascination with well-done historical fiction. I’ve read epic works about Hannibal, Sparta, Alexander, a few on the Knights of Malta, Ireland, Russia, post-Roman Britain, the Norsemen, Hadrian, the Aztecs, Gypsies, most of Michener’s stuff – all well researched and mostly well written. I find history endlessly fascinating, but most history books just aren’t as well written, in my opinion, and how admirable to be able to breathe life into a historical figure dead for centuries. That said, I’ve always been fascinated by Genghis Khan, and Iggulden has done a breath-taking job of presenting the world of the Mongol steppes in all its harsh cruelty and savage beauty, as well as deftly navigating the politics of the day. Between the constant warring of the tribal lords, the pandering and divisionary influence of the Chinese and the incredibly vicious climate, the powerful character of Genghis rises from nowhere to unite the tribes into one of the scariest, cruelest and most inventive armies to sweep a battlefield clean of its enemies.

The climate itself is such an enemy to humanity as to make survival, despite war, a miracle itself. Sleeping outside and waking to find your hair frozen to the ground, having no food and filling your belly with a mixture of mare’s blood and milk to sustain yourself for a week’s journey … the world of the Mongol horse tribes is so foreign and nasty that understanding their warlike motivations becomes almost secondary to understanding the land they call home. It was into this land that Genghis, as a small and newly fatherless boy, is cast with only his brothers and his mother. They eke out a living, barely, hunted all along by his former tribe. It is from this place, this unsustainable exile, that Genghis and his brothers begin their conquest of the tribes, eventually uniting them enough to drive the Huns from their lands and, in the second book (Genghis: Lords of the Bow) invade the opulent and soft land of the Chinese, those who had for centuries done all they could to oppress the Mongols and suppress any chance of such an uprising.

Seriously exciting and fascinating stuff. Iggulden is firmly on his way to becoming one of the greats in historical fiction. •

In this week's issue...

January 25, 2024
Bagging it

State plastic bag ban is in full effect, but enforcement varies

January 26, 2024
Paper chase

The Sneer is back – and no we’re not talking about Billy Idol’s comeback tour.

January 11, 2024
High and dry

New state climate report projects continued warming, declining streamflows