A review by eowyns_helmet
Genghis: Lords of the Bow by Conn Iggulden

2.0

It took me about 100 pages to figure out why this book wasn't grabbing me (it's part of my annual 'Christmas pile' of books I look forward to reading after the presents and the breakfast and the clean-up). I love me a rollicking historical fiction, and I had finally utterly and completely soured on "Marco Polo." Was it after the female character had to sword fight nude? Maybe... Anyway, I nosed around on the Internet a bit to get some of the background, trying to fire myself up. So many cultures I didn't recognize, what a rich vein... and then I realized that the narrative was only a little more "colorful" than a Wikipedia entry. I had no greater feel for any of the characters than a moderately more detailed summary. Some other readers have commented on this, the distant feel to the story. In contrast, others who've written absorbing historical fiction -- Phillippa Gregory ([b:The White Queen|5971165|The White Queen (The Cousins' War, #1)|Philippa Gregory|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1406950364s/5971165.jpg|13560666]) on the more mass-market end, Hillary Mantel on the spectacular, I can't believe how rich this is end ([b:Wolf Hall|6101138|Wolf Hall (Thomas Cromwell, #1)|Hilary Mantel|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1336576165s/6101138.jpg|6278354], [b:Bring Up the Bodies|13507212|Bring Up the Bodies (Thomas Cromwell, #2)|Hilary Mantel|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1330649655s/13507212.jpg|14512257] -- Iggulden rerally doesn't manage to get inside his character's skin. The story ends up being a "one damn thing after another" narrative, not surprising or particularly interesting...