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Conqueror
(Conqueror #5)
by
From a young scholar to one of history's most powerful warriors, this novel tells the story of Kublai Khan - an extraordinary man who should be remembered alongside Julius Caesar, Alexander the Great and Napoleon Bonaparte as one of the greatest conquerors the world has ever known.
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Paperback, 546 pages
Published
October 27th 2011
by HarperCollins Publishers
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Showing 1-30
Start your review of Conqueror (Conqueror, #5)
I have mixed feelings regarding the final book of Conqueror, one of my favorite historical fiction series.
I’m starting to think that there’s a real curse contained within five books series that haunts me. I don’t even know why or how this happens, but I’m never left completely satisfied by the concluding installment of all five books series I’ve read so far. Lightbringer by Brent Weeks, Heartstrikers by Rachel Aaron, The Shadow Campaigns by Django Wexler, and unfortunately, this series. All of t ...more
I’m starting to think that there’s a real curse contained within five books series that haunts me. I don’t even know why or how this happens, but I’m never left completely satisfied by the concluding installment of all five books series I’ve read so far. Lightbringer by Brent Weeks, Heartstrikers by Rachel Aaron, The Shadow Campaigns by Django Wexler, and unfortunately, this series. All of t ...more
Conn Iggulden’s latest book chronicles the life of Kublai Khan, son of Tolui, grandson of Genghis Khan.
A warrior who would rule a fifth of the world with strength and wisdom.
A scholar who conquered an empire larger than those of Alexander or Caesar.
A brother who betrayed his own to protect a nation.
Conqueror paints a vivid picture of Mongol life post-Genghis and Iggulden masterfully brings almost legendary characters to life. As with all of his novels, he inserts many details from everyday lif ...more
A warrior who would rule a fifth of the world with strength and wisdom.
A scholar who conquered an empire larger than those of Alexander or Caesar.
A brother who betrayed his own to protect a nation.
Conqueror paints a vivid picture of Mongol life post-Genghis and Iggulden masterfully brings almost legendary characters to life. As with all of his novels, he inserts many details from everyday lif ...more
I wanted to rate this higher, but the end and major focus of the story was filled with missed opportunities. There should have been more focus and closure on Kublai. 6 of 10 stars
Sep 09, 2018
Scott Hitchcock
rated it
it was amazing
Shelves:
historical-fiction,
completed-series-last-book
5 books, all 5*'s. By far the best historical fiction series I've read.
The thing CI gets is balance. He doesn't try to minimize the raw violence which was the Mongolian horde but he doesn't make them into mindless killers either. They have hopes, dreams, families, fears, needs and endure physical and mental pain to accomplish their goals.
Likewise CI balances giving us a sense of their culture and the cultures they conquer without getting carried away and boring everybody this side of a sociolo ...more
The thing CI gets is balance. He doesn't try to minimize the raw violence which was the Mongolian horde but he doesn't make them into mindless killers either. They have hopes, dreams, families, fears, needs and endure physical and mental pain to accomplish their goals.
Likewise CI balances giving us a sense of their culture and the cultures they conquer without getting carried away and boring everybody this side of a sociolo ...more
I thought, like many other readers that this was a great conclusion to the series, which surprisingly is, from the top of my head, the first historical fiction series that I have finished that has a large number of books in it. Many of the historical fiction have actually been standalones, or having maybe two or three books in the series, despite me really enjoying historical fiction as a genre. So if anyone knows any good historical fiction series, please recommend them to me.
Like the rest of t ...more
Like the rest of t ...more
Mar 18, 2014
David Sven
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
historical-fiction
A good finale to the series. This book sees the rise of Kublai Khan. Growing up, nobody would have guessed it would be the scholar grandson of Genghis, with his head in books and adoption of Chin culture, who would turn out to be Gur Khan of the Mongols - Then again, a generation or two before that nobody foresaw that there would be such a thing as a Mongol scholar.
Of course, Kublai doesn't stay a scholar, forced to take the field by his brother Mongke to extend Mongol control beyond the Chin bo ...more
Of course, Kublai doesn't stay a scholar, forced to take the field by his brother Mongke to extend Mongol control beyond the Chin bo ...more
Nov 30, 2011
Lisa Reads & Reviews
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
first-reads,
historical
I never considered myself a reader of historical fiction novels, probably due to the manner in which history was/is taught in school. In college, however, I had a favorite professor, educated at Harvard, with a keen intellect, and wit. During a class, and I still remember this, he mentioned the Mongols' sacking of Baghdad, where the city folks were so materialistic, they swallowed their jewels, only to have their bellies split open and their treasures robbed. Tremendous libraries and precious ar
...more
This is my Second read..here is the original review (which is still appropriate):
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...
...more
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...
...more
I have gone off this series by Conn Iggulden. I appreciated Book 1 and 2, but I have not felt anything for the books since then, and this is book 5, so that tells you how long it has been since I have gotten into this series.
I have persisted in the hopes that sooner or later I would feel what I felt in Book 2 and because I keep buying the damn books so that I have the collection. Nice covers make me weak.
I find the writing quality in many of Iggulden's books simplistic and inconsistent. Like a ...more
I have persisted in the hopes that sooner or later I would feel what I felt in Book 2 and because I keep buying the damn books so that I have the collection. Nice covers make me weak.
I find the writing quality in many of Iggulden's books simplistic and inconsistent. Like a ...more
I loved this book so much I had to get all of Conn Iggulden's books on the Khan series and the books on Rome.This book was wonderful full of action,battle plans,hard choices and trickery.Conn Iggulden has done a wonderful job of making the mongols live for me.I loved how alive these men and women became for me while reading this book. I couldn't put this book down.While reading this book it was like being there in a way just so vivid.I highly recommend reading this book if you are a fan of histo
...more
This is a wonderful conclusion to the series. Once I was into the last one hundred pages, I just had to keep reading until I had finished at 2.30 am this morning.
As Conn Iggulden says in his historical notes at the end of the book, there is still so much that he could have continued to write about the Mongolian empire. Sorhatani, mother of the four grandsons of Genghis: Mongke, Kublai, Hulegu and Arik-Boke, deserves a book of her own. However, I think that Conn is correct in deciding to leave th ...more
As Conn Iggulden says in his historical notes at the end of the book, there is still so much that he could have continued to write about the Mongolian empire. Sorhatani, mother of the four grandsons of Genghis: Mongke, Kublai, Hulegu and Arik-Boke, deserves a book of her own. However, I think that Conn is correct in deciding to leave th ...more
This has been a great Historical Fiction series. I enjoyed this one and it was the perfect end to this series. The characters shined all throughout the entire series. I'll say that I gave the 4th installment only 3 stars, but this summed it all up. I loved the drama of war and the author showed what propels one to climb to the top, no matter the cost. That was all well done. I highly recommend this series, especially the audiobooks.
Conn Iggulden follows up his excellent series on Genghis khan with another wonderful tale. This time it's about Genghis's grandson- Kublai. It follows the intelligent and different, from the Mongol norm, man from his young teenage years to his brother Mongke becoming Khan and sending Kublai on a conquest of the Southern Sung lands of China. The book does also track the experiences of Mongke, Hulegu, Batu and others.
As per his norm, Mr. Iggulden fills his pages with well researched and exciting ...more
As per his norm, Mr. Iggulden fills his pages with well researched and exciting ...more
'This story began with a single, starving family, hunted and alone on the plains of Mongolia - and ends with Kublai Khan ruling an empire larger than that of Alexander the Great or Julius Caesar. Over just three generations, that is the simply the greatest rags-to-riches tale in human history.'-Conn Iggulden
Conqueror is second only to the first book in this series as my favorite. It's just a well written novel and I could tell Conn put his heart into this one. In addition to what is usually guar ...more
Conqueror is second only to the first book in this series as my favorite. It's just a well written novel and I could tell Conn put his heart into this one. In addition to what is usually guar ...more
As with all his novels, it was a well written, thoroughly researched book. Great history of culture. Significant insight into the great detail that the Mongols put into warfare and tactics.
In the fifth and final book of the Conqueror series, there is a lot going on. Lots of names. Lots of death. Lots of places. Like the second and fourth books, I can't say I loved it in its entirety, but it was still a good read and a satisfying end to the series.
All the books had plenty of characters to keep track of, but I think this one maybe overdid it a bit. I think this is partly because you're exposed to so much over a fairly short span. This wasn't like the beginning of the series where we ...more
All the books had plenty of characters to keep track of, but I think this one maybe overdid it a bit. I think this is partly because you're exposed to so much over a fairly short span. This wasn't like the beginning of the series where we ...more
I received this book from the Goodreads Firstreads program. I was very excited to receive the book as I love Historical Fiction and always wanted to find out more about the Mongols. When requesting the book, I did not realize that it was part of a series. However, I am now happy that I have a new author to catch up on. I plan on going back and reading the entire Conqueror series, and also the Emperor series.
I really enjoyed how the author presented the historical information and how he develope ...more
I really enjoyed how the author presented the historical information and how he develope ...more
**Actual rating, 4.5. I took away a half a point in a fit of sulkiness.**
Really???? That's the end? Kublai wins the battle, takes the khan title and.......you end the series? Come on Mr. Iggulden, please revisit that decision. There is so much more to tell!
This was the final installment in a great historical series about the Mongols. Very well written, chock full of actual events and each book had a very thoughtful afterwards in which the author delineated fact from fiction.
Even though the autho ...more
Really???? That's the end? Kublai wins the battle, takes the khan title and.......you end the series? Come on Mr. Iggulden, please revisit that decision. There is so much more to tell!
This was the final installment in a great historical series about the Mongols. Very well written, chock full of actual events and each book had a very thoughtful afterwards in which the author delineated fact from fiction.
Even though the autho ...more
The quality of writing didn’t noticeably drop in this one but it was super apparent that Iggulden was running out of creative steam with the series, so I don’t really buy his explanation as to why he stopped at this arbitrary-feeling point. Still, the man can write the hell out of a battle scene and there were plenty of those. I’ve already read his first Roses book and really liked so I feel confident that it was just time to move on. It just kinda sucks that this was such an underwhelming finis
...more
Nov 03, 2011
Jason Golomb
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
historical-fiction,
mongols
Conn Iggulden makes a splendid return to his 13th century world of Mongol dominance. "Conquerer" marks Iggulden's fifth book in his historical fiction series on Genghis Khan, his legacy, and the lasting cultural impact of his Mongol empire on the world.
"Conquerer" focuses on one of Genghis' grandsons, Kublai Khan, who's probably most well known for his monumental interactions with explorer Marco Polo. Absent of the Marco Polo years, "Conquerer" explores the rise of Kublai Khan from a studious ...more
"Conquerer" focuses on one of Genghis' grandsons, Kublai Khan, who's probably most well known for his monumental interactions with explorer Marco Polo. Absent of the Marco Polo years, "Conquerer" explores the rise of Kublai Khan from a studious ...more
This novel fittingly ends the Khan series. The author says that he wants to end a series with the character alive and Kublai is very much alive and in control at the book's ending. This series has been so interesting and I have learned so much about the Mongols although, if truth be told, I knew next nothing when I began. Genghis was a fascinating man who was a natural military intellect. As much as I was interested in his life, I had no desire to emulate it. Riding the plains for months, eating
...more
A great end to a series that became stronger with each subsequent book. Highly recommended.
Feb 01, 2020
Amber Dunten
rated it
liked it
Shelves:
dude-lit,
war-stories,
action-adventure,
historical,
2020,
fiction,
male-authors,
testosterone-poisoning,
audio
I read this as a stand-alone novel even though it's officially Book 5 of a series, and it seems to stand well on its own – in fact, judging from the complaints of some reviewers that it doesn't fit into the rest of the series that well, maybe it's actually better as a standalone.
It's filled with explicit descriptions of a lot of battles, so... graphic violence warning! Right away, you're hit over the head with the fact that this is going to be a bloody, violent story. The opening scene has Guyuk ...more
It's filled with explicit descriptions of a lot of battles, so... graphic violence warning! Right away, you're hit over the head with the fact that this is going to be a bloody, violent story. The opening scene has Guyuk ...more
Super conclusion to an epic series. So much happens in this book that it felt like it could have been made into two separate books :-) This guy writes an addictive story and brings such fascinating historical characters to life. Now i definitely know about the great Mongol empire.
This book is like a dramatic change into the progress of Mongol empire as it gives the insight into the thoughts behind the actions of Kublai Kahn, Gengis Kahn's brightest grandson. Kublai chooses to establish and flou ...more
This book is like a dramatic change into the progress of Mongol empire as it gives the insight into the thoughts behind the actions of Kublai Kahn, Gengis Kahn's brightest grandson. Kublai chooses to establish and flou ...more
The final book in the series excellent, both as the continuation of the Genghis khan's line, as well as a standalone title. Until reading it, I didn't have a clue what kind of a person Kublai khan was. The only reference was that he and the great Marco Polo met each other and that they entered into a trade negotiations. Fortunately, this book focuses on his military career, as well as his vision of reforming the empire. But, the third generation of Mongols is not without it's flaws, as there are
...more
A fitting finale to an excellent set of books. Iggleden rarely disappoints and this is one of his best.
This rating is actually for the entire series. Iggulden has written a five-book series on the rise of the Mongols from Ghengis to Kublai Khan and it should be read in the order he wrote them for the history to sink in and make sense. It’s a great read!
Ghengis Khan brought the many different tribes of Mongols together to create the Mongol nation. He did it in spite of the fact that his family had been left to die when his father, the Khan of one of the tribes, died and another was chosen. He, his ...more
Ghengis Khan brought the many different tribes of Mongols together to create the Mongol nation. He did it in spite of the fact that his family had been left to die when his father, the Khan of one of the tribes, died and another was chosen. He, his ...more
Nov 30, 2011
Nancy
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
historical,
first-reads
This dramatic historical saga about the coming of age (and triumphs) of Kublai Khan took me out of my literary comfort zone and into a bold, brutal, and fascinating period of history.
I'm shamefully ignorant about Asian history and this book provided me with a background on the development of the Mongul empire. Iggulden did a stunning job in his profile of Kublai Khan. The transformation of an elegant young scholar into a fierce Mongol warrier seems unlikely at first, but the author made it seaml ...more
I'm shamefully ignorant about Asian history and this book provided me with a background on the development of the Mongul empire. Iggulden did a stunning job in his profile of Kublai Khan. The transformation of an elegant young scholar into a fierce Mongol warrier seems unlikely at first, but the author made it seaml ...more
It's a telenovela! for men! with Mongols! And, to be fair, it doesn't have many exclamation points, just a lot of brutal men living by a code of honor in a brutal era. Will Kublai, grandson of Genghis and second son of Tolui, outlive his gay cousin? his brutal older brother? his self-indulgent younger brother? Will he have more success in China than his other brother has against Bagdad and the Assassins? How many ways are there to depict weak men dying pathetically, crushed by fate? Overall, it'
...more
Dec 28, 2011
Bernie Charbonneau
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
own,
historical-fiction
The fifth and supposidly the last novel in this fantastic series by this fantastic author. So sad! Having read this series in the last couple of months, I have grown quite fond of the Kahn dynasty. This novel, like the previous books in this series, was excellent. The synopsis on the back cover describes that it is a novel about Kublai Khan, grandson of the late, great conqueror Genghis Khan. The novel does include Kublai but it also covers his brothers, cousins, and parents. The Khan lineage is
...more
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Also publishes under author name C.F. Iggulden.
I was born in the normal way in 1971, and vaguely remember half-pennies and sixpences. I have written for as long as I can remember: poetry, short stories and novels. It’s what I always wanted to do and read English at London University with writing in mind. I taught English for seven years and was Head of English at St. Gregory’s RC High School in Lo ...more
I was born in the normal way in 1971, and vaguely remember half-pennies and sixpences. I have written for as long as I can remember: poetry, short stories and novels. It’s what I always wanted to do and read English at London University with writing in mind. I taught English for seven years and was Head of English at St. Gregory’s RC High School in Lo ...more
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