أتردد كثيرا في انتقاء الكلمات مع الكتب التي تعجبني، فما بال الجميع بالكتب التي تخطف أنفاس .... أشعر أن كلمات مثل رواية رائعة أو رواية استثنائية - وهي كلمات استخدمتها لوصف روايات أخرى من قبل - ستكون مبتذلة بشكل أكبر مما يمكن أن أرتضيه لهذه الرواية التي اقتنيتها بسبب قراءات قمت بها وايقظت في الشغف لمعرفة المزيد ... ولن اتوقف عندها بل سأقرأ من أكثر من مصدريعود شغفي للمعرفة عن التتار لأيام كنت أقرأ فيها رواية فرسان وكهنة لـ د. منذر القباني .... لاحظت كلامه عن تماسك التتار وتعاملهم فيما بينهم بشكل فيه قدر من الإنسانية بعكس ما توقعت نظرا لهمجيتهم مع الأعداء... أتذكر جملة من الرواية المشار إليها تفيد بأن الناس هم من يكتبون التاريخ وعليه فيجب القراءة والتعمق في القراءة قبل الإفتاء بما لا يفيد بل وما ينقل صورا زائفةتجدد الشغف بعد قراءة رواية رسول القيصر لـ جول فيرن، وفيها كان الكلام عن حقبة أخرى من الزمن ضمت جيوش التتار فيها بعض المسلمين والطقوس الغير إسلامية في التعامل مع المصحف أثناء قتالهم حيث كان القادة المسلمين في جيوش التتار يستخدمون المصحف في تحديد جزاء العدو عند فتحه على صفحة ما عشوائيا ... مشهد لم يكتب إلا في بضع كلمات عابرة علق في ذهني وأيقظ شغفي بالمعرفةثم كان ما كان من قراءة مراجعات الصديقة العزيزة لونا من ليبيا لأجزاء الرواية وأنا أثق بذائقتها كثيرا فما كان مني إلا أن اقتنيت الرواية وأنا لا أعلم شيئا عما يمكن أن أعرفه عن هذا الرجل الذي طالما تم تقديم أعمالا درامية أظهرته وحشا كاسرا ربما هو كذلك ... هو ذلك الوحش الكاسر ... لكنه نتاج بيئته، نتاج الكثير والكثير من الأحداث والمصاعب التي من شأنها كسر الرجال .... ولعل الفضل يرجع لـ هولن أمه .... فقد تعرضت عائلته لخيانة أحد المقربين لوالده خان الذئاب ومن قبله من سعوا لقتله ... تم نبذ الأسرة في العراء وتم تجريدها من العز واللقب المشرف ودفء العيش في القبيلة والأمان ... كانت الطعنة شديدة وكانت عزيمة الأم والكبار من أبنائها أشد منها الحق يقال أنني انبهرت بالتفاصيل، تلك التفاصيل التي نقلها كون إيغلدن لنا من بعد معايشة للشعب المنغولي والإقامة معهم لفترة والتي إستمع خلالها لتاريخهم المحكي مع استعانته ببعض الأبحاث والمراجع الأخرى أبهرتني التفاصيل المتعلقة بصناعة الأسلحة والصبر الشديد على اكتمال صنعتها .... التفاصيل المتعلقة باحترام الخصم والشرف في النزال للأشراف منهم - إن جاز الوصف .... تفاصيل تكشف عن معنى الرجولة، وعن قوة المرأة وعن احترام الرجل لزوجته وحبه لها وإن كان خانا قاسيا على أعدائه واحترام الأم وكيف أن الرجل لا يكون خانا لأمه .... عن تشجيع القائد لأتباعه ومنحم المكافآت على شجاعتهم وتميزهم ... وأخيرا، عن الوفاء بالعهود قام إيغلدن بتغيير الأسماء لصعوبة الأسماء الأصلية وطولها وقام بتغيير القليل من الأحداث الغير مؤثرة مع توضيحه لها في تعقيبه في آخر الكتاب .... قام بكتابة رواية تشعر معها وكأنك تراها بالعين وتعايش أحداثها بكل حواسك ... تعاطفت بسببه مع تيموجين أو جنكيز خان ومن بقي من اشقائه على قيد الحياة وتعاطفت مع الأم القوية العظيمة هولن ... نعم أنعتها بالعظيمة لأنها تحملت مالا يحتمله بشر من ذل من بعد عزة والأهم فقدانها لمن تحب وأعز الناس لها... تعاطفت مع الصبر والمثابرة والنجاحات المستحقة .... ونسيت مع روعة الكتابة أنني أعرف الأحداث الأساسية كما نقلتها الأعمال الدرامية المختلفةأتلهف للحصول على باقي أجزاء السيرة الملحمية وأتمنى ألا تفقد الرواية امتيازاتها مع تعدد اجزائها وقد انتهى هذا الجزء بهذه العبارة المثيرة والتي تلخص سيرة جنكيز خان كانت المهارات القتالية الرائعة للقبائل المغولية تضيع في قتالها ضد بعضها بعضا. ومن كونه نكرة، محاطا بالأعداء، نهض تيموجن ليوحدهم جميعاوما جاء لاحقا هزَّ العالم
My #10 Read of 2014 Perfectly Executed Historical Fiction - 5 Stars Action, Drama, Romance, History and Suspense, Birth of an Empire has it all. This volume robbed me of several full nights of sleep and I need to press on to see how the story would resolve. The story unfolds quickly while at the same time the author maintains his eye for detail. Birth of an Empire is my favorite type of HF. If you enjoy HF that places a premium on action and military (or in this case raiders) and war, then you will enjoy this novel. Plot summary The story tells of the early years of Temujin, or Genghis Khan as most people would know him. We begin in the Pre-Teen years of Genghis and we learn how his relationship with his father and his brother, molded him into the man he would become. The novel covers much the sparsely documented childhood experience from his family's banishment, to his imprisonment and on toward his ultimate quest for victory. The Good They Did What? The Author did a wonderful job of infusing the story with the practices, beliefs, prejudices and realities of the of the Mongol people during this period of history. From the warriors ability to live on mares milk and blood for extended periods, their social structure, their weapons and their customs, you are transported to the Mongolian plains and your home becomes a Mongolian ger while you enjoy the story. The Author not only consulted the ancient texts regarding Genghis Khan, but he spent time amongst the Mongolian people before writing the books. His effort and dedication was obvious. Genghis is my Friend Like any other genre, HF has its own pitfalls to avoid. One such pitfall is focus on the period of time to the detriment of the characters. In this story, the author present a well balanced story. As stated above, the reader is firmly grounded in the place and time while at same time, the characters are bold, vibrant and multi-dimensional. The reader is presented with a vivid picture of not only Genghis but his four brothers, his parents (especially his father), his wife and his major enemies. This results in a well rounded story that allow for full immersion. The Bad Take it Easy, I'm so Tired As is most 5 stars review, I have little criticism for the book. Firstly, the story robbed me of many hours of sleep. On more than one night, when my bedside clock was reading 1 am, I forced myself to shut the kindle and close my eyes. Outside of this, the only minor complaint is the description of the battle and fights. The pace of the book is quick and little space is wasted. Unfortunately, this results in some rather quick descriptions of battle and important events. In this case, it did not affect my rating as the battles were a minor part of the book. Final Thoughts In my opinion, this is a perfect specimen of HF. I enjoyed it and it is easily the best book I have read this year and I anticipate it will make my top 10 at the end of the year. Overall, the story is compelling. While the average reader will have some idea of the sheer force that Genghis Kahn ultimately became, that knowledge is far more amazing when you consider his humble beginnings. A must read. Audiobook Notes Content Advisories It is difficult to find commentary on the sex/violence/language content of book if you are interested. I make an effort to give you the information so you can make an informed decision before reading. *Disclaimer* I do not take note or count the occurrences of adult language as I read. I am simply giving approximations.Scale 1 - Lowest 5 - Highest Sex - 2.5 There is a small amount of sex in the book. There are several instances where sex between the characters is implied. Beyond consensual sex, there were several instances of rape. Most of the instances were comments that rape had occurred or would occur but there was one scene in which there was an attempted rape. While it was not graphic, there was some mild description of previous instances. One of the characters states his wish to use the service of a prostitute on several occasions. Overall, the sexual content served as context for the time and was not graphic. Language - 2 The language in the book was the traditional adult language. The derogatory terms were specific to the time. While the characters would often refer to others with these terms, they would not be considered swearing by todays standards. Violence - 4 The story was told in a violent time. Fight and battles between tribes was constant. From the early stages there are multiple murders that are moderately graphic. A character is subjected to abuse and forms of torture. This is moderately graphic. As Genghis ages, the violence increases. There is a particularly graphic scene in which part of person heart is eaten. Violence is a persistent theme in the story. While it is plentiful, the moderate graphic nature of the majority leads to a 4 rating. You may wish to skip this novel if you are sensitive to violence and death.
Do You like book Genghis: Birth Of An Empire (2008)?
(In UK, this book is entitled "Wolf of the Plains")A more harsh childhood is hard to imagine! Although this book gallops along at Conn Iggulden's usual pace, I was continually tempted to leap ahead to find out what happened next. That makes it much more of a chapter-turner than merely a page-turner, and the narrative left me quite breathless at times!Temujin is the son of the khan of one of the many Mongol tribes who are in continual, violent conflict. Without spoiling the story for you, his circumstances force him to grow up very quickly rather than lose his life. As the story unfolds, Temujin faces death many times and learns from his terrifying experiences. His list of those on whom he determines to wreak revenge grows as you read. Eventually, he becomes the respected, feared and uncompromising leader of the great horde which dominated two continents during that age.Had his childhood been easy, he would probably have settled down with a couple of wives and a few goats. Historic record shows otherwise, but that record hardly brings Ghengis Khan's tale to life in the way that Iggulden has managed in this book.I would recommend this book to anybody, and would challenge them to resist being swept along by such a brilliantly told story. I just can't wait to get my hands on the next episode, "Lords of the Bow," in January 2008.
—Lance Greenfield
most of the time i read so-called literary fiction. this book would probably normally be classed as genre fiction, but it is so well written that i am putting in my lit-fiction section anyway.it's the story of genghis khan from the time he was 12 years old to the time when he has gathered some of the tribes together and won a major battle against his enemies.the book is pretty well 100% plot, there is almost no break in the action, which is why i read it in two sittings and stayed up reading until 2:00am last night to finish it.if you're looking for a really great story you should really read this book. this is book one of a trilogy about genghis khan. i can't wait to get to the second one, and can only hope it is as good as this one was.
—Bill
Genghis Birth of an Empire my favorite kind of book; well-researched historical fiction with a minimum of romance. The author takes pains to note where he veers from known fact in the epilogue - and there is a surprising amount of known fact about Genghis Kahn. The book starts out slow, but it picks up and the detail of daily life of the Mongols is fascinating. Life is short and brutal, lived on a thin edge between survival and death, and it makes for compelling reading. I listened to this book in audible format and thus avoided trying to parse out the tongue twisting names. Was Genghis (I feel we’re on a first name basis now) a great military leader who opened up the silk road and established a meritocracy or a genocidal warlord? Only the next book in the series will tell . . .
—Cathy
