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Title details for Conqueror by Conn Iggulden - Available

Conqueror

A Novel of Kublai Khan

#5 in series

by Conn Iggulden
ebook
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For lovers of thrilling adventure and grand history, the bestselling co-author of the #1 New York Times bestseller The Dangerous Book for Boys has written a magnificent novel with a hero for the ages: the legendary, visionary conqueror Kublai Khan.
 
A succession of ruthless men have seized power in the wake of Genghis Khan’s death—all descendants of the great leader, but none with his indomitable character. One grandson, Guyuk, strains the loyalties of the tribes to the breaking point, and another, Mongke, brutally eliminates the opposition and dispatches his younger brothers Kublai and Hulegu to far-flung territories.
 
Hulegu displays his barbarity with the savage destruction of Baghdad and his clash with the Khan’s age-old enemies, the cult of assassins. But it is Kublai—refined and scholarly, always considered too thoughtful to take power—who will devise new ways of warfare and conquest as he builds the dream city of Xanadu and pursues the ultimate prize: the ancient empire of Sung China. His gifts will serve him well when an epic civil war breaks out among brothers, the outcome of which will literally change the world.
BONUS: This edition includes an excerpt from Conn Iggulden's The Blood of Gods.
 
“Conqueror is as real as military fiction gets. Conn Iggulden’s story of one of history’s most ferocious and brilliant warriors is full of lessons for our warfighters today.”—Gunnery Sergeant Jack Coughlin, USMC (ret.), New York Times bestselling author of Shooter and Kill Zone: A Sniper Novel
 
“A rollicking, dangerous and often very gory gallop through the largest land empire the world has ever known.”—Sunday Express (U.K.)
 
“A thrilling journey, rippingly told . . . Iggulden’s most satisfying to date.”—The Daily Telegraph (U.K.)

  • Creators

  • Series

    Conqueror

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    December 27, 2011

  • Formats

    • Kindle Book

    • OverDrive Read

      • ISBN: 9780345532336

    • EPUB ebook

      • ISBN: 9780345532336
      • File size: 3737 KB

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Kirkus

      December 1, 2011
      In Xanadu did Kublai Khan…well, before all that, he had to take care of some nasty business, the subject of Hun-meister Iggulden's (Emperor, 2003, etc.) latest installment in his series of novels devoted to the Golden Horde. Here's how to be a Hun in a few easy steps. First, kill anyone who gets between you and power. Second, rape and pillage. Third, practice saying meaty things, such as, "The world cannot be full of lead dogs, or the pack would pull itself apart." Just so. But in the family of Temujin, or Genghis Khan, everyone wants to be the alpha Mongol, and, as Iggulden's novel opens, the grandchildren are squabbling over who gets to be the grand poobah. The heroes of the piece, early on, are those who keep their heads and hold their allegiances close to their chests, such as the courtier named Ochir, who counsels one scion, "There must be no struggle for power, Guyuk, such as there was between your father and his brother." Well, fat chance: This is medieval Mongolia, after all, and in those days before television, there was no better pastime than struggling for the throne. Iggulden is skilled at depicting the back and forth, and there's even the historical fiction equivalent of a mysterian's red herring in his steering the reader to back the wrong horse--uh, khan--until we finally get to the one who shows the most promise of surviving the internecine, interfamilial unpleasantness, a sturdy chap named Kublai, who intones lines that John Wayne himself (see The Conqueror) would be proud to utter: "He was khan, Orlok. Give him a funeral pyre to light up the sky." Iggulden lacks some of the grace and sinew that inform the historical novels of Mary Renault or Robert Graves, but he's made a very close study of the workings of power and its infinite abilities to corrupt infinitely, and his understanding shows on every page. Besides, he's pretty good at the blood-and-guts stuff, the flying columns and whistling arrows and spurting blood that makes for a good battle scene. A rip-roarin' read, and inspiration to go and sack a few cities on your own.

      (COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

Formats

  • Kindle Book
  • OverDrive Read
  • EPUB ebook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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