Wolf of the Plains by Conn Iggulden

Cuchulainn · Post by **Cuchulainn** » Mon October 6th, 2008, 1:36 am

Wow.

You guys are like, super-picky.

Life is stranger than fiction.

EC2 · Post by **EC2** » Mon October 6th, 2008, 9:47 am

[quote=""Cuchulainn""]Wow.

You guys are like, super-picky.

Life is stranger than fiction.[/quote]

I would call it slightly picky Cuchulainn, not super picky.

and it's why we're here - to discuss historical fiction and what presses our various buttons be it in a good way or otherwise. I did enjoy the novels mentioned but those moments pulled me out of the illusion that I was right there. Some readers won't notice or care, some will - as Telynor did too with the behaviour of the girl in Wolf of the Plains. There are time when I'm going to read a novel and pass by something that will yank a different reader out of the moment.

sweetpotatoboy · Post by **sweetpotatoboy** » Mon October 6th, 2008, 12:07 pm

I read John Man's biography of Genghis a few months ago so I will certainly read this series at some point in the not too distant future.

diamondlil · Post by **diamondlil** » Mon January 4th, 2010, 1:22 am

Recently I wrote three almost-mini reviews for the books in this series. Here's what I wrote about this book:

**********

As much as I love reading about European history, and I do, every now and again a change of setting is appreciated, and it is fair to say that I haven't read any historical fiction set in Mongolia before!

Our story starts out with death, and quickly moves on to exile and survival, so please don't go into these books expecting a nice, safe, happy story. That doesn't mean to say that the books aren't enjoyable and aren't happy, but they are very much stories of triumph over lots of adversity.

When Temujin's father dies as a result of an act of treachery, his brothers, mother and sister are exiled from their tribe, left to die in the harsh wilderness of their home land. Thanks to their strong survival skills and to difficult decisions made along the way, not only do Temujin and his brothers survive, but they begin to gather some of the other exiled peoples to them, to form their own tribe, and so the legend that becomes Genghis Khan is born.

I am loathe to say that there is a distinction between historical fiction for females and males, but I do think that there is a different balance between things like battles, emotional interactions and the like. This is very much a male balance with lot of battles, and with a different emotional feel. The story is very dramatic, and given what we know from history, the story can't help but get bigger in the next book!

Rowan · Post by **Rowan** » Thu April 17th, 2014, 1:27 pm

A number of years ago I saw a movie about Genghis Khan that was sub-titled, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. It's always been in the back of my mind to find some historical fiction to read more about Genghis and I finally got around to getting the first book of this series from my local library. Naturally this book goes into far greater detail than a movie ever could, but I believe they cover about the same time period of Temujin's life. Sadly I don't remember a whole lot about the film, which is making me think I should try to find the title and a copy of it on DVD.

I enjoyed Conn's telling of the story. Yes it's simplistic, but I don't need complicated historical fiction in my life. I get my fair share of that from George R. R. Martin.

I look forward to reading the next book in the series.