Khan: Empire of Silver

A Novel of the Khan Empire

By: Conn Iggulden

Narrated by: Richard Ferrone

Length: 14 hrs and 38 mins

Publisher's summary

A #1 New York Times best-selling author, Conn Iggulden has garnered both critical and popular acclaim for his compelling novels about Genghis Khan. Iggulden’s riveting Empire of Silver—the fourth in his Khan dynasty series—highlights the incredible story of Ogedai, son of Genghis Khan.

©2010 Conn Iggulden (P)2010 Recorded Books, LLC

Great details. Kept my interest.

The story brings several historical figures and events to life in a compelling story that keeps you wanting to know what happens next. The narration was animated and included correct pronunciations of difficult names and place names.

Enjoyable listen

Enjoyable book and good continuation of the series. Europeans need to watch out for the Khan's horde.

We Have Had Too Many Years Of Peace

HE HATED THE LABYRINTH OF POLITICS THAT HAD ROSE UP SINCE GENGHIS' DEATH.
This is the fourth book and I suppose it could be stand alone, but it would much better if you started at Birth of An Empire. The first five chapters of this was really difficult for me, as they threw so many names at me so fast. All the names are of course foreign, and it took me a while to sort out who was who. (and I read the first three books) This book also has a lot more politics in it and less action. The book is kind of spotty until Part 3 and chapter 26. Then the action really heats up and like the previous books it is really good. Don't miss the last nine chapters.

FOR A PEOPLE TO BE AT PEACE THEY HAVE TO HAVE A FOOT AGAINST THEIR NECKS.
With Genghis dead, the new Khan builds a city. Genghis had tried to tell them that sitting in one place would make them soft and he was right. Still it amazes me how a certain race of people can kill other people and enjoy it. These Mongols were really no better then animals. Which makes for great reading. Of the five books of Conn's that I have read this is my least favorite and the first I did not give five stars too. Still it was a good book and I am glad I got it. I am looking forward to the next one. I also hope Conn does not finish the Chinese history with the next book, as we should be entering the Romance of The Three Kingdoms era. Which should be an exciting time filled with great generals, lots of warring and back stabbing. A book on Cao Cao would be great.

MY WORD IS IRON

Richard Ferrone is the voice. He makes this series come alive. He is the characters.

Great author, great subject.

Where does Khan: Empire of Silver rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

top five among my books.

What other book might you compare Khan: Empire of Silver to and why?

The rest of the series is just as great, I would sujest any of Iggulden's other books as well as Bernard Cornwell's.

Good, but different from the previous books.

Although I greatly enjoyed this book, it had a very different feel from the first 3 books. this book had more to do with politics, intrigue, and skullduggery than anything else. It continued on where the previous book left off and was very enjoyable, but there was a lot less action (which isn't necessarily a bad thing). This felt more like a drama maybe? Anyway, I've read the first 3 books twice now. This was my first time reading the 4th book. I'm not sure if I'll read it again, although I will definitely revisit the first 3 books again in the future. I thought the narrator (Richard Ferrone) did a fine job. Now on to book 5!

Another Great Installment to the Conqueror Series

This book was mostly about Ogedai’s rise to power and the struggle to keep the power and the nation held together. Since Genghis did not name his first born son as heir, there is a struggle amongst his sons, each believing they would be better suited to rule the nation.

The Mongols battle against several different types of armies and they all had different tactics to try and use to defeat the Mongol warriors, so there were still plenty of battle scenes in this story. The reach of the Mongolian army was almost from sea to sea and still mostly mobile. Ogedai’s vision of settling the nation made him build decide to build Karakorum, a great city that would serve as the capital city for the Mongol nation.

Ogedai has health issues and at times he makes things worse for himself with drinking and generally not taking care with himself. He knows he is in ill health and decides he will just wait to die. It takes Sorhatani’s firm hand and sharp tongue to draw him out and set him on the path to living and ruling the nation again.

This fourth book in the Conqueror series covers a time period that I wasn’t even aware of. Silly me, I thought that the line went from Genghis directly to Kublai. Once again Conn Iggulden’s story captured me with vivid details and made this historic time period very interesting and memorable.

The Narration Review
This audiobook was narrated by Richard Ferrone and once again he doesn’t disappoint. He has a great voice and I find myself captivated by his storytelling. I think this historical fiction is a good fit for him.

Does not disappoint

Very few narrators have the ability to clearly convey the soul of the character and the author simultaneously. It’s deff a gift. The writing is top o notch as well.

Totally recommend

Great book and good performance. Can't wait for the last one as well as all of Conn's other books. K

The end of an era

This book only not as good as its predecessors because the original characters are aging out and because the outcome of every battle is so predictable - the Mongols always win. Indeed it becomes harder to root for the Mongols as they abandon their nomadic lifestyle as they simultaneously shrug off the mantle of "underdog."

Now they simply fight and destroy for the sake of fighting and destroying. If anything the series and this book in particular provide an example of sociologic evolution wherein we witness the hunter gatherer become the city dweller. The Mongols skip a few stages in between since they never learn how to farm, but who needs to farm when you can force conquered people to do it for you?

Good listen.

Khan Series is Great

Would you consider the audio edition of Khan: Empire of Silver to be better than the print version?

This is book 4 of 5 in the series. A truly great story and the reader is great, but it is not a series for the faint of heart. I have long been curious about the phenomenon of Mongolian horsemen conquering most of Asia and eastern Europe. This series brings it all to life and makes it all credibal. The names of the characters are a bit difficult to grasp, and an effort is needed to remember the names in order to follow the chacters as they weave in and out of the story, and across the volumes. Each volume can stand alone, but are better taken from start to end. I found each volume to be better than the previous, but maybe it was because I was getting so wrapped up in the story.

A second warning - the Mongols were bloodthirsty destroyers, and it is often hard to be sympathetic to them. The descriptive writing is graphic, but probably very authentic. In fact one often feels more sympathetic to their victims, who were trapped in their situation and had little ability to alter their fate.

What other book might you compare Khan: Empire of Silver to and why?

Others in the series.

Which character – as performed by Richard Ferrone – was your favorite?

Kublai Khan

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I was appalled by the butality of the age.

Any additional comments?

A long listen, but an education about the times.