Conqueror (Conqueror, Book 5)

By: Conn Iggulden

Narrated by: Richard E Grant

No. 1 bestselling author Conn Iggulden takes on the story of the mighty Kublai Khan. An epic tale of a great and heroic mind; his action-packed rule; and how in conquering one-fifth of the world’s inhabited land, he changed the course of history forever.

A scholar who conquered an empire larger than those of Alexander or Caesar.

A warrior who would rule a fifth of the world with strength and wisdom.

A man who betrayed a brother to protect a nation.

From a young scholar to one of history’s most powerful warriors, Conqueror 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.

It should have been a golden age, with an empire to dwarf the lands won by the mighty Genghis Khan. Instead, the vast Mongol nation is slowly losing ground, swallowed whole by their most ancient enemy. A new generation has arisen, yet the long shadow of the Great Khan still hangs over them all …

Kublai dreams of an empire stretching from sea to sea. But to see it built, this scholar must first learn the art of war. He must take his nation’s warriors to the ends of the known world. And when he is weary, when he is wounded, he must face his own brothers in bloody civil war.

Critic reviews

The CONQUEROR series:

‘Iggulden is in a class of his own when it comes to epic, historical fiction’ Daily Mirror

‘Iggulden…tells an absolutely cracking story…the pace is nail-biting and the set dressing magnificent’ The Times

‘Iggulden weaves an entertaining tale of this world of men, swords, bows and the call of war and the plains’ Daily Express

‘I felt as if a blockbuster movie was unfolding before me…read the book before Hollywood takes it over’ Daily Express

Excellent

I loved it. The narrator was brilliant. Story was gripping as always with Conn Iggulden

Not bad

the story chopped about a little which detracts from the listing experience but overall enjoyable.

historical fiction

although the entire series was good and really gripping there were a
a few too many inaccuracies to be called history.
the first book had a chapter about these inaccuracies but this is missing from the later ones.

Another Great Story, An Epic Really

Yet again Conn Iggulden conjures up another fabulous historical fiction story centred around the Gengis Khan dynasty. For me this was one of those audiobooks where you don't mind getting stuck in a traffic jam, it just gives you more time to enjoy the story. I felt the narration by Richard was a little weak and didn't do the story the justice it deserved. That said would I recommend, yes.

Bit repetitive

As this was the fifth book in the series that I had listened to within a year, I found that certain phrases ( e.g.' the cold face'', 'showed his teeth' 'do you understand'), not to mention the descriptions of the battle scenes had gone beyond stale. This was definitely the weakest in the series and it wasn't helped by the narrator who made all the older characters sound like effete British aristocrats. His pronunciation of Hangzou was so off ( he called it "Hang zoo" that I winced every time I heard it. Overall though he had a very pleasant voice bar some overacting in the angry scenes.

If you have read the other books in the series, this one rounds them off well, but it is definitely not a great stand-alone novel.