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    Empire of Silver
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    Empire of Silver
    Unavailable
    Empire of Silver
    Audiobook13 hours

    Empire of Silver

    Written by Conn Iggulden

    Narrated by Stephen Thorne

    4.5/5

    ()

    Unavailable in your country

    Unavailable in your country

    About this audiobook

    The 4th novel in the bestselling Conqueror series, continuing the life and adventures of the mighty Khan dynasty.

    Genghis Khan is dead, but his legend and his legacy live on. His son Ogedai has built a white city on a great plain and made a capital for the new nation. Now the armies have gathered to see which of Genghis' sons has the strength to be khan. The Mongol empire has been at peace for two years, but whoever survives will face the formidable might of their great enemy, China’s Song dynasty.

    The great leader Tsubodai sweeps into the west: through Russia, over the Carpathian mountains and into Hungary. The Templar knights have been broken and there is no king or army to stop him reaching France. But at the moment of Tsubodai's greatest triumph, as his furthest scouts reach the northern mountains of Italy, Tsubodai must make a decision that will change the course of history forever.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateSep 2, 2010
    ISBN9780007377220
    Unavailable
    Empire of Silver
    Author

    Conn Iggulden

    Born in London, Conn Iggulden read English at London University and worked as a teacher for seven years before becoming a full-time writer. He lives in Hertfordshire with his wife and their children.

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    Reviews for Empire of Silver

    4.5/5

    43 ratings20 reviews

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    • 4/5
      While Khan: Empire of Silver is the 4th book in the Conqueror series, reading the previous 4 books is not necessary. I fully enjoyed reading this book even with only minor knowledge of Genghis Khan and the mongol expansion. This story opens about 2 years after the death of Genghis, about a month before his son Ogedei claimed his position as Khan. The book follows Ogedei and his generals until a few months after his death. Lots of detail and I think it did a good job capturing the feel of the times. We spend a lot of time out on campaign with the Golden Horde. The Mongol armies were very ruthless, slaughtering whole villages and leaving cites little more than burning rubble. They were a wave that was only stopped by the death of one man, which saved much of Europe.Overall, I think this was a very interesting read and it did a great job of bringing the past to life. I will quite likely read the previous books and certainly want to read the next one when it comes out.
    • 3/5
      I have greatly enjoyed the first three entries in this series, so I looked forward with much anticipation to reading this book. When I read it, however, I had a rather mixed reaction.Iggulden certainly delivers on the surface of this book. The action is tight and fast, and the depth of those characters he intends to focus on is well-developed. However, with the first three books focused so clearly on Genghis, this entry lacks that central focus, and at times it seemed like all the characters are walking around asking, "What would Genghis do?"
    • 4/5
      Another brilliant instalment of the Conqueror story, full to bursting with politics and battles. Great fun, great escapism and little bit of learning thrown in for good measure.
    • 5/5
      I listened to the story as an audiobook, narrated by Richard Ferrone, so my review is based on that version.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 ReviewThis 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.
    • 4/5
      This one picked up a bit from the last one - seemed like the author had his heart in this one more.

      The fourth in the series, it leaves the reader at the end of the first great conquest of Europe by the Mongols. It does a much better job than the last one of holding the interest of the reader, though not as good as books 1 and 2.

      Still, I recommend this series - seems like good history and great storytelling.
    • 4/5
      Very good 4th book on the story of the Mongols and how they continue to destroy and conquer anything in their paths. This book adds some political elements not present in the previous books which adds an interesting twist..
    • 5/5
      Amazing descriptions of Tsubodai's campaign.
    • 4/5
      Khan, Empire of Silver is a well-written historical novel. Conn Iggulden writes with the knowledge of an historian and the objectivity of a journalist. He neither extols nor demeans the conquering warriors. Skills as a novelist allow him to vividly portray events as they unfold.The novel focuses on the conquests of Genhis Khan’s third son Ogodie. Also, quests for power lead to alliances and conflicts between the descendents of the khans. Sorkhaqtani, Ogodie’s sister-in-law, is a strong force whose actions influence the course of events in a society dominated by conquests and warfare.
    • 4/5
      Empire of Silver is book four of Conn Iggulden’s outstanding series about the founder of the Mongul Empire, Genghis Khan, and his sons and grandsons. While it is not absolutely necessary to read the other books in order to read this one, I would highly recommend it, and if you would like to read the others you really do want to read them in order.Similar to the previous novel, this one travels to the far reaches of the empire, from China to Hungary to Afghanistan, which adds a good deal of cultural interest as you begin to see some of the Mongul culture of the steppes fade and the learning and refinement of the vanquished peoples sink into the conquering warriors. In the course of this novel the last of Genghis’ brothers and sons die and the khanate passes into the hands of his grandson, with the continued guidance of Genghis’ venerable general Tsubodai. As usual for all these novels, women’s roles are significant-an element of the book supported as factual by the extensive author’s note-making what might be a rather testosterone laden read very engaging for the ladies as well. It is often difficult to find historical fiction written in a way that appeals to both men and women. With his combination of Mongul warriors and strong female characters it struck me that this would be the perfect audio for a couple on a road trip together (although I can not speak for the audio, as I have read all four in print).The only element that kept this from being a five star read for me was that there was not a lot of suspense to it. There were a couple of events towards the end that were unexpected (one, I will admit, was exceedingly so!), but overall, things flowed along a predictable course. Exciting and fast paced, but predictable.This is a fantastic series about a seldom touched topic, and I highly recommend it for all readers, both male and female, who want to expand their knowledge of the Middle Ages beyond the borders of Europe (this novel takes place in the early thirteenth century). The clash of the well-known battle tactics of Knights Templar against those of the Golden Horde makes for some pretty exciting reading. The fifth and final novel in the series, Conqueror, was released in the United States in December of 2011. It focuses primarily on Kublai Khan and the eastern half of the Mongul Empire, but also wraps up the story of his cousins and the western half, or Golden Horde. Stay tuned, as I will certainly be reviewing that one in the near future.
    • 4/5
      I received this book through the Early Reviews program in December, but it took me some time to get to it. The book is part of a series on the Mongol Empire. This particular book takes place as the second generation battles for power and the khanate. Genghis is dead and his sons are vying for power. Many people recognize the name of Genghis, but far fewer will recognize the name of his successor, Ogedai. This historical novel is well researched and well written. It provides an easy insight to culture of the Mongols and shows how they were able to defeat the major armies of Europe at the time. The book is fairly fast moving, but there are a few places I felt it dragged when the author seemed to spend too much time demonstrating his knowledge of the Mongol Empire. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to understand the Mongols better and wants to see them from a perspective other than European historians who thought of them as barbaric heathens.
    • 4/5
      Khan: Empire of Silver is the fourth of Conn Iggulden's series about Genghis Khan's Mongol empire - this time without Genghis to anchor the story. Court intrigue among the remaining brothers (and grandsons), battles (he writes these so very well), family relations (or lack there of), trying to hold an empire together that at times seemed to be glued together only by the blood and wrath of Genghis proves difficult for his heirs as their thoughts are scattered by dreams of glory. Like all of Iggulden's previous books it has fascinating history to draw in the reader but this particular time I personally found it difficult to keep up with the characters. There were so many that it was often hard to remember who was who. Nonetheless, the history was very informative and I learned so much (I never knew the Mongols had fought the Templars, nor about the Battle with King Bela of Hungary.) But I was most intrigued by the story of a younger brother's sacrifice to heal his elder brother (a shaman’s idea.) A worthy read for a history buff or anyone interested in the Mongols, historical battles or family sagas.
    • 4/5
      Let me say up front, the Mongols are one of my favorite historical subjects, so Iggulden's series on them is a most welcome thing, in my opinion.I received this ARC from the early reviewers program, so thank you to Librarything. However, I would prefer they send a autographed hardback or simply arrange a private visit at the author's home so we can chat by the fireside. :-)This particular novel in the series covers a wonderful complicated and contentious period on the Khanate's history: the death of the great Khan and the fight for succession. It was a complex and divisive time and Iggulden delivers great historic details and speculations in this work. That said, I do wish it would have had a wee bit more action/movement in it, but I understand the constraints of both the history and the framework of the series. Their is only so much you can cram in a single volume.As always, he excels at "painting the picture" and delivering the landscape, peoples, and their time in vivid details. Job well done for bringing the era of Khans back to life. Haven't had this much fun since The Devil's Horsemen.
    • 4/5
      As usual, Conn Iggulden has put together a spellbinding tale of war and conquest by the Mongols in the Middle Ages. The author brings the era to life following the sons and grandsons of Genghis Kahn and his leading general Tsubodai. While fictionalized, Iggulden sticks closely to historical fact taking only the liberties necessary to tighten up the plot and keep characterization manageable.Fourth in the series of the Khan Empire, this book, while a solid read, fails to measure up to the first three books of this multi- volume work. Missing is a strong central character that the reader can easily identify with. It will be difficult for the author of this saga to bring to life another character as powerful and dominating as the Genghis Khan of books one through three. While Iggulden's characters are well fleshed-out, the lack of a powerful central character to dominate the storyline leads to less intense reader involvement. Nevertheless, this is another strong yarn spun by a master of historical fiction and serves to whet the reader's appetite for the next book in the story of the Mongol Empire..
    • 4/5
      Another fantastic book in the series. The author's writing doesn't improve (and doesn't really need to), but it is not lacking what the other books achieved. If you like the others in this series, you won't be disappointed.
    • 4/5
      My partner loves this whole series and I have been reading it with him, and around the time I ordered this we were reading the one right before it, and I was getting increasingly annoyed with that one. The characters are just so incredibly awful. Chris stopped me one day and said "OK, you don't have to read this to me any more. I will read it on my own." Then this book came in the mail. Chris was very excited because it has not even been published yet so I let him read it first. Also, I was not really overjoyed that I would have to review it.This weekend I read it and was actually pleasantly surprised. I really enjoyed it! First, Genghis was gone. (Thank God. He was such a completely evil character and I was getting quite tired of reading about his amazing leadership etc. It's not that Iggulden makes him out to be better than he was - he really doesn't - but that he is so utterly horrible and has absolutely no good qualities (unless you think of military prowess as a good quality, which I don't).There was a lot of infighting among his sons and other relatives that was quite interesting, and one of the sons, while still a horrible murderous person, was also quite interesting in his ability to hold his kingdom together while being very ill and knowing he'd probably die soon. There was also a very strong female character who was interesting to read about. Even the conquests which I usually just get so tired of, they are always slaughtering everything in their path (literally, the author really loves the verb "slaughter" probably because it really is very apt), were more interesting as they were getting into Europe and their enemy was more defined and some new minor characters were introduced.I recommend this book, especially if you read the others and enjoyed them. It's pretty different, but it continues the story of the Mongol sweep across Asia and parts of Europe.
    • 4/5
      In all fairness, I didn't read the entire book, but since this is for the early reviewers program I have to post something. I was curious to check this series of books out and was very impressed with the early few chapters, but as I'd like to read the rest of the Genghis Khan books in their proper order I had to make myself stop, which wasn't easy. That is about the best thing you can say about a book. I am eagerly anticipating grousing up copies of the earlier and future books in this series.
    • 4/5
      Happy I didn't abandon this series after Genghis died and appointed his third son Ogedai as Khan. Ogedai builds upon his father's legacy but does not continue it - expanding the scope of the mongol empire by valuing and incorporating knowledge from other cultures on a larger scale. Now wanna read an alternate history where General Tsubodai was not halted by Ogedai Khan's death in his westward march of annihilation and Europe's (thus the world's) history was forced down another path (the invincibility of the horde may be exaggerated but an entertaining thought-experiment).
    • 4/5
      I received this ARC from the LT early reviewers program. Thanks for the opportunity! I'd never read anything by Conn Iggulden before, but read on other sites that he delivers great stories, but plays a little fast and loose with historic details, particularly in his Roman series. One of the downfalls of studying any particular time period, is that author's lapses stop you in your tracks when reading. Luckily, I know little more about the Khanates than a few bald facts, so any errors or stretches went over my head and I concentrated on the story. Which was fascinating.It felt like a "man's story"--all battles, military strategy, and lots of new weapons (including proto-cannons) to describe and try out. A few women make an appearance including the formidable mother of Kublai Khan, but the story concentrated on that transitional generation between Genghis and Kublai as the remaining heirs fight and connive for the succession. The most fascinating part for me was the description of the Mongol invasion of Europe, as they destroyed one army after another on their march to the Atlantic. Only the death of a single man, saved Western Europe from utter destruction, according to Iggulden. Good fodder for alternative history writers.
    • 4/5
      A very enjoyable and insightful book. This is the kind reading I extremely enjoy. The book presents a great story while giving a wonderful lesson of an important if not very profound period of history. Conn Iggulden treats the reader to a story with not only an engaging plot with great pacing but keeps the history very accurate and provides insightful historical speculation. The novel takes place post Genghis Khan during a turbulent period of Mongol history where political maneuvering to secure and maintain power of the Mongol Empire is pursued and a military campaign of the most profound proportions almost succeeds in changing all history as we know it. Mr. Iggulden includes a map, a list of characters and excellent historical notes to enhance the readers enjoyment. I'm putting Mr. Iggulden's other historical novels/series on my wish list. A very enjoyable read that I recommend highly especially for history and military buffs.
    • 3/5
      Iggulden continues his Genghis series this time after the death of the great Khan and we see his immediate successors are essentially at each other throats. Political intrigue becomes a major theme much to the dismay of some long-standing characters. Through Sorohotani, Iggulden gives considerable depth to a female character, a welcome change. Personally I preferred the other three books in the series, especially the first two but I would have no reservation in recommending this to others.