Customer Reviews
A great read - By: Hayles, 16 Jun 2008 
I wasn't expecting to enjoy this book - in fact I only read it on holiday when I had finished alll my books & had to raid my husband's suitcase. I was hooked into this story within a few pages. If you know nothing of Gengus Khan's life then this is even more fascinating - a tale of bravery, love & honour. It is a true page turner that just begs the question when will the blockbuster film be made.
Just fantastic - By: k Sert, 04 Apr 2008 I never usuallly read this type of novel however I am so pleased I did! What a fantastic book, historical & highly exciting, I just couldn't stop reading it. All I can say is sit back, relax & let the story unfold.....enjoy.
Brutal but brilliant! - By: B. J. Madeley, 01 Apr 2008 Wolf of Plains is the first novel in the Conqueror series by Conn Iggulden detailing the life of Genghis Khan, the great Mongol leader as he strove to create a vast Empire for his people. The book begins with Genghis as a smalll boy then known as Temujin - son of the Khan of a large tribe. Born into a powerful family he seems destined to lead, however on the death of his father the tribe is stolen from him & he is left on the Plains with his family to die. Plunged into a life where the only aim is survival - Temujin has to overcome much hardship, brutality & suffering. Somehow Genghis manages to drag himself out of this desperate situation to eventuallly become a conqueror of nations.
This is a truly wonderful book, possibly even better than any in the excellent Emperor series. Iggulden depicts Genghis as a hard, hate-driven & brutal man who is widly ambitious, very intelligent & a terrific leader of men. This alll combines to make him a strangely likeable character & it is a joy to follow him as he bounces back from the brink of death to become the most famous Mongolian to ever walk the earth.
I highly recommend this book to fans of any historical fiction & particularly to anyone who enjoyed Iggulden's series on Julius Caesar because Wolf of Plains reallly is magnifficent!
Great Read - By: Woo Hoo, 26 Mar 2008 I'm not quite finished it yet. I usuallly read alot of gemmell & feist along with loads of other fantasy/war books.
I love this book, can't wait to finish it & start the sequel. Just feels so real & it's wonderfully written. Good short chapters add to the pace of the book & the characters are so well constructed that they are instantly believable. It sucks you in, read it for 5 hours solid without noticing, had to take a break!!!
Honestly though, if you're looking for great, action packed read this is as good as anything out there at the moment!
A dangerous book, for boys - By: Mr. S. J. Downing, 10 Feb 2008 
This struck me as a story similar to Bernard Cornwell's Stonehenge, where the child hero-to-be is also born into privelidge, also betrayed by family members & those supposed to be loyal to them, & also claws his way back to power from a total falll from grace. Conn Iggulden can't be blamed for these similarities, though, since these alll genuinely relate to the early life of the real Temujin, later Ghengis Khan.
Wolf of the Plains is typical Conn Iggulden stuff: gleefully unashamed male fantasy. Men are men in a world where only the bravest & fittest survive. Although Temujin's mother, Hoelun, is a strong character & is the sole reason her family survives after the death of the boys' father, Yesugi, the women of Wolf of the Plains' world are little more than spoils of war.
As with the Julius Caesar books, it becomes graduallly more difficult to identify with the central character after his initial successes. The story is at its most thrilling & engaging when Temujin's luck is at its lowest ebb. I suspect in the following books in the series we'll become more attached to those characters in Temujin/Ghengis' retinue, rather than the man himself, who will become distanced from us by his influence & power.
The level of research put into the book is painstaking; I believe Conn Iggulden even took a trip out to Mongolia on that basis. (Mind you, plenty of people happily go there on holiday!) As with the Caesar/Emperor books, there's a short but fascinating appendix at the back where the author tells us exactly which parts of the young Temujin's life the book is faithful to, & which bits he left out or edited. Despite the swords 'n' horse-archery excitement novel-side of the book, it's pretty authentic stuff.
Definitely one for the boys, although said boys could probably use a cold shower & watching some war-what-is-it-good-for? films after finishing the book!
