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Cover of Bones of the Hills

Bones of the Hills

Conn Iggulden

560 pages

A sweeping, blood-soaked epic of ambition and empire that thrusts you directly into the thundering hooves and brutal politics of the Mongol horde.

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What it feels like

Reading this historical epic feels like standing on the edge of a vast, wind-swept steppe while the ground trembles beneath the hooves of a hundred thousand horses. It is a propulsive, blood-soaked immersion into the brutal mechanics of empire-building and the heavy toll of absolute power. The narrative moves with the relentless momentum of a cavalry charge, sweeping the reader through visceral, cinematic battles and the tense, quiet moments of political maneuvering in the warlord's tent. Beneath the clash of steel and the smoke of burning cities lies a deeply human tension, exploring the fraught dynamics between a towering father and the sons desperate to inherit his legacy. It will thoroughly delight fans of muscular, unflinching historical fiction who want to feel the grit, ambition, and sheer scale of the ancient world.

Mood
  • sweeping
  • blood-soaked
  • tense
  • awe-inspiring
Tone
  • epic
  • gritty
  • authoritative
  • unflinching
Pace
propulsive
Themes
the burden of empire · father-son rivalry · the cost of ambition · clash of civilizations · legacy and succession
The writing
Muscular and cinematic, the writing excels at rendering both the visceral chaos of ancient warfare and the stark, unforgiving beauty of the Asian steppes.
The arc
The journey shifts from the intoxicating thrill of unstoppable conquest to the heavy, anxious realization that a fractured legacy could destroy everything built.
Who it's for
Readers who crave grand, military-focused historical epics filled with tactical brilliance, brutal combat, and larger-than-life leaders.
Content notes
  • graphic violence
  • warfare and slaughter
  • animal death
  • sexual violence

About the book

The third in Conn Iggulden's No. 1 bestselling Conqueror series.The fatherless boy, exiled from his tribe, whom readers have been following in 'Wolf of the Plains' and 'Lords of the Bow', has grown into the great king, Genghis Khan. He has united the warring tribes and even taken his armies against the great cities of their oldest enemies. Now he finds trouble rising west of the Mongolian plains. His emissaries are mutilated or killed; his trading gestures rebuffed. So, dividing his armies, using his sons as generals of the various divisions, he sends them out simultaneously in many directions, ranging as far as modern Iran and Iraq. As well as discovering new territories, exacting tribute from conquered peoples, laying waste the cities which resist, this policy is also a way of diffusing the rivalries between his sons and heirs and working out who should succeed the khan. This, the third book in the Conqueror series, is once more an epic story. Genghis Khan is an exhilarating and heroic figure. The sense of his ambition and his power, the relationships with his wives, sons and trusted aides, the sweep of his conquests, is all brought together by a masterful storytelling. It is a compelling read. With each book, you are left, even more, longing for the next.

Description from Open Library.

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