Too much happened too quickly and a LOT of major characters died. For that reason, I have to knock this one down a star. Iggulden put so much time and care into cultivating Genghis Khan and his brothers as the empire grew, but this story of what comes after felt rushed in much the same way the last season of Game of Thrones did. We hardly get to see more than a few brief scenes with Kublai - and if you know anything about Mongolian history you know his name as well as you do Genghis. The exciting life and death of Tolui felt like a footnote, as did the death of both Khasar and Kachiun, who dominated the landscape of this epic in Lords of the Bow. The story of Chagatai was almost glossed over when he was front and center in Bones of the Hills. Empire of Silver also felt a little bit like a middle child to a bigger tale. I find it too jarring, but you probably already know that if you’ve read my review of the rest of the series.

The one thing I didn’t like, as with all the other books, was the way Iggulden hops heads in the middle of a scene. This book depicts great political intrigue and brutal warfare. What would our world be like now without the British Empire or the Spanish explorations to the west? Some believe if Ogedai had not died when he did, Tsubodai and the princes would have conquered all of Europe and Asia. His story is compelling and his mind is quite brilliant. Tsubodai seems to take a lot of the spotlight in this book as he commands several tumens and teachers the young princes the ways of war. She puts all of her focus into helping the new khan and raising her sons Mongke, Ariq-Boke, and Kublai. Meanwhile, one of the most powerful women in the Mongol empire works to hold everything together so that Genghis khan’s sons cannot tear their new nation apart. With a new empirical city on the rise and a strong army, the khan sends Tsubodai and the young princes to sweep westward all the way to the farthest ocean. This book follows the three sons of Genghis Khan, as well as his remaining brothers and generals. His empire is left to his son Ogedai, but can Ogedai gain enough support to become khan before his brother Chagatai steals it away from him? My deep dive into Mongolian history continues with a read-through of the fourth book in the Khan Series, Empire of Silver, by Conn Iggulden.

Genghis khan series books