Hits and Misses

I finished the Genghis Khan trilogy by Conn Iggulden. Bones of the Hills is as excellent as its two predecessors and I unhesitatingly recommend it especially, of course, to afficionados of historical fiction. Iggulden's books lead inevitably to the main recommendation in his bibliography.

John Man's Genghis Khan is beautifully illustrated and I am already enthralled by even the introduction. I would be surprised if I do not end up in Ulan Bataar in the next five years.

Much less enthralling was Warrior of Rome by Harry Sidebottom. I could not cope with more than 30 pages of its awkward prose and, with so many books to read, I did not care to persevere. The author is probably an excellent academic and even an esteemed mentor but remains self -consciously don like in a manner which does not at all suit historical fiction. He should avoid slipping in and out of Greek and Latin and thus remove the clumsy obstacles of explanation which litter and hinder his text.