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kikiandarrowsfishshelf's review
4.0
This alternate history is good, and suddenly you find yourself caring about the characters, many of whom seem to blend for a while.
The book is most quest as some knights travel to save thier world from the Mongol horde. The Mongols have thier own problems. The reader finds herself in the position of rooting for both sides.
The book is more action based than character based, and seems more movie like in this regard. Still enjoyable.
The book is most quest as some knights travel to save thier world from the Mongol horde. The Mongols have thier own problems. The reader finds herself in the position of rooting for both sides.
The book is more action based than character based, and seems more movie like in this regard. Still enjoyable.
bschlotz's review
2.0
I am a huge neal stephenson fan, and I've noticed that his work is usually composed of swashbuckling and ideas, in some combination (his favorite ideas to explore seem to be language, currency, globalisation, and homosexual mathematicians). Basically all of his books are like action action action lengthy exposition action action END. His best work has an even mixture and pacing of these two elements. I was a little miffed that reamde was like 90% swashbuckling, but mongoliad was much worse. Not only is it totally lacking in that weird play of ideas he does so well, the ACTION isn't even that compelling. It reads like a D&D campaign adapted to novel form. There's a huge amount of detail given to the nuts and bolts of the combat, which I found a little incomprehensibly technical (like Hard scifi, but with swords instead of ray guns).
The best thing I can say about it was that the setting was interesting. I usually read historical fiction with 1 eye on the relevant wikipedia entries, which in this case made for some interesting broadening of my historical horizons.
I dunno. Props for trying something new, and I don't doubt that the larger foreworld project will be a huge amount of fun for its participants and a mild source of entertainment for the readers. I'm sure I will end up reading all of it, out of some misplaced loyalty to one of my favorite authors, who is going through a bit of a self-indulgent phase.
The best thing I can say about it was that the setting was interesting. I usually read historical fiction with 1 eye on the relevant wikipedia entries, which in this case made for some interesting broadening of my historical horizons.
I dunno. Props for trying something new, and I don't doubt that the larger foreworld project will be a huge amount of fun for its participants and a mild source of entertainment for the readers. I'm sure I will end up reading all of it, out of some misplaced loyalty to one of my favorite authors, who is going through a bit of a self-indulgent phase.
mburnamfink's review
3.0
The Mongoliad is maybe two solid swashbuckling novellas, burdened by a bunch of cruft. The whole series was an experiment in serialized collaborative fiction based around historical weapons-martial arts by Neal Stephenson and a bunch of other authors. The good stuff are the descriptions of melee skirmishes, which are action-packed and tactical. Of the two main stories, I more enjoyed the intrigue of Cansukh, a Mongol warrior dispatched to the capitol of Karakorum to do something about the alcoholic depression of Khagan Ogedai Khan, and his struggle to survive an atmosphere of decadence and intrigue with the help of the Chinese tutor and slave Lian. The other story is a lengthy quest by Cnan, a female messenger, and 11 knights to cross the Mongol empire and assassinate Ogedai Khan. From a structural perspective, the problem is that it takes about a third of the book for these stories to actually start moving, a long slog of subpar materials, and both plots are barely advanced by the end, leaving plenty more the sequels.
But from a bigger perspective, I hate how much stuff Stephenson and his collaborators just made up for the story. The Baroque Cycle was tightly grounded in the actual history of the the period. The fictionalized viewpoint characters were a lot like real people, and spent a lot of time interacting with real people. 1241 is a fascinating year in European history, with various medieval knightly orders at the height of their power and the Mongols conquering the world. Rather than engage with real history, Stephenson and his collaborators choose to invent a fictional society of Binder messengers (what, are actual Silk Road merchants boring?), and the Ordo Militum Vindicis Intactae, a knight-errant brotherhood nominally Catholic, but with secret pagan origins, and none of the actual social ties that make real feudalism so interesting. I get that this lets them stretch their story out over centuries and avoid nerds saying "gnah, actually according to this source...", but it leaves everything disconnected.
The best summary of this story might be in the story itself. One of the Mongol Khans has decided conquering is boring and runs an open call gladiatorial game before invading Europe. A knight fights a samurai. The only objective is to buy Europe a little more time by distracting the khan. It's a really cool fight, but for little purpose.
But from a bigger perspective, I hate how much stuff Stephenson and his collaborators just made up for the story. The Baroque Cycle was tightly grounded in the actual history of the the period. The fictionalized viewpoint characters were a lot like real people, and spent a lot of time interacting with real people. 1241 is a fascinating year in European history, with various medieval knightly orders at the height of their power and the Mongols conquering the world. Rather than engage with real history, Stephenson and his collaborators choose to invent a fictional society of Binder messengers (what, are actual Silk Road merchants boring?), and the Ordo Militum Vindicis Intactae, a knight-errant brotherhood nominally Catholic, but with secret pagan origins, and none of the actual social ties that make real feudalism so interesting. I get that this lets them stretch their story out over centuries and avoid nerds saying "gnah, actually according to this source...", but it leaves everything disconnected.
The best summary of this story might be in the story itself. One of the Mongol Khans has decided conquering is boring and runs an open call gladiatorial game before invading Europe. A knight fights a samurai. The only objective is to buy Europe a little more time by distracting the khan. It's a really cool fight, but for little purpose.
daelly's review
3.0
I think the genre is simply not as intriguing for me compared to what I usually read, meaning I found the book interesting but not captivating. nevertheless I have the feeling that I'll read the next ones at some point!
citizenkahn's review
4.0
Foiled again by a page turner of series where I must wait for the next book. Already pre-ordered, I look forward to the next book's arrival.
rydurham's review
4.0
I really enjoyed this book. I wasn't really sure what to expect; but the premise sounded interesting, and of course I am always excited to sink my teeth into a Neal Stephenson adventure. I am looking forward to part 2.
photonqyv's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
samarkandar's review
1.0
I LOVE anything related to Mongols or the Mongol Empire AND Neal Stephenson, so this book should have been a dream come true for me. I was willing to overlook a lot because MONGOLS. But this thing reads like a very rough first draft. Characterization, plotting, dialogue...weak on all fronts. I'm honestly astonished that with all those talented writers working together, this is the best they could come up with.
Also, as a Mongol nerd, I cringed every time I read Chinggis Khan's name written as "Genghis."
Also, as a Mongol nerd, I cringed every time I read Chinggis Khan's name written as "Genghis."
moreadsbooks's review
2.0
I gave this three stars before I actually finished it, because I wasn't going to be on the computer for the weekend & I wanted to cheat at Goodreads. I admit it. Then I read the ridiculous cliffhanger ending - here's the thing. I didn't really care about any of these characters, I don't plan on reading the second book in this series, & this was one of those things that I just trolled through because I hate to be a quitter. The ending still made me mad. Melodramatic cliffhangers leading into second books which aren't even scheduled for publication for over a year - worst literary trend ever. Worse by far than the sequel itself.