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3.38 AVERAGE
3.38 AVERAGE
Good junk, I'd say. A very well-written adventure story, with lots of fun sword-fighting scenes and moments of pretty high literary merit as well (the cup, for instance). It could easily have felt disjointed with an author list that long, but I didn't get that feeling. A big complaint is that the ending is basically "to be continued", which is obnoxious. Probably parts one and two should have been in a single volume.
This is an incomplete tale. I expect multi-book series to at least give me some kind of plot arc with a climax in each installment. Also there needs to be some action - the book is so much setting up for something (that hopefully happens in the second book?) that has not happened.
I did give it 3 stars despite these issues because I did like the characters and the world building that was done.
I did give it 3 stars despite these issues because I did like the characters and the world building that was done.
Reasonably pleasant read. I knew that this was book 1 in a series, however the book just ends without even an intermediate end to the story. The book is also notable for several story lines that do no intersect. The story line is not compelling enough for me to bother with book 2.
Great mix of history and fantasy with well-developed male and female characters.
I listened to the audio version read by one of my faves, Luke Daniels.
This wasn't at all what I expected. Pretty much straight historical, although granted I have no idea about the Mongols and he could be spinning lots of alt history and I'd have no idea. Not real magic or tech though, so... Still, an interesting story with his signature interweaving of multiple storylines.
I love his writing so I'll put up with straight historical if he writes it!
This wasn't at all what I expected. Pretty much straight historical, although granted I have no idea about the Mongols and he could be spinning lots of alt history and I'd have no idea. Not real magic or tech though, so... Still, an interesting story with his signature interweaving of multiple storylines.
I love his writing so I'll put up with straight historical if he writes it!
Several writers have come together to work their magic on what appears to be a historical epic fantasy novel.
"The Mongoliad: Book One" introduces a clash between the knights of Christiandom and the Mongol army. On one side of the story, we have Ogedei - a Khangan and one of Genghis Khan's many sons - who is rapidly losing the respect of his people due to his heavy drinking. Enter Gansukh, an envoy from Chagatai Khan (Ogedei's older brother) who attempts to curb the Khangan's alcoholic exploits, and Lian, a Chinese woman ordered to tutor Gansukh in the ways of the court.
On the other side of the story, we have C'nan, a spy and scout, who seeks out a small order of
Christian knights. She warns them of impending attacks and campaigns against the Great Khan. Lead by Feronantus, these knights make a decision that will either save Christiandom, or destroy it.
While a good book, it was much longer than it needed to be. Some parts raced through to a climax; other dragged for pages and pages and pages and still did not solve the issue at hand. Will I read Book Two? Most likely, as the ending was a major cliffhanger. Do I recommend this book? Sure, to people who enjoy sword battles, tales of killing and dismembering, and who have the patience to deal with the parts that move slower than others.
"The Mongoliad: Book One" introduces a clash between the knights of Christiandom and the Mongol army. On one side of the story, we have Ogedei - a Khangan and one of Genghis Khan's many sons - who is rapidly losing the respect of his people due to his heavy drinking. Enter Gansukh, an envoy from Chagatai Khan (Ogedei's older brother) who attempts to curb the Khangan's alcoholic exploits, and Lian, a Chinese woman ordered to tutor Gansukh in the ways of the court.
On the other side of the story, we have C'nan, a spy and scout, who seeks out a small order of
Christian knights. She warns them of impending attacks and campaigns against the Great Khan. Lead by Feronantus, these knights make a decision that will either save Christiandom, or destroy it.
While a good book, it was much longer than it needed to be. Some parts raced through to a climax; other dragged for pages and pages and pages and still did not solve the issue at hand. Will I read Book Two? Most likely, as the ending was a major cliffhanger. Do I recommend this book? Sure, to people who enjoy sword battles, tales of killing and dismembering, and who have the patience to deal with the parts that move slower than others.
It was ok. I can't say that I disliked the book, but I can't say I liked it either. Overall, I remain indifferent to it. The characters were just too many, and none of them was developed enough for me to care about them. The stories remain disparate and never converge or come closer to one another. I remain uncertain about which story the authors are planning to tell. And I honestly don't care enough to read the following books in the series to figure it out.
("The tiger would pity the fawn, the wolf would weep over its lamb before the Mongol would cringe at the corpse of a child."
- from "The Mongoliad"
"Mongoliad" is a lot of bluster but little substance. An alternate historical fiction of the middle ages during the reign of Ogedai Khan - Genghis' youngest son - the story follows several indistinct characters and loosely differentiated plot lines across a devastated European landscape. The Mongols are raping and pillaging while Ogedai struggles with alcoholism fueled by the stress of his job (granted, he's ruling an ever-expanding empire with a myriad of borders to defend, Christians to overwhelm, and family members looking to overthrow his rule).
The specific story follows a band of crusaders known as the "Shield Brethren" whose goals ultimately focus on the heart of the Mongol empire itself. The band breaks into two, which creates dual focus for the plot, while a third lens is aimed at two lesser players in Ogedai's court at Karakoram. I won't bother to detail the plots because they're not even interesting enough to remember, let alone take the energy to recount.
The book is enjoyable enough while reading. The plot moves at a solid pace and the plethora of authors know how to spin a good yarn. But overall, the book just falls flat. The characters are bland and mostly superficial. The motivations that drive the plot are thin, and the action between the handful of battles is one-dimensional. Because "Book One" has literally no conclusions, I'm mildly motivated to pick up "Book Two", but I have no driving need to find out how things continue, let alone wrap up.
Buy this for an airplane ride, or sleepy days at the beach. Prepare to be underwhelmed.
- from "The Mongoliad"
"Mongoliad" is a lot of bluster but little substance. An alternate historical fiction of the middle ages during the reign of Ogedai Khan - Genghis' youngest son - the story follows several indistinct characters and loosely differentiated plot lines across a devastated European landscape. The Mongols are raping and pillaging while Ogedai struggles with alcoholism fueled by the stress of his job (granted, he's ruling an ever-expanding empire with a myriad of borders to defend, Christians to overwhelm, and family members looking to overthrow his rule).
The specific story follows a band of crusaders known as the "Shield Brethren" whose goals ultimately focus on the heart of the Mongol empire itself. The band breaks into two, which creates dual focus for the plot, while a third lens is aimed at two lesser players in Ogedai's court at Karakoram. I won't bother to detail the plots because they're not even interesting enough to remember, let alone take the energy to recount.
The book is enjoyable enough while reading. The plot moves at a solid pace and the plethora of authors know how to spin a good yarn. But overall, the book just falls flat. The characters are bland and mostly superficial. The motivations that drive the plot are thin, and the action between the handful of battles is one-dimensional. Because "Book One" has literally no conclusions, I'm mildly motivated to pick up "Book Two", but I have no driving need to find out how things continue, let alone wrap up.
Buy this for an airplane ride, or sleepy days at the beach. Prepare to be underwhelmed.
At the start I was eagerly reading this because the premise of the story was a selling point. But halfway through I just lost interest in the characters and by the end of the story the storyline was boring.
This book was a lot of fun to read and a bit different given that it was originally published as a serial with a chapter coming out once a week. However, I don't like the way it ended. It just sort of stopped, nothing was wrapped up. If I was reading this online once a week I would understand but the authors chose this point to publish the chapters as a novel so I think there should have been some endings not just movement in the storyline. Given that, it was still fun to read and I will eagerly await the second volume.