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25 reviews for:
The Mongoliad: Book Three
Greg Bear, Nicole Galland, Neal Stephenson, Mark Teppo, Joseph Brassey, Cooper Moo, Erik Bear, Mike Grell
3.66 AVERAGE
25 reviews for:
The Mongoliad: Book Three
Greg Bear, Nicole Galland, Neal Stephenson, Mark Teppo, Joseph Brassey, Cooper Moo, Erik Bear, Mike Grell
3.66 AVERAGE
This was probably the best of The Mongoliad trilogy, though I didn't enjoy as much as I enjoyed the prequels included in the kindle editions of the three books. The trilogy follows four main events: the Khan's circus in Hunern, the Shield Brethren's quest to kill the Khagan, the happenings in the heart of the Mongol empire, and the election of a new pope in Rome. I thoroughly enjoyed the various Shield Brethren brothers and their individual personalities, as well as the brotherhood they, and their close friends, shared. Following Gansukh and Lian in the Mongol empire was sweet, and I liked Gansukh's character development. I even sympathised with Ogedei and his feelings of inadequacy and unworthiness of being Khan of Khans. Even after finishing the third installment of this series, I'm not entirely sure why the Rome perspective was included. It seemed, to me, to be totally irrelevant to the rest of the story, bar Percival's vision about the Grail which was also irrelevant and never resolved or explained. Though it was irrelevant, it was at least entertaining in this book and while I was reading what was happening there I wasn't constantly wondering what the point of it was like I was during book two. This is more of a 3.5 stars than 4, mostly because of there being so many loose ends. I may read the other 'side quests' if they reveal what might have happened to the Spirit Banner and Feronantus and Istvan, or how Gansukh and Alchiq track the group riding west, or even what happens to Ocyrhoe with her cargo. Overall, I did enjoy this book but I do find myself unsatisfied with the ending.
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Finally! Finished! That was my most overwhelming sentiment upon completing the final book in the Mongoliad.
An important note: there is a reason why each of these books have the same name. It is all "The Mongoliad". This was not a sequel to Book Two, and Book Two was not a sequel to Book One. They are essentially the same book, just broken up into volumes. There is no way I would recommend anyone interested in these books to allow any space of time between them. But it would also be unfair to not note that by doing so, you will be reading the same story forever. There is a certain level of impatience that comes from reading the same story for a month and a half.
Unfortunately, my experience with Book Three was marked by that impatience. It's hard for me to discern whether the book dragged or whether I was beginning to fatigue from the story. It is a story that at some points will drive you to read more right away or drive you crazy with boredom.
The story covers multiple storylines happening simultaneously, some more loosely connected than others. Knights on a journey to asassinate the Khan of Khans, a Mongolian falling in love with a Chinese slave, the Khan battling alcholism, cardinals trying to determine the next pope in Rome, a priest battling insanity, a messenger discovering herself, a gladitorial battle for the entertainment of another Khan, the slaves' plight for freedom, and the Western knights positioning amongst themselves. That's a lot going on.
I was left disappointed. I can usually handle open-ended/disappointing endings (though I will say some of the storylines' endings were particularly aggravating). I found myself depressed and it took a little while to discover why. I was attached to some of the characters in the book and I was fascinated by the world created by the company of authors. Yet, the whole book was plot-driven.
I found myself disappointed that I couldn't actually get to know the characters better, to really connect to any of them. The plot-driven nature of the story didn't allow for extensive character development and the multitude of characters meant that each character was only given a passing treatment. It's really no wonder that I was most concerned with Raphael and Andreas given that at the start of each of the books there was a short story from their past. Ferenc also intrigued me but I barely learned anything more about him than his survival at a Mongolian/Hungarian battle.
Final thoughts: I did enjoy the overall experience and it was interesting to read a story that was written in a serial, multi-author collaboration. I'm not sure I will ever reread these books, but perhaps I'd look into the other books based in this world.
Finally! Finished! That was my most overwhelming sentiment upon completing the final book in the Mongoliad.
An important note: there is a reason why each of these books have the same name. It is all "The Mongoliad". This was not a sequel to Book Two, and Book Two was not a sequel to Book One. They are essentially the same book, just broken up into volumes. There is no way I would recommend anyone interested in these books to allow any space of time between them. But it would also be unfair to not note that by doing so, you will be reading the same story forever. There is a certain level of impatience that comes from reading the same story for a month and a half.
Unfortunately, my experience with Book Three was marked by that impatience. It's hard for me to discern whether the book dragged or whether I was beginning to fatigue from the story. It is a story that at some points will drive you to read more right away or drive you crazy with boredom.
The story covers multiple storylines happening simultaneously, some more loosely connected than others. Knights on a journey to asassinate the Khan of Khans, a Mongolian falling in love with a Chinese slave, the Khan battling alcholism, cardinals trying to determine the next pope in Rome, a priest battling insanity, a messenger discovering herself, a gladitorial battle for the entertainment of another Khan, the slaves' plight for freedom, and the Western knights positioning amongst themselves. That's a lot going on.
I was left disappointed. I can usually handle open-ended/disappointing endings (though I will say some of the storylines' endings were particularly aggravating). I found myself depressed and it took a little while to discover why. I was attached to some of the characters in the book and I was fascinated by the world created by the company of authors. Yet, the whole book was plot-driven.
I found myself disappointed that I couldn't actually get to know the characters better, to really connect to any of them. The plot-driven nature of the story didn't allow for extensive character development and the multitude of characters meant that each character was only given a passing treatment. It's really no wonder that I was most concerned with Raphael and Andreas given that at the start of each of the books there was a short story from their past. Ferenc also intrigued me but I barely learned anything more about him than his survival at a Mongolian/Hungarian battle.
Final thoughts: I did enjoy the overall experience and it was interesting to read a story that was written in a serial, multi-author collaboration. I'm not sure I will ever reread these books, but perhaps I'd look into the other books based in this world.
Meh. The first book set me up with pretty high hopes for this series, which weren't sustained by the second book, but I held out hope that there would be some interesting plot twists and developments in the final book to sustain the story. It was not to be.
There are no real twists in the main plot, and it plods along to the inevitable final showdown between the Knights and the Khan. Lots of people die and the book ends. I found that story line annoying enough on its own, but my frustration was aggravated by the host of side plots that are nowhere near close to resolution (Gansukh & Lian, Haakon, The binders in Rome, The remainder of the company in Leginica, etc, etc), all of these stories are just left hanging in the middle of their plots.
I suspect some of this is that all these stories are carried on in the so called "Side Quests" that are sold alongside the main trilogy. Unfortunately given my tepid response to the main story-line I just can't bring myself to pay money for the side-quests, or waste the many months of time that it would take to borrow them from the Kindle library.
If you're going to do a main story-line with off-shoot books then the main story line needs to be interesting enough on it's own, and contain enough plot and resolution for the branching stories that they don't seem to be left hanging. This trilogy failed on both those counts. By comparison Diana Gabaldon's Cross Stitch/Outlander series and the associated Lord John books have walked this line very well.
Reading Time: 9 hours, 5 mins (longest of the three books, and probably didn't contribute favourable to my impressions, given the lack of story).
There are no real twists in the main plot, and it plods along to the inevitable final showdown between the Knights and the Khan. Lots of people die and the book ends. I found that story line annoying enough on its own, but my frustration was aggravated by the host of side plots that are nowhere near close to resolution (Gansukh & Lian, Haakon, The binders in Rome, The remainder of the company in Leginica, etc, etc), all of these stories are just left hanging in the middle of their plots.
I suspect some of this is that all these stories are carried on in the so called "Side Quests" that are sold alongside the main trilogy. Unfortunately given my tepid response to the main story-line I just can't bring myself to pay money for the side-quests, or waste the many months of time that it would take to borrow them from the Kindle library.
If you're going to do a main story-line with off-shoot books then the main story line needs to be interesting enough on it's own, and contain enough plot and resolution for the branching stories that they don't seem to be left hanging. This trilogy failed on both those counts. By comparison Diana Gabaldon's Cross Stitch/Outlander series and the associated Lord John books have walked this line very well.
Reading Time: 9 hours, 5 mins (longest of the three books, and probably didn't contribute favourable to my impressions, given the lack of story).
What a horribly overwritten book.
I don't know if this book worked better as an online serial or what, but it was a hot mess in novel form. It was far too long and slower than a German knight wielding a claymore.
The frequent shifts in perspective didn't keep the story interesting; they just got in the way of any kind of character engagement.
It kind of sucks that at the end of a trilogy (they're not continuing this, right?), I'm left wondering why it was written in the first place.
I can't escape the feeling that the reason this series exists is so that a bunch of nerds can realize their fantasies about how European martial arts matches or exceeds those out of Asia. As if that is an argument that anybody feels the need to make, one way or another.
I don't know if this book worked better as an online serial or what, but it was a hot mess in novel form. It was far too long and slower than a German knight wielding a claymore.
The frequent shifts in perspective didn't keep the story interesting; they just got in the way of any kind of character engagement.
It kind of sucks that at the end of a trilogy (they're not continuing this, right?), I'm left wondering why it was written in the first place.
I can't escape the feeling that the reason this series exists is so that a bunch of nerds can realize their fantasies about how European martial arts matches or exceeds those out of Asia. As if that is an argument that anybody feels the need to make, one way or another.
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
My thoughts from Book 1: Mosaic books like this tend to be a bit uneven, but there are definitely lots of fun parts. Reminds me slightly of the Wildcards mosaic book, in terms of overall character: some parts really focus on character and description, others on plot, others on the historical background. I made a point of reading new Mongoliad books when they came out, so clearly they were satisfying.
Intriguing, gory and filled with a characters who were as likely to die as to see the end of the chapter. Life in Mongolia was nasty, brutish and short. Makes for excellent speculative alternative history.
Nice finale to the trilogy. Action flowed nicely and historical aspects seemed accurate although Ogodei is supposed to have died in a drunken binge versus a shamanistic hunt, but then that would have been a boring ending :) The battle scenes were vivid and the character development was so well done that you couldn't help but feel pangs of loss for those that died along the way. Actually very well written and just had a great flow to it--moreso than the first two books. Would recommend this book to anyone, although it would be very difficult to follow if you hadn't read the first two. Go ahead and give the Mongoliad a try. Solid 4 stars.
(3.75 Stars)
I really like this whole series, but this was probably my least favorite of them so far. I still liked it, I just thought that a lot of time was spent really building up the mystical and/or religious elements of the story without it really amounting to as big of a payoff as was probably intended.
The action is great and the book is well paced. The narration is excellent and I really don't know how he keeps track of all those different voices. Speaking of, there are a lot of major characters in this book, and if you are not good with names you might have trouble keeping track of each of the different story arcs.
This book will appeal to people who like historical fiction and fantasy adventure.
I really like this whole series, but this was probably my least favorite of them so far. I still liked it, I just thought that a lot of time was spent really building up the mystical and/or religious elements of the story without it really amounting to as big of a payoff as was probably intended.
The action is great and the book is well paced. The narration is excellent and I really don't know how he keeps track of all those different voices. Speaking of, there are a lot of major characters in this book, and if you are not good with names you might have trouble keeping track of each of the different story arcs.
This book will appeal to people who like historical fiction and fantasy adventure.