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86 reviews for:
The Mongoliad: Book One
Greg Bear, Neal Stephenson, Mark Teppo, Joseph Brassey, E.D. deBirmingham, Cooper Moo, Erik Bear
3.38 AVERAGE
86 reviews for:
The Mongoliad: Book One
Greg Bear, Neal Stephenson, Mark Teppo, Joseph Brassey, E.D. deBirmingham, Cooper Moo, Erik Bear
3.38 AVERAGE
I didn't actually finish it. I tried over and over to read it, but just couldn't muster enough interest in the plot to continue.
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.
Given the cast of thousands that makes up the author list of this book I was worried about how it would turn out. It was better than I expected, but then my expectations were low. The individual pieces were well done but they really don't fit together very well. Switching viewpoints between chapters can work, provided there is a clear overarching story line. This is lacking here. In fact, a new viewpoint character appeared two thirds of the way through, lasted a few chapters, and then appears to have been dropped. Then, a few chapters later, the book just stops. Be warned. This is not book 1 in a trilogy. It is volume 1 of a single story told in multiple volumes.
Korean cinema intrigues me. The nuances of dialogue invariably are lost in subtitles, but the tricks inflicted on convention seldom fail to impress me. Take The Chaser or The Host; it is doubtful that most are not perplexed by these ruminations on genre, the psychological thriller and monster film, respectively. My wife often questions some of these cinematic explorations. I don't offer a more sturdy answer than, I like them, it is fun.
It was with a likewise loose spirit that I pursued the ensemble writing project behind Mongoliad. I had encountered Wu Ming a few years back and I have held reservations about the discord of ensemble writing. I shouldn't have feared that here. It is a coterie of lads discussing swords and saddles. It isn't literary. I don't believe it evens dreams of such. It yielded a big meh as I turned the cliffhanging final page: who cares?
I would probably extend it 2.5 stars if possible.
It was with a likewise loose spirit that I pursued the ensemble writing project behind Mongoliad. I had encountered Wu Ming a few years back and I have held reservations about the discord of ensemble writing. I shouldn't have feared that here. It is a coterie of lads discussing swords and saddles. It isn't literary. I don't believe it evens dreams of such. It yielded a big meh as I turned the cliffhanging final page: who cares?
I would probably extend it 2.5 stars if possible.
adventurous
informative
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
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.
I would say as a caveat that this isn't for the faint of heart. It reads rather slowly and has so much to establish that this entire book is essentially exposition.
That said, it is phenomenally well-researched. The interweaving of Western and Eastern Christian history and culture with Mongol history and culture is rather well done. The characterization of most of the figures in the story is perhaps slightly more mythic and slightly less concretely believable as individuals, but given that the story means to explore a legend, I think this works. I am looking forward to watching the story unfold in the next three books; this first installment has introduced a saga that has a lot of potential.
It is refreshing to see Mongols portrayed in the context of a Western story as something other than sheer barbarians. The cultural differences between the Western knights and the Mongol warriors and court are well written. It is also refreshing to read a work that actually knows what it's talking about when it comes to fighting. For once the battles are described in a believable way, the movements of the warriors are plausible and realistic, and the mental side of fighting among both armies is well established.
I highly recommend this book for SCAdians, especially ones who fight or who have Crusader or Mongol personas. I also recommend it for anyone familiar with broadsword combat or archery, and perhaps also rapier combat. Finally, I recommend it for anyone with an interest in this historical period looking for a fictionalization of known history and a story uniting the medieval West and East.
That said, it is phenomenally well-researched. The interweaving of Western and Eastern Christian history and culture with Mongol history and culture is rather well done. The characterization of most of the figures in the story is perhaps slightly more mythic and slightly less concretely believable as individuals, but given that the story means to explore a legend, I think this works. I am looking forward to watching the story unfold in the next three books; this first installment has introduced a saga that has a lot of potential.
It is refreshing to see Mongols portrayed in the context of a Western story as something other than sheer barbarians. The cultural differences between the Western knights and the Mongol warriors and court are well written. It is also refreshing to read a work that actually knows what it's talking about when it comes to fighting. For once the battles are described in a believable way, the movements of the warriors are plausible and realistic, and the mental side of fighting among both armies is well established.
I highly recommend this book for SCAdians, especially ones who fight or who have Crusader or Mongol personas. I also recommend it for anyone familiar with broadsword combat or archery, and perhaps also rapier combat. Finally, I recommend it for anyone with an interest in this historical period looking for a fictionalization of known history and a story uniting the medieval West and East.
Very enjoyable. The are paces where the story wanders off course, but overall it's good storytelling. I've per-ordered book 2.
This was quite a disappointment. A great setting, put in interesting historical period and place. However, I don't remember when read such a chaotically written book. Jumping from place to place, cutting scenes all the time. I guess that was made to make the storytelling more dramatic or dynamic. Moreover, none of the characters made me care of their motivations. Too many of them and not really properly introduced or developed. On top of that, the main premise of the story is just plain silly... I don't really think I will continue with the sequels.