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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
The best kind of storytelling for me - I *had* to keep going to see what happened. I have no idea about the historical accuracy of this book, but I plan to find out! Looking forward to reading Vol. 2.
Huh. I had mixed feelings going through this book, but what really killed it for me was the "ending." Book one in a series is one thing, but this felt like someone just chopped a book into parts at a random point, which was very frustrating...
At times I was riveted, glued to my seat, needing to find out what would happen to a certain character. At other times, I had the ipad pulled out, looking up historic maps and reading back stories on referenced historical figures. All in all, a very fun book that has clued me in to a rather significant European experience I new absolutely nothing about. Ie, after Genghis Khan conquered much of Asia, his son's generals pushed the boundaries of the Mongolian empire even further and waid laste to much of eastern Europe.
After finishing this book, I googled the author and learned that the Mongoliad was initially published through a unique online collaboration of authors that produced text and graphic chapters in a serial format, supplemented by fan fiction contributions. Whatever they did worked, because I really enjoyed the first book and will definitely seek out the second.
After finishing this book, I googled the author and learned that the Mongoliad was initially published through a unique online collaboration of authors that produced text and graphic chapters in a serial format, supplemented by fan fiction contributions. Whatever they did worked, because I really enjoyed the first book and will definitely seek out the second.
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Why I picked it up: Once upon a time, I watched a YouTube video from Sword and Laser where they interviewed 6 of 7 authors of The Mongoliad. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_pkRAEPGOs I was fascinated by it and consequently put it on my Goodreads' "To Read" list. It was only somewhat recently that I bought all three books because of some Amazon Kindle Daily Deal. I recommend the YouTube video if you are curious about the book and the way it was written.
What's it about, very quickly? In short, it is a collaborative, almost crowd-sourced literary experiment. It was originally released episodically on their website, but I read it all in its combined format. There are different story lines converging around the Mongol invasions of Europe. There is an ancient order of knights going on a quest to protect Europe, a Mongol solider tasked with curbing the Khan's drinking, and slaves participating in a circus (read: Gladiator-type fighting).
My initial thoughts: At first, I was disappointed. I had read the bonus story "Sinner" which was explained as a prequel short story to the larger story. But I found there was little connection between "Sinner" and "The Mongoliad". I was left confused by both the story and the amount of new characters I was being introduced to. Additionally, each chapter alternated between the different story lines, which can be very frustrating when you are not familiar with the characters or get too caught up with one story vs. another. But I was fascinated by the historical aspect...and I was in need of an immersive escape.
My conclusions: Once I got into the story, it was a lot of fun. I was no longer confused and I was curious to know what was going on. It is definitely a story that sucked me in, though I am not happy with how Book One finished. It just cut off. It was like the rest of the story failed to load. It is another case of there being multiple books just to do it. Maybe to get more money, maybe for space considerations, but certainly not for the sake of the story. I hope I can remember everything by the time I start reading Book Two.
Why I picked it up: Once upon a time, I watched a YouTube video from Sword and Laser where they interviewed 6 of 7 authors of The Mongoliad. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_pkRAEPGOs I was fascinated by it and consequently put it on my Goodreads' "To Read" list. It was only somewhat recently that I bought all three books because of some Amazon Kindle Daily Deal. I recommend the YouTube video if you are curious about the book and the way it was written.
What's it about, very quickly? In short, it is a collaborative, almost crowd-sourced literary experiment. It was originally released episodically on their website, but I read it all in its combined format. There are different story lines converging around the Mongol invasions of Europe. There is an ancient order of knights going on a quest to protect Europe, a Mongol solider tasked with curbing the Khan's drinking, and slaves participating in a circus (read: Gladiator-type fighting).
My initial thoughts: At first, I was disappointed. I had read the bonus story "Sinner" which was explained as a prequel short story to the larger story. But I found there was little connection between "Sinner" and "The Mongoliad". I was left confused by both the story and the amount of new characters I was being introduced to. Additionally, each chapter alternated between the different story lines, which can be very frustrating when you are not familiar with the characters or get too caught up with one story vs. another. But I was fascinated by the historical aspect...and I was in need of an immersive escape.
My conclusions: Once I got into the story, it was a lot of fun. I was no longer confused and I was curious to know what was going on. It is definitely a story that sucked me in, though I am not happy with how Book One finished. It just cut off. It was like the rest of the story failed to load. It is another case of there being multiple books just to do it. Maybe to get more money, maybe for space considerations, but certainly not for the sake of the story. I hope I can remember everything by the time I start reading Book Two.
An easy and interesting read, primarily setting the scene for the rest of the series, but still with enough detail and action to keep things moving.
reading time: 6hrs 24 mins
reading time: 6hrs 24 mins
I thought this book was pretty good. There are a few spots where it bogged down but overall I really enjoyed this book and am looking forward to reading more in the series. I have an interest in the Mongols and the Christian Military Orders and now have a chance to read some fiction about the struggle between the two.
After about 100 pages, I lost the thread of the story and just could not pick it back up.
I was one of probably many that were inadvertently bilked into picking this up after seeing Neal Stephenson's name on the cover. All's well that ends well, I suppose, because I still found myself really enjoying this unique work of collaborative fiction.
It can be somewhat jarring, shifting between the different perspectives and writing styles that make up The Mongoliad, but the world they inhabit is so intriguing both historically and in a fictional sense that one wonders why this period of history is so seldom used. It's indulgent in many ways -- one senses the white guy inferiority complex behind the reverence for the reclaimed preeminence of European martial arts -- but its grounded enough that it stops well short of becoming eye-rolling fantasy.
The cliffhanger at the end comes quite abruptly for my tastes, but I already know I'm far too intrigued by the likes of Cnan, Gansukh and Feronantus not to continue on.
It can be somewhat jarring, shifting between the different perspectives and writing styles that make up The Mongoliad, but the world they inhabit is so intriguing both historically and in a fictional sense that one wonders why this period of history is so seldom used. It's indulgent in many ways -- one senses the white guy inferiority complex behind the reverence for the reclaimed preeminence of European martial arts -- but its grounded enough that it stops well short of becoming eye-rolling fantasy.
The cliffhanger at the end comes quite abruptly for my tastes, but I already know I'm far too intrigued by the likes of Cnan, Gansukh and Feronantus not to continue on.
A word of warning: this one ends in the middle of the story. It really is just the first part!
Violence, swords, stench, violence and some violence. I enjoyed reading it, but maybe I've had enough of swords. And violence,
Violence, swords, stench, violence and some violence. I enjoyed reading it, but maybe I've had enough of swords. And violence,
Yea, so this was awful. I loved Stephenson's [b:The Diamond Age|827|The Diamond Age|Neal Stephenson|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1320415915s/827.jpg|2181158], I loved [b:Snow Crash|830|Snow Crash|Neal Stephenson|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1320544000s/830.jpg|493634]. But along with [b:Anathem|2845024|Anathem|Neal Stephenson|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1224107150s/2845024.jpg|6163095] this makes two, one star books in a row so I'm not sure I'm going back.
It's pretty rare for me not to finish books (like maybe 10 in my life). It's even more rare for me not to finish something when it's on audio (like maybe 2 in my life). This was boring. By the time I got to disc 9 of 11 I realized this was just the intro to something REALLY long (and by default REALLY boring). I didn't care about any of he characters. It was just soooooo dry. Also too many characters going on. I guess that's where the long part comes in. All of these characters were going to take time to get their stuff done.
Unless you love long, dry, epics I would suggest avoiding this. If you haven't read Diamond Age or Snow Crash please do so immediately. Then you can give Mr. Stephenson some love, because I think I'm all out.
It's pretty rare for me not to finish books (like maybe 10 in my life). It's even more rare for me not to finish something when it's on audio (like maybe 2 in my life). This was boring. By the time I got to disc 9 of 11 I realized this was just the intro to something REALLY long (and by default REALLY boring). I didn't care about any of he characters. It was just soooooo dry. Also too many characters going on. I guess that's where the long part comes in. All of these characters were going to take time to get their stuff done.
Unless you love long, dry, epics I would suggest avoiding this. If you haven't read Diamond Age or Snow Crash please do so immediately. Then you can give Mr. Stephenson some love, because I think I'm all out.