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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
3.37 AVERAGE
86 reviews for:
The Mongoliad: Book One
Greg Bear, Neal Stephenson, Mark Teppo, Joseph Brassey, E.D. deBirmingham, Cooper Moo, Erik Bear
3.37 AVERAGE
Liked this, but not as much as I hoped I would. The list of authors contains some stellar names, but from time to time it did rather feel like what it was - a patchwork of text from diferent authors, no matter how expertly it was edited together. There were subtle changes in voice, slight differences in phrasing, the occasional spelling inconsistency or plot niggle - nothing that made me throw my Kindle down in disgust, but there were some eye-rolling moments.
It was also clear that the list of authors was mostly male. The female characters were written with some sensitivity, but their plotlines felt formulaic. The feisty, skilled and independent female scout Cnan (whom I quite liked, by the way) falling in love with and then getting (literally) swept off her feet by a knight in shining armour? Come on, really?
Having said that, it's a well-plotted, mostly well-written and thoroughly researched novel about the fragmenting empire of the great Genghis Khan. I felt it owed a lot to Conn Iggulden's Wolf of the Plains series, especially in terms of naming conventions, but that's no bad thing.
It also felt very much like a continuing saga in terms of the ending - it just stopped, with the two splintered bands of our heroes separately approaching the same denouement in catacombs under a ruined city. This book is clearly and self-admittedly the first in a series, but why break there? It felt almost as if the publisher had imposed a word limit on volume one and the author hive-mind had to stop whether they liked it or not, the middle of a story arc notwithstanding.
I will read the next book in the series, and not only to find out how the story arc pans out. As an experimental and continuing piece of group-constructed fantasy fiction, this is a good effort.
It was also clear that the list of authors was mostly male. The female characters were written with some sensitivity, but their plotlines felt formulaic. The feisty, skilled and independent female scout Cnan (whom I quite liked, by the way) falling in love with and then getting (literally) swept off her feet by a knight in shining armour? Come on, really?
Having said that, it's a well-plotted, mostly well-written and thoroughly researched novel about the fragmenting empire of the great Genghis Khan. I felt it owed a lot to Conn Iggulden's Wolf of the Plains series, especially in terms of naming conventions, but that's no bad thing.
It also felt very much like a continuing saga in terms of the ending - it just stopped, with the two splintered bands of our heroes separately approaching the same denouement in catacombs under a ruined city. This book is clearly and self-admittedly the first in a series, but why break there? It felt almost as if the publisher had imposed a word limit on volume one and the author hive-mind had to stop whether they liked it or not, the middle of a story arc notwithstanding.
I will read the next book in the series, and not only to find out how the story arc pans out. As an experimental and continuing piece of group-constructed fantasy fiction, this is a good effort.
I am not familiar with the details of the mongol invasion of Europe. Just in general terms from a history class in 8th grade. This story-telling is and the historical embellishments of history to tell this particular story is very well done!
The story is a bit disjointed, but tolerably interesting -- could benefit from some character development in place of minutely detailed descriptions of hand-to-hand battle, in my opinion. It appears to have been written by committee and that does not go undetected here. Just when it really started to pull me in, the book ended abruptly. One must assume that there is, or will be, a Book Two. I'm not sure I'll be in line to read it, but this one kept me reading to the end and that is saying something.
adventurous
dark
informative
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
i could say that it had potential as a series but there was too little happening in this book so it was disappointing. i bought the book, not the series!
A historical adventure in two parts,
The first part deals with the fictional Order of the Virgin Defender, a group of crusading knights. They have gathered for a tournament held by the Great Khan's son, with the fate of Christendom on the line. Instead of fighting, they take it on themselves to try to assassinate the Khagan, so his generals will be forced to return to Mongolia to pick a successor. Trying to make their way across Mongol-held eastern Europe makes for a few adventures along the way.
The second part of the story is about a Mongol warrior sent by the Khagan's brother to keep an eye on the amount the great Khan has been drinking. (The historical Ogedei had a major drinking problem.) Gansukh learns quickly that his job will be much harder than he thought, and that the court has its own way of operating which he'll have to learn to be effective.
The book ends just as Gansukh is starting to find his way, and before the knights have left Europe. It leaves it feeling like an introduction rather than a first novel.
While I enjoyed the characterizations and some of the scenes in this book, the overall product left me cold. I don't think I'll be picking up the rest of them.
Spoiler
which do not come into contact during this book.The first part deals with the fictional Order of the Virgin Defender, a group of crusading knights. They have gathered for a tournament held by the Great Khan's son, with the fate of Christendom on the line. Instead of fighting, they take it on themselves to try to assassinate the Khagan, so his generals will be forced to return to Mongolia to pick a successor. Trying to make their way across Mongol-held eastern Europe makes for a few adventures along the way.
The second part of the story is about a Mongol warrior sent by the Khagan's brother to keep an eye on the amount the great Khan has been drinking. (The historical Ogedei had a major drinking problem.) Gansukh learns quickly that his job will be much harder than he thought, and that the court has its own way of operating which he'll have to learn to be effective.
The book ends just as Gansukh is starting to find his way, and before the knights have left Europe. It leaves it feeling like an introduction rather than a first novel.
While I enjoyed the characterizations and some of the scenes in this book, the overall product left me cold. I don't think I'll be picking up the rest of them.
Finally finished this. It took forever and felt longer. The story wasn't bad, but the pacing was so off and many of the characters inconsistently developed that I just couldn't get into it. I suspect that the problem was due to collaboration, but whatever it was, I won't be picking up the next ones. I might Wiki what happens, though.
This book has all the hallmarks of being written by committee. Superb world building and excellent characterization, but a lack of actual character development. We often came to characters in the book or relationships that were far more interesting than those on the main stage but they were quickly lost. The journey of Raphael and Andreas was interesting. The relationship between Ogedei and Gansukh or Lian's quest for escape was of more interest to me than the love story between Gansukh and Lian.
The female characters were poorly formed and boring. Cnan's motives were completely unclear and other than having the hots for the too-perfect Percival, I can't figure why she's there. Percival is the exact replica of the irritatingly lawful paladin in every tabletop game and no story character should be that wooden or perfect. Rafael, the half-Arab doctor is a great character but always seems to come in second to other characters.
I naturally adored the medieval alternate history and the setting descriptions were fantastic. But as a piece of storytelling, this was disappointing.
The female characters were poorly formed and boring. Cnan's motives were completely unclear and other than having the hots for the too-perfect Percival, I can't figure why she's there. Percival is the exact replica of the irritatingly lawful paladin in every tabletop game and no story character should be that wooden or perfect. Rafael, the half-Arab doctor is a great character but always seems to come in second to other characters.
I naturally adored the medieval alternate history and the setting descriptions were fantastic. But as a piece of storytelling, this was disappointing.
Good, but a bit long and disjointed. It's written by several authors and started as a sequential storytelling/social media experiment, and to some extent, that shows. More thorough editing could have tightened up the book; one of my pet peeves was that very sketchy details would be used to set up something, like the Circus of Swords, but every time the event was mentioned again, a few more details would be added, often slightly contradicting what had been said before.
Stylistically, I also think I prefer books with one main storyline, instead of jumping between several concurrent events. I suspect this might be a convention the authors borrowed from epic fantasy, which I don't normally read.
I lost interest towards the end, but the concept is interesting and I do want to know what will happen in the rest of the series. The book would have been greatly aided by inclusion of a map showing the archaic place names that the narrators kept using. I kept my phone on me so I could google instead. I'll probably finish the series, but not for awhile.
Stylistically, I also think I prefer books with one main storyline, instead of jumping between several concurrent events. I suspect this might be a convention the authors borrowed from epic fantasy, which I don't normally read.
I lost interest towards the end, but the concept is interesting and I do want to know what will happen in the rest of the series. The book would have been greatly aided by inclusion of a map showing the archaic place names that the narrators kept using. I kept my phone on me so I could google instead. I'll probably finish the series, but not for awhile.
Honestly I really loved this book. There isn't a drawback to it, it was well edited, exciting, and historically fascinating. I am very much looking forward to reading the next book.
I tried reading this via the interactive webpage (The Mongoliad), which is full of really cool video and extras, but I have an extremely hard time reading on electronic sources. Call me old fashioned.
So why only 4 stars for a book that obviously deserves 5? Because I have been horribly spoiled by [a:Joe Abercrombie|276660|Joe Abercrombie|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1207149426p2/276660.jpg], who writes fight scenes so spectacularly that nothing can really equal it. Which is astoundingly ridiculous, because if you look at The Mongoliad website you can watch the authors actually fighting with the weapons and choreographing the fights! I think really it is just my love of fiction over reality that reduces the star power of this book.
I tried reading this via the interactive webpage (The Mongoliad), which is full of really cool video and extras, but I have an extremely hard time reading on electronic sources. Call me old fashioned.
So why only 4 stars for a book that obviously deserves 5? Because I have been horribly spoiled by [a:Joe Abercrombie|276660|Joe Abercrombie|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1207149426p2/276660.jpg], who writes fight scenes so spectacularly that nothing can really equal it. Which is astoundingly ridiculous, because if you look at The Mongoliad website you can watch the authors actually fighting with the weapons and choreographing the fights! I think really it is just my love of fiction over reality that reduces the star power of this book.