A review by rebekahmay
The Mongoliad: Book Three by Greg Bear, Nicole Galland, Neal Stephenson, Mark Teppo, Joseph Brassey, Cooper Moo, Erik Bear, Mike Grell

4.0

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.