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chris_chester 's review for:
The Mongoliad: Book One
by Greg Bear, Mark Teppo, Erik Bear
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.