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A review by mish_ren
The Mongoliad: Book Three by Greg Bear, Neal Stephenson, Erik Bear
2.0
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Finally! Finished! That was my most overwhelming sentiment upon completing the final book in the Mongoliad.
An important note: there is a reason why each of these books have the same name. It is all "The Mongoliad". This was not a sequel to Book Two, and Book Two was not a sequel to Book One. They are essentially the same book, just broken up into volumes. There is no way I would recommend anyone interested in these books to allow any space of time between them. But it would also be unfair to not note that by doing so, you will be reading the same story forever. There is a certain level of impatience that comes from reading the same story for a month and a half.
Unfortunately, my experience with Book Three was marked by that impatience. It's hard for me to discern whether the book dragged or whether I was beginning to fatigue from the story. It is a story that at some points will drive you to read more right away or drive you crazy with boredom.
The story covers multiple storylines happening simultaneously, some more loosely connected than others. Knights on a journey to asassinate the Khan of Khans, a Mongolian falling in love with a Chinese slave, the Khan battling alcholism, cardinals trying to determine the next pope in Rome, a priest battling insanity, a messenger discovering herself, a gladitorial battle for the entertainment of another Khan, the slaves' plight for freedom, and the Western knights positioning amongst themselves. That's a lot going on.
I was left disappointed. I can usually handle open-ended/disappointing endings (though I will say some of the storylines' endings were particularly aggravating). I found myself depressed and it took a little while to discover why. I was attached to some of the characters in the book and I was fascinated by the world created by the company of authors. Yet, the whole book was plot-driven.
I found myself disappointed that I couldn't actually get to know the characters better, to really connect to any of them. The plot-driven nature of the story didn't allow for extensive character development and the multitude of characters meant that each character was only given a passing treatment. It's really no wonder that I was most concerned with Raphael and Andreas given that at the start of each of the books there was a short story from their past. Ferenc also intrigued me but I barely learned anything more about him than his survival at a Mongolian/Hungarian battle.
Final thoughts: I did enjoy the overall experience and it was interesting to read a story that was written in a serial, multi-author collaboration. I'm not sure I will ever reread these books, but perhaps I'd look into the other books based in this world.
Finally! Finished! That was my most overwhelming sentiment upon completing the final book in the Mongoliad.
An important note: there is a reason why each of these books have the same name. It is all "The Mongoliad". This was not a sequel to Book Two, and Book Two was not a sequel to Book One. They are essentially the same book, just broken up into volumes. There is no way I would recommend anyone interested in these books to allow any space of time between them. But it would also be unfair to not note that by doing so, you will be reading the same story forever. There is a certain level of impatience that comes from reading the same story for a month and a half.
Unfortunately, my experience with Book Three was marked by that impatience. It's hard for me to discern whether the book dragged or whether I was beginning to fatigue from the story. It is a story that at some points will drive you to read more right away or drive you crazy with boredom.
The story covers multiple storylines happening simultaneously, some more loosely connected than others. Knights on a journey to asassinate the Khan of Khans, a Mongolian falling in love with a Chinese slave, the Khan battling alcholism, cardinals trying to determine the next pope in Rome, a priest battling insanity, a messenger discovering herself, a gladitorial battle for the entertainment of another Khan, the slaves' plight for freedom, and the Western knights positioning amongst themselves. That's a lot going on.
I was left disappointed. I can usually handle open-ended/disappointing endings (though I will say some of the storylines' endings were particularly aggravating). I found myself depressed and it took a little while to discover why. I was attached to some of the characters in the book and I was fascinated by the world created by the company of authors. Yet, the whole book was plot-driven.
I found myself disappointed that I couldn't actually get to know the characters better, to really connect to any of them. The plot-driven nature of the story didn't allow for extensive character development and the multitude of characters meant that each character was only given a passing treatment. It's really no wonder that I was most concerned with Raphael and Andreas given that at the start of each of the books there was a short story from their past. Ferenc also intrigued me but I barely learned anything more about him than his survival at a Mongolian/Hungarian battle.
Final thoughts: I did enjoy the overall experience and it was interesting to read a story that was written in a serial, multi-author collaboration. I'm not sure I will ever reread these books, but perhaps I'd look into the other books based in this world.