The Mongoliad: Book One (The Foreworld Saga) [Paperback]

Neal Stephenson (Author), Erik Bear (Author), Greg Bear (Author), Joseph Brassey (Author), Nicole Galland (Author), Cooper Moo (Author), Mark Teppo (Author)

Book Description

Release date: April 24, 2012 | Series: The Foreworld Saga

The first novel to be released in The Foreworld Saga, The Mongoliad: Book One, is an epic-within-an-epic, taking place in 13th century. In it, a small band of warriors and mystics raise their swords to save Europe from a bloodthirsty Mongol invasion. Inspired by their leader (an elder of an order of warrior monks), they embark on a perilous journey and uncover the history of hidden knowledge and conflict among powerful secret societies that had been shaping world events for millennia.

But the saga reaches the modern world via a circuitous route. In the late 19th century, Sir Richard F. Burton, an expert on exotic languages and historical swordsmanship, is approached by a mysterious group of English martial arts aficionados about translating a collection of long-lost manuscripts. Burton dies before his work is finished, and his efforts were thought lost until recently rediscovered by a team of amateur archaeologists in the ruins of a mansion in Trieste, Italy. From this collection of arcana, the incredible tale of The Mongoliad was recreated.

Full of high adventure, unforgettable characters, and unflinching battle scenes, The Mongoliad ignites a dangerous quest where willpower and blades are tested and the scope of world-building is redefined.

A note on this edition: The Mongoliad began as a social media experiment, combining serial story-telling with a unique level of interaction between authors and audience during the creative process. Since its original iteration, The Mongoliad has been restructured, edited, and rewritten under the supervision of its authors to create a more cohesive reading experience and will be published as a trilogy of novels. This edition is the definitive edition and is the authors' preferred text.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

A Q&A with Mark Teppo, co-author of The Mongoliad: Book One

Q: How did you get the idea for The Mongoliad?

A: It all started with sword fighting, of course. My co-authors and I are part of a Western martial arts study group that practices in a non-descript loft in Seattle. A lot of the initial impetus for the group came from Neal Stephenson who had realized the sword fighting in his earlier novels was lacking the input from individuals with actual expertise. In the course of learning about the history of Western martial arts, he coaxed a couple other writers into the same circle. From there, the idea of writing a saga about the complex history of Western martial arts was born. Since the idea grew out of a group experience, it seemed best to continue the collaborative aspect of the project, and that was how the core team of Neal, Greg Bear, E.D. deBirmingham, Joseph Brassey, Erik Bear, Cooper Moo, and myself came together.

Q: The Mongoliad trilogy began as an online subscription service. How would you describe this first incarnation of the trilogy?

A: At the time, we were also talking about new ways of interacting with our audience, and an online subscription service seemed like an interesting experiment. The edition that grew out of that experience is best characterized as a serialized work-in-progress. Not only were we conducting an experiment in writing collaboratively, but we were also learning what it was like to interact—in near real-time—with our readers. It was, in many ways, not unlike the manner in which Charles Dickens wrote his own novels. The first iteration of many of his classics were serialized, with Dickens shaping and revisiting his plots based on readers' responses to the episodes. He even started to think of the episodes differently—writing more cliffhangers than one would normally use in a traditional novel format

Q: How is the Mongoliad trilogy different from the serialized version of The Mongoliad?

A: We wrote the serialized narrative in one long rush, constantly shifting stories and plotlines in response to writer availability and to what our audience was talking about. I don't know how well it will read after the fact as I think there was a certain amount of inescapable frisson that went on during that process. But it was a serialized experience and much of that emphasis is a weekly cliffhanger, which doesn't necessarily translate well to three separate volumes.

The trilogy that is being released via 47North is a much more coherent narrative where the emphasis is now on world-building and story-telling. The Mongoliad has a beginning, middle, and end, but it's also the starting point of a huge explosion of stories and characters—in the medieval world and beyond—that is still forthcoming. We know so much more about Foreworld now (the world in which The Mongoliad takes place) that we are able to properly understand these characters' place within the larger narrative that has yet to unfold.

Q: What are the strengths of this book-length version of The Mongoliad?

A: Firstly, each of the three volumes of The Mongoliad have been polished, re-structured, and re-edited into the definitive edition of the narrative. The 47North publication is the authors' preferred text. As we said, throughout the serialization a book is never really done for the writers until they can hold it in their hands. We're old school, that way. It's done when you put it on the shelf.

Secondly, having been the guy who had to take it all apart and put it back together across three volumes, I think it's a much stronger narrative now. There are four story branches that move back and forth across the year 1241, and lining up intersection points between the branches was complicated in a serialized non-linear format. The 47North edition allowed us to build a better pace and structure for the narrative.

For example, the Rome branch, which began immediately in the serial, doesn't begin in the 47North edition until Book Two. Which makes sense in a linear story-telling fashion because the events that occur in Rome take place much later than the initial events in Book One. In the serial, we didn't do it that way—much to our chagrin. But we couldn't do anything to fix that misstep. Until now.

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Review

“This off-beat alternate history of Eurasia could be your new obsession.” –i09.com

“This story is pure adventure, with much swordplay and swashbuckling.” –Kirkus Reviews

“A terrifically engaging book that pulled me along at least as quickly as The Hunger Games. Think Lord of the Rings without all that pesky fantasy…Five frighteningly accurate historical sword fights out of five.” –Fanboy Comics

"While there might be some truth to the saying "too many cooks spoil the broth", it doesn't apply to The Mongoliad: Book One. In fact it's a distinct advantage in a book where we see the world through the eyes of such a diverse group of people. Differences in voice make each character a distinct individual while not detracting from the story's coherency or cohesion. The overall narrative actually flows far more smoothly than usual for a book covering as much ground as this one, as events build upon themselves naturally and logically. While there's no indication as to who wrote which parts it ends up being irrelevant. After the first few pages you'll find yourself so wrapped up in the story you'll no longer care who the author is, you'll just want to turn the page to find out what happens next." -Blogcritics

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 442 pages
• Publisher: 47North (April 24, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1612182364
• ISBN-13: 978-1612182360
• Product Dimensions: 5.4 x 1.3 x 8.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (336 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #20,471 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #59 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Fantasy > Alternate History

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

200 of 221 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars "The Tiger Would Pity the Fawn, The Wolf Would Weap Over It's Lamb Before the Mongol Would Cringe Over The Corpse of a Child" April 26, 2012

By Ronin

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

While there are seven authors, the voice of Neal Stephenson is unmistakeable at times. His narrative is often more along the lines of Cryptonomicon than Snow Crash, which depending on your taste may or may not be to your liking (I definitely preferred the latter to the former). I say this because there is considerable "situational dialog", for lack of a better description, where characters have discussions and the reader is slowly brought up to speed. While I found his presence obvious, there are times when it vanishes so I believe this was a good collaborative effort.

The story begins in 1241. Ogedei has succeed Genghis as Khan of the Mongol Empire and his hordes are ravaging Eastern Europe while the new Khan is seduced into court life and overindulgence. The Mongol horde is loose and ravaging Eastern Europe as the population descends into terror. A band of heroes decide a military victory is impossible and there is only one solution; so they set out on an impossible quest.

One character I found interesting was Istvan, who they refer to as a "Madjar", which I assumed to be a nomadic Magyar since he is a highly skilled horse archer. One reviewer was put off by the suggestion of the Mongols being depicted as too brutal. I disagree. Having read all the English-written historical source material on this subject I personally think not a single fiction author has come close to depicting it.

The Golden Horde which devastated north and west led by Jochi & Batu left very little living in their wake. It was a war of extermination and in 1241, the beginning of The Mongoliad, Batu was about to overtake Vienna. The devastation he left behind tells of mountains of human skulls and remains, a vast desolate wasteland; the results of Nazi style cleansing-efficiency.... Consider during Genghis' time his empire contained 110 million people with a global population of 400 million and it is estimated 40 million died as a result of his aggression. Compare that to the 60 million who died in WWII out of a global population of 2.3 billion. I applaud the authors for capturing some of the Mongol brutality.

The Mongoliad is set in exotic locations and no commonality of language, much like a viking adventure, which adds to the authenticity. The book is fairly well researched and the diverse team of authors all lend a quality to this complex tale. The first 50 pages take a while to get going, but once the stage is set the reward is a very unique and original adventure that ultimately spans the centuries as the trilogy progresses. I enjoyed the book immensely and look forward to the next installment, due out September 25. I highly recommend! Read more ›

179 of 211 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Seven authors on a quest for exposition April 30, 2012

By W. V. Buckley

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

Generally I try to avoid books that list a multitude of writers since they often come across as having been edited by committee and you have several voices trying to make their portions of the work stand out rather than a single voice that tries to make the entire book stand out. At least The Mongoliad manages to avoid those particular sins, though it manages to find others that are almost as egregious.

Take, for example, the idea of exposition. It's not one of the seven deadly sins, so it's OK to use it on occasion. It's one thing for an author (or authors, in this case) to drop you in the middle of the action on the opening pages; but to plop you in the middle of the action without even the tiniest hint of whenever and wherever the heck you are only serves to confuse and frustrate readers who aren't scholars of Medieval history and/or never heard of the on-line version of Mongoliad before reading about it in some of the reviews.

Likewise, it was difficult to figure out where the action takes place since there were no modern place names used in the book. I was beginning to think the story took place in some fantasy alternate universe until I figured out that Rus meant Russia. I can't entirely blame the authors for this. Even if it had been published with maps (as apparently the "deluxe" version will be) reading maps on a Kindle is nearly impossible.

There are some interesting passages in The Mongoliad, but they ended up being sandwiched between sections that lean toward the tedious. For example, in one portion of the book there is a description of one-on-one combat between two contestants in the Khan's Circus of Swords. I appreciate the level of realism with which this is depicted, but the battle continues over three friggin' chapters!... Since the chapters alternate between those set in the Khan's empire and the travels of the dozen knights and others who are undertaking a quest, so every one of those three chapters has another chapter separating it from its continuation. That brings up another problem with how the book is structured: there's no way to tell whether the alternating chapters are occurring at the same time or if time has elapsed between the chapters.

Frankly, I was beginning to wonder if the book would make better sense if I read all the even-number chapters and then all the odd-numbered chapters ... or maybe even just read chapters at random. There are portions of a good book in The Mongoliad, but they are not well-served by the rigid, back-and-forth structure of the novel. Read more ›

54 of 66 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing. Expected more May 14, 2012

By stonyhill

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

There is nothing particularly wrong with this book, I guess, but the world is not compelling, the characters are not complex, the fights are not unique, and the relationships are stereotypical. I finished this one, barely, but I doubt I will pick up the sequel, and I've never had that feeling after a book from Stephenson or Bear.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Please, make me care. June 20, 2012

By E. Rothman

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

This book sounded like it had great potential, so I got it on my Kindle to read while traveling. What an amazing time in history! What great writers! I have enjoyed Greg Bear's books and was ready to commit some time before I was caught up in the tale, but after slogging through many pages of (literally) blow-by-blow fight scenes and not much else happening, I realized that I was 3/4 of the way through the book and did not care what happened in the end. Life is too short and there are too many engaging stories to be read to stay with such a plodding tale.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars The court story is good, the fighter story, not so much. May 30, 2012

By Marlene @ Reading Reality

Format:Paperback

The Mongoliad, of which Book One has just been published, is any number of things. It's the first book in something its seven creators call The Foreworld Saga--more on that later. It's also a cooperative effort with seven, count them, seven authors--but it isn't a collection of short stories. It's a novel, at least as published.

It started out as an experiment. A serial novel, published online at mongoliad.com, then the result edited down and published as a novel.

About that serial story, and the origins of the novel, and the effect it has on the book that I read. In other words, why did I go hunting for the website?

The Mongoliad, Book One, felt like it dropped me into the middle of the story. Or two stories.

The book takes place in 1241. In history, that was when Ögedei Khan, son of the famous Genghis Khan, controlled most of Asia, and had stretched his vast empire into Eastern Europe.

Not part of history was the "Circus of Swords" that draws the great Western champions to Legnica in Western Poland. There was a battle there during the Mongol invasion of Europe. But not a tournament.

The authors of The Mongoliad invented the tournament as part of their alternate history, The Foreworld Saga. They wanted to create a story-vehicle for fighters of as many different schools of Western Martial Arts as possible to get a chance to use those arts. (This idea isn't new, Tolkien initially wrote the Lord of the Rings because he invented Elvish first and wanted to create a world where it was spoken)

So, we have the "Circus of Swords". We have a group of champion fighters. What's the story? The tournament is not the story....

One part of the story turns out to be leaving the tournament on a quest to assassinate the Great Khan and save Western Europe from invasion.

The second part of the story takes place at the Great Khan (Ögedei's) court. One of Ogedei's brothers sends a young warrior, Gansukh, to court to try to convince the Khan not to drink quite so much. (According to Wikipedia, Ögedei Khan did actually drink prodigiously)

Gansukh is assigned a tutor to learn to navigate the dangerous ways of the court, because he is more used to killing his enemies with his sword than being flayed with sharp tongues. And in order to have any influence with the Khan, he will need to find a way to get close to the Khan without murdering his favorites.

So there are two stories, the Western champions working their way towards the Mongol capitol, Karakorum, in order to assassinate the Khan, and Gansukh, trying to find a way to save the Khan from his own alcoholism, and the resultant loss of respect. Also, Gansukh has to keep himself alive among the snakes at court.

These two stories are going to intersect, but not until at least Book Two!

Escape Rating C: It took half the book for the story to truly capture my interest. And half this book is 200 pages. If I hadn't been assigned this for a magazine review, I might not have finished.

Gansukh's story is the more coherent. His is a distinctive personality, and his point of view is easy to follow. Also, the "fish out of water" position he finds himself in is one that is easy to sympathize with. He wants to be back on the steppes, and the reader understands completely!

The Western champions are much harder to distinguish. There are too many, and they don't talk a lot. A lot of men who are primarily interested in fighting don't discuss their feelings or motivations a whole lot, which makes it hard to empathize. Everyone is mysterious. The point of view character is Cnán, a girl from a group known as the Binders -- whose origins and motivations the reader also doesn't know.

And is this alternate history, fantasy, or something else? The information at mongoliad.com leads one to the conclusion that it is sort of alternate history, but not yet. A cliffhanger ending is one thing, but this much outright obscurity does not inspire me to continue.

Originally published at Reading Reality. Read more ›