The Mongoliad: The Foreworld Saga, Book 1

By: Neal Stephenson, Erik Bear, Greg Bear, Joseph Brassey, Nicole Galland, Cooper Moo, Mark Teppo

Narrated by: Luke Daniels

Length: 13 hrs and 16 mins

Publisher's summary

In the late 19th century, a mysterious group of English martial arts aficionados provided Sir Richard F. Burton, well-known expert on exotic languages and historical swordsmanship, a collection of long-lost manuscripts to translate. Burton’s work was subsequently misplaced, only to be discovered by a team of amateur archaeologists in the ruins of a mansion in Treiste.

From Burton's translations and the original source material, the epic tale of The Mongoliad was recreated. The story chronicles the journey of a small band of warriors and mystics as they fight to save Europe from the Mongol invasion of the thirteenth century. It also exposes the secret workings of powerful clandestine societies that have been driving world events for millennia.

This fascinating and enthralling first novel in The Mongoliad trilogy fuses historical events with a gripping fictional narrative. Co-written by Neal Stephenson, Greg Bear, E. D. deBirmingham, Mark Teppo, Joseph Brassey, Erik Bear, and Cooper Moo, The Mongoliad: Book One is an unforgettable epic.

©2012 Greg Bear, Neal Stephenson, E. D. deBirmingham, Mark Teppo, Joseph Brassey, Erik Bear, and Cooper Moo (P)2012 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

An absorbing start

I always love the level of detail Neal Stephenson brings to the worlds he creates. I found it easy to get and stay interested in the characters and the story so I'm going on to book two.

Ends on a cliff hanger

This is book one and only book one, so there is a definite cliff hanger at the end.

Trêu to Form

Having read most of Neal Stephenson’s books, I took a chance on this group effort. I needn’t have worried - it was a fun and absorbing listen. I listened to the whole book while driving. Now, on to volume two.

Gave up after 3 hours

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

I'm not sure. It certainly was flat.

What was most disappointing about the authors’s story?

That I spent an audible credit on it. In the 1st 3 hours I didn't find any reference to Sir Richard Burton, one of the reason's I bought the book to begin with.

What didn’t you like about Luke Daniels’s performance?

Flat reading. Would have been better with an accent.

Wrong genre.

This is not literature, this is a supplemental reading to a computer game. On a brighter side, there are 'binders' and they are 'full of women.'

Not worth it

Huge struggle to get through this. Characters are flat, story goes no where. I wish I'd listened to the other reviewers and passed on this.

Ran Out of Story, Stay Tuned...

Disappointing and abrupt end to this work. The authors did not have the forethought to wrap up the story lines. It appeared as if they hit their contracted number of words per work and decided that was it, we'll finish this up (maybe?) in book #2. The story lines were interesting and imaginative, but poor ending. I expected more out of these authors.

A Quest to Nowhere...

A while back I was listening to a podcast (I wish I could remember which one) where they were interviewing Neal Stephenson. Neal’s been one of my favorite authors since I read Snow Crash almost twenty years ago. The main material in the podcast was over his then most recent work Anathem, but what stuck out to me at the time was his interest in ancient weapons and fighting techniques. He later got together with several (many, if truth be told) authors with a similar fascination. They decided to work on a collaborative effort which involved a realistic world where many of these forgotten martial arts could be put on display in word form. Thus was birthed the first book in the Foreworld Saga: The Mongoliad.

I’ll list all the authors since I’m sure they all want credit: Erik Bear, Greg Bear, Joseph Brassey, E. D. deBirmingham, Cooper Moo, Neal Stephenson, and Mark Teppo. They combine to tell the fairly straightforward tale in 13th century Europe and Asia. There are dual storylines in play – one in Asia where a young warrior is trying to save the Mongolian Empire from courtly corruption and one in Europe following a band of knights on their quest to kill the Khan of Khans. The tales thread back and forth throughout the book with zero overlap and without much thought to pacing. There is however quite a bit of – I’m sure fairly historical – fighting and war-making. Unfortunately all the martial prowess cannot make up for the lack of actual plot.

The book started off slow, but picked up with some early character development. This however played out into a story that went nowhere. Half of this book is supposed to be a knightly quest, yet the heroes never went anywhere significant. The other half is supposed to deal with courtly machinations and intrigue, but only got as far as some thin innuendo. This book did have some interesting characters and seemed to set up some clever plot ideas, but ultimately the story just stops without anything coming to fruition. I’m not sure if this had to do with the multiplicity of authors or the foreknowledge of sequels to come, but typically there is some payoff at the end of a volume that makes you want to follow up. This book provided none. I have some curiosity to see what becomes of some of the characters, but probably not enough to take the time to find out.

I have looked at the Foreworld website, and in the past couple of years, they have put out many sequels and “side-quest” stories. There must be some depth to the series, I just wish this talented group of authors could have done a better job of introducing the world to the reader. Read this only if you have time to spare.

3.5 stars out of 10

Good Narration, Not So Good Book

This book is kind of dull. I didn't know what to expect going in. Maybe magic? Maybe interesting ideas? What I didn't expect was a really abrupt ending. I know that it's part of a trilogy, but it felt like someone took one giant book and arbitrarily divided it in thirds. "Okay, this is 1/3 of the pages, let's break here." I have said many times that I hate cliffhangers. This doesn't even have one of those. UGH.

I will be finishing the trilogy. I got the Kindle editions on a Daily Deal and the audiobooks were really cheap because I had bought the Kindle books. I'm going to try Whispersyncing the second book. Luke Daniels is one of my favorite narrators, but maybe text is a better way to consume this series. Or, maybe it just sucks.

slowest book EVER

This is probably the slowest book I've ever listened to on Audible. I picked it up because of solid reviews and it's got authors in it that I really dig. Very not fun listen that I nearly quit more than once.