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.

If Stephenson wasn't listed, would you read it?

I bought this because Stephenson was the first listed author, and I like his other work. The setting of this book is foreign to me-perhaps if I had more knowledge of the Mongol Empire I would have found it a better read.

Stephenson's participation is difficult to detect, and there is some downright painful writing in here. For example (I don't know the exact quote and can't be bothered to backtrack and get the exact quote) there is a section in which a priest is talking to the Pope. The simile used is something like "life had been wrung from him like juice is wrung from a grape." Who wrings a grape?

I speculate that the breaking of this story into several volumes is an effort to obtain more money by encouraging serial purchases. I will not follow this story further, there are too many other good books to listen to.

Should not have been released yet

Would you try another book from the authors and/or Luke Daniels?

maybe, once they finish the story.

What could the authors have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

This book just stops abruptly and tells us that it is the end of Book 1.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

The tale might be worth a listen. It seems to be a good start. But this is not a complete "Book".

Not very good

This book has a lot of potential. The writing is very good, the characters are interesting and cool, but the story is just boring.

Just when you think something exciting is about to happen, people talk and the moment passes.

I stuck with it to the end but I wish I would have stopped a lot sooner.

Unfulfilling

Any additional comments?

This book sounds like it will be great, and builds up quite some anticipation just because of the subject matter. However it left me very disappointed and completely unfulfilled.

BAIT AND SWITCH/ STEPHENSON ?/ PLOT MISREPRESENTED

NO HINT OF STEPHENSON (CRYPTONOMICON, QUICKSILVER, 7 EVES). A MEDIOCRE "SWORD AND SANDAL" EPIC CUT SHORT WITH NO ENDING. NOTHING OF THE DESCRIPTION INVOLVING BURTON AND 19TH CENT DISCOVERY OF MANUSCRIPTS... JUST A SILLY PROCESSION OF ODD BALL TYPES ON SOME SORT OF QUEST IN MEDIEVAL DRESS-UP.
THOMAS

terrible ending

What disappointed you about The Mongoliad?

I think anyone who purchased this book should get the next part free, if they want. It didn't come to any conclusion at ALL. I mean did they just run out of paper or was it only suppose to be so many pages long. I'm am used to fantasy names , but this book was extremely hard to follow. Don't waste your time.

Has The Mongoliad turned you off from other books in this genre?

I have listen to other books by multible aurthors (like the Choplin Manuscript = excellent) but this one just did not click.

What three words best describe Luke Daniels’s voice?

I like Luke Daniel's voice but he can't do anything for a bad story to begin with.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

no

Stephenson fans beware!

Bought this because Neal Stephenson's name was attached. I don't know how this collaboration was structured, but the writing was uniformly awful, nothing like any of his other writing I've read. Sophomoric vocabulary substitutions, awkward archaic sentence structure applied unevenly, extended minutely descriptive passages that added nothing to story, plot, or visualization of scene, to the point where I wonder if they were being paid by the word. Stephenson's reputation is built in part on his extensive research, but good research can't cover for bad writing.

This is one of the few books I've bought without sampling the audio. Never again! While Luke Daniels is master of many character voices which are consistent over the span of the book, and there are many small parts that make short appearances widely spaced, his characterizations feel like English overdubbing of 2nd rate anime, which sadly matches the 2nd rate pulp feel of the writing here.

I suffered to the end just to get to see if the plot would rise to some sort of satisfactory point of resolution, but it ends abruptly, like an attempt at a game of thrones episode, but not even a season, cliff hanger.

If you want a well researched novel in a similar time frame with much better writing, more nuanced characters and plot, and a much better more fleshed out and sympathetic female supporting character, seek out Guy Gavriel Kay's Under Heaven. It's everything this book should have been. And Simon Vance is so much better as a narrator.

This Review Needs a Title...

According to others, The Mongoliad is is a work of historical fiction that tells of the 13th century Mongol invasion of Europe. But the dialogue is so fantasy like, after three starts and stops, I could not get into it. Lets put this book into the category of DNF (did not finish).

Too many cooks ruin the soup.

I did listen to this entire series. The prequels that were written by one author are quite good, and I looked forward to the series. Listening to the series was like trying to overhear a conversation of many people and know what was being said. It was not concise at all. Luke Daniels performance was excellent as always, but even that could not make up for a loosely stringed together story line.