Neal Stephenson, Greg Bear, Erik Bear, Joseph Brassey, etc. :The Mongoliad: Book One

[sparkchaser]

I saw the The Mongoliad: Book One in the bookstore earlier this year and the back blurb sounded interesting enough but I wasn't really interested in reading about the Mongol Conquest of Europe. A vacation in Kazakhstan this summer made me reconsider that position and when I was back in the U.S. in August, I picked up a copy. I'm glad I did.

Neal Stephenson was unhappy with the way his swordplay in The Baroque Cycle was depicted so he decided to get some hands-on experience with sword fighting and Western Martial Arts in general. Joining him in this endeavor were Greg Bear, Erik Bear, Joseph Brassey, E. D. deBirmingham, Cooper Moo, and Mark Teppo. Instead of paraphrasing, I'll just use Teppo's own words to describe the evolution:

Sure, The Mongoliad trilogy started out as the justification the writing team used to explain why they hit each other with swords as often as possible in the name of research. (Yes, there is a team; it is comprised of Neal Stephenson, Greg Bear, Erik Bear, Joseph Brassey, E. D. deBirmingham, Cooper Moo, and myself.) And what better way to justify this research than to collaborate on a rip-roaring adventure epic that posits a secret history of medieval Europe? We invented a martial order–Ordo Militum Vindicis Intactae, the Knights of the Virgin Defender—and we set out to make them as real a part of history as the conspiracy theories regarding the lost Templar gold of the 14th century. We wanted to bring back the joyous pulpiness of weekly serials while accurately portraying the very rich history of Western martial arts.

That was the basic plan, but along the way, we formed a company whose goal was to realize a new paradigm in publishing methodology, and to promulgate an argument that transmedia empires could be built using small, highly agile teams that could shift direction quickly and efficiently based on customer need and reaction. Do more of what the fans like; less of what causes them to make the ‘meh’ noise. It got very Big Picture very quickly, as you can imagine, and getting lost in that landscape was entirely likely, but we kept our heads down. We never lost sight of one simple—yet very central—narrative question: “What happens next?”

What happened next was an interesting experiment in collaborative writing: chapters were published to dedicated iOS and Android apps and feedback from readers welcomed and taken into consideration for the rest of the story.

What happened after that was that in the end, the serials were edited, combined, and "reissued" in print form to create the The Mongoliad trilogy.

In the year 1241, the Mongol hordes were riding, and hacking and slashing their way Westward through Europe. The ancient order of knights known as the Ordo Militum Vindicis Intactae meet to figure out how to stop the invading Mongols and their plan is dangerous and foolhardy but just crazy enough to work. Meanwhile, the brother of Ögedei Khan has sent his most trusted warrior to save the Khagan from the Khagan's self-destructive behavior.

Overall I really enjoyed the story. The pacing was good, the battles detailed but not overly so, and the writing very good. It read fairly quickly and now I am anxiously awaiting for The Mongoliad: Book Two to come out later this month.


I give it


Oh, and since this was originally an iOS/Android project, there is a wiki to go along with the story: The Mongoliad This wiki is a great way to quickly look up information in the books.

 

[Peder]

Do more of what the fans like; less of what causes them to make the ‘meh’ noise.

Great review Sparky, and that quote from the article is a worthy goal, very picturesquely stated. But it is still not my genre and, after a set-up like that, I can hardly resist making the noise but I will.

However, it does sound like a good one. :flowers:

 

[sparkchaser]

But it is still not my genre and, after a set-up like that, I can hardly resist making the noise but I will.

meh

 

[Peder]

meh

Way to go, Sparky! :lol:

 

[sparkchaser]

Meh.

 

[Peder]

You're getting good at it.
Your delivery is improving.

 

[sparkchaser]

Book two review.

 

[sparkchaser]

Oh, as an aside I learned that there are two studios in my town that offer HEMA (Historical European Martial Arts). How cool is that? They offer short sword (with and without buckler), long sword, staff, rapier, and rapier with dagger.