'The Mongoliad (Book 1)' by Neal Stephenson, Greg Bear and Friends
"The Mongoliad" began as a series of iOS and Android apps (paid and free) that Stephenson called an experiment in "post-book story-telling," a collaborative story that originated as "a serial novel with a number of social media attachments." Now it's just a book, thank you very much. If you ponied up the subscription fee since the project began in 2010, you might feel a bit chagrined that the final, edited novel with a bunch of changes is now available as a "definitive edition," but everyone else will just appreciate being able to read it. Historical fiction heavy on accuracy, especially in the sword fights and martial arts as the protagonist mystics and European knights penetrate the Mongol empire, it won't satisfy Nealies expecting another "Anathem" or even "Quicksilver," but it's still pretty dang good. As a bonus, the sequel is already available and the final book will be released next February. -- David Katzmaier
Buy exclusively on Amazon Kindle.
November 16, 2012 4:18 PM PST
Photo by: Amazon
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