Review: The Mongoliad: Book Three

In our review of The Mongoliad: Book One in the spring of 2012, we noted that it ended on a frustratingly abrupt cliffhanger. Now, after the publication of two more revised, "definitive" volumes of the online serial spearheaded by Neal Stephenson (Reamde), it's become clear this was never really a trilogy, but rather a single novel spanning more than 1,500 pages.

At that length, it's exactly the sprawling epic you might expect. Its 13th-century setting is similar to ours, with a few additions such as the Knights of the Virgin Defender, or Shield Brethren, an order of holy warriors similar to the Templars or the Hospitalers, save that their origins are rumored to stretch back into pagan antiquity. Over the course of the novel, a small band of Shield Brethren makes its way deep into Asia in order to assassinate Ögedei Khan, who succeeded his father Genghis as the head of the Mongol Empire. Meanwhile, some of Ögedei's closest advisers are attempting to pull him back from the brink of an alcoholic decline, but in doing so they must deal with rivalries within their own camp.

The history in The Mongoliad tracks pretty well with our timeline--offering "enhanced" explanations for how things turned out as they did. There's yet another plotline about a priest who escapes a massacre of Christian troops at the Battle of Mohi and makes his way to Rome, believing himself possessed of a divine vision (based, in fact, on a famous anonymous text that circulated throughout medieval Europe). There, he is thrust into a key role in the election of a new pope; as events unfold, we still end up with the real-life Celestine IV, but we've possibly uncovered the Holy Grail along the way, too.

The Mongoliad was inspired in part by the authors' interest in medieval combat techniques, and the meticulously choreographed fight scenes are among the story's greatest highlights. Another band of Shield Brethren, stationed at the Polish village of Hünern, are involved in a plot to overthrow the Mongol general there; the uprising they orchestrate with Japanese and Korean prisoners of war plays out like a dazzling action movie.

And yet, despite all the story crammed into the three books of The Mongoliad, the writing team still can't quite reach the finish line; there are enough loose ends dangling in the final chapters that another sequel seems inevitable. At least it's likely to be entertaining. --Ron Hogan, founder of Beatrice.com

Shelf Talker: In addition to sci-fi icons Neal Stephenson and Greg Bear, The Mongoliad's writing team includes "E.D. deBirmingham," who eventually unmasked herself as historical novelist Nicole Galland.

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