The Journeyer - Gary Jennings

[Diamond]

Not really AH, but a damn good book nevertheless. It's the story of Marco Polo, as narrated by Polo, and purports to tell the REST of the story. Very entertaining read, very in-depth, great characters, great description.

I didn't realize the book was first published in 1984; Tom Doherty/Forge just released a mass market edition, which is what I'm reading.

Highly recommended, for this board especially for the wealth of possible PODs it contains.

 

[HelloLegend]

I started reading the book from section when he made it to the cousin of Khublai Khan. It is very detailed. However, for a 1000 page novel, it does not read like Shogun, because it is not action oriented. Instead, it is very detail oriented. He can spend two pages to describe the persian rug that the Khan is sitting on.

Curious fact, is that in the historical documents of the Yuan Dynasty, have no record of a person named Marco Polo ever even visiting with Khublai Khan, never mind being a "trusted advisor." They kept meticulous records of what the Khan did everyday past 1260. According to Marco Polo's writings, he was there until the 1290s.

Our accounts of Marco Polo being in the Yuan court come entirely from Western sources.

Also, why didn't Marco Polo mention the Great Wall in his original writings, where he is supposedly to have crossed, (even though the Ming Dynasty improved the wall, 150 years later across China, the Wall had already existed). No mention of tea either in his original writings.

Very curious, eh?

 

[Prunesquallor]

Gary Jennings combines thorough research (my better half, who did Hebrew and Arabic at SOAS, expressed doubt at the use of a word in THE JOURNEYER. She pulled down her old Arabic dictionary and discovered that the term was used in this context in the 13th century), great wit, obscenity (the circumstances in which Nostril is captured by the slavers...) and horror (the fate of the narrator's daughter in AZTEC). It's because of the last I can't read any of his books more than once. Unusual settings. AZTEC- the life of an Aztec noble, RAPTOR- a hermaphrodite becomes a Gothic general. SPANGLE- a Confederate cavalryman joins a circus. There's also a semi-finished pendant to AZTEC which is on my shelves but I've never got round to reading. He also did a series of stories (as far as I know, uncollected, in FANTASY AND SCIENCE FICTION) about a sheep witted missionary for an obscure Protestant sect.

 

[Diamond]

I just got done reading this again. I think it's the first time in my life I've read the same book back-to-back. I enjoyed it that much.