Category: Fantasy

47North
For Immediate Release

Elena Stokes, Wunderkind PR
elena@wunderkind-pr.com, 917.887.0784
Justin Golenbock, 47North
golenboc@amazon.com, 646-753-5768

47North Celebrates the Publication of THE MONGOLIAD: BOOK THREE by Neal Stephenson, Greg Bear, Mark Teppo, Nicole Galland, Erik Bear, Joseph Brassey, and Cooper Moo

New York, NY:   In 2012, fans of Neal Stephenson and Greg Bear were introduced to The Mongoliad: Book One and The Mongoliad: Book Two, the first two installments in the Foreworld Saga, a collaborative series unlike any other that has enthralled fans of fantasy, martial arts, and historical fiction. io9 raved has raved about the series : “This off-beat alternate history of Eurasia could be your new obsession.” Readers can now conclude this extraordinary journey this February with the final leg of the Foreworld journey, THE MONGOLIAD: BOOK THREE.

The Foreworld medieval adventure saga was actually born out of swordfighting.  Stephenson and his fellow authors are avid practitioners of Western martial arts and they are part of an enthusiastic study group in Seattle.  When Stephenson realized that the descriptions of swordfighting in his novels would have been much better with contributions from people with fighting expertise, the idea for a saga about the complex, bloody history of Western martial arts was born, featuring Neal Stephenson, Greg Bear, Mark Teppo, Nicole Galland, Joseph Brassey, Erik Bear, and Cooper Moo.

THE MONGOLIAD: BOOK THREE (47North, February 26, 2013; $14.95 trade paperback, $9.99 digital) is the riveting third and final installment in this epic tale.

The shadow of Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II hangs over the shattered Holy Roman Church as the cardinals remain deadlocked, unable to choose a new pope. Only the Binders and a mad priest have a hope of uniting the Church against the invading Mongols. An untested band of young warriors stands against the dissolute Khan, Onghwe, fighting for glory and freedom in the Khan’s sadistic circus of swords, and the brave band of Shield-Brethren who set out to stop the Mongol threat single-handedly race against their nemesis before he can raise the entire empire against them. Veteran knight Feronantus, haunted by his life in exile, leads the dwindling company of Shield-Brethren to their final battle, molding them into a team that will outlast him. No good hero lives forever…or fights alone.

In this third and final book of the Mongoliad trilogy from Neal Stephenson and company, the gripping personal stories of medieval freedom fighters form an epic, imaginative recounting of a moment in history when a world in peril relied solely on the courage of its people.

About the authors:

• Neal Stephenson is a New York Times bestselling author and has received numerous awards including the Hugo and the Nebula for his works in speculative fiction. His more popular books include Snow Crash, The Diamond Age, Cryptonomicon, The Baroque Cycle, Anathem, and Reamde.

• Greg Bear is the author of more than thirty books, spanning the thriller, science fiction, and fantasy genres, including Blood Music, Eon, The Forge of God, Darwin’s Radio, City at the End of Time, and Hull Zero Three. His books have won numerous international prizes, have been translated into more than twenty-two languages, and have sold millions of copies worldwide.

• Nicole Galland studied comparative religion and theatre at Harvard University and believes they are pretty much the same thing. She is the author of The Fool’s Tale and I, Iago and has written under various pseudonyms, including E.D. deBirmingham, much to the dismay of her mother, who wishes hers was a household name. She lives in rural Massachusetts with her husband and the world’s best dog.

• Mark Teppo is the author of the Codex of Souls urban fantasy series as well as the hypertext dream narrative The Potemkin Mosaic.

• Joseph Brassey lives in the Pacific Northwest with his wife and two cats. He teaches medieval fighting techniques to members of the armed forces. The Mongoliad is his first published fiction.

• Erik Bear lives and writes in Seattle, Washington. He has written for a bestselling video game and is currently working on several comic book series.

• Cooper Moo spent five minutes in Mongolia in 1986 before he had to get back on the train—he never expected to be channeling Mongolian warriors. In 2007 Cooper fought a Chinese long-sword instructor on a Hong Kong rooftop—he never thought the experience would help him write battle scenes. In addition to being a member of The Mongoliad writing team, Cooper has written articles for various magazines including Seattle Weekly. He lives in Issaquah, Washington, with his wife, three children, and numerous bladed weapons.

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THE MONGOLIAD: BOOK THREE

By Neal Stephenson, Greg Bear, Mark Teppo, Nicole Galland, Joseph Brassey, Erik Bear & Cooper Moo

On-sale: February 26, 2013, 47North

ISBN-13: 978-1612182384, ISBN-10: 1612182380

$14.95 trade paperback; $9.99 digital

Chapter 1 Excerpt:

1241

Veturnætur

CHAPTER 1:

Leaving Finn

The Shield-Brethren buried Finn on the hill where they had set up camp. “It is not as grand as one of those burial mounds—the kurgans—we have seen,” Raphael pointed out to Feronantus, “but it has a view of where we came from, and the sun will always warm the ground.” Given the choice, Finn had always preferred to sleep outside, where the sun could find him and warm his bones in the morning. Finn may not have been a sworn member of the Shield-Brethren, but he was a feral brother to many of them.

One by one the members of the Shield-Brethren attacked the rocky ground of the hilltop. Without coming out and saying as much, they all wanted to be the one to dig Finn’s grave, as if the backbreaking labor would somehow assuage their individual guilt. It was not that they valued Finn above their other fallen comrades—the loss of any brother was equally horrific—but each was racked with a sense of responsibility for the circumstances of the hunter’s death.

As he prepared Finn’s body for burial, Raphael tried not to let his thoughts dwell on other members of their company whom they had lost. Or even his own role in the deaths of those dear friends. With Vera’s assistance, he laid the small man’s body on Percival’s cloak—the knight refused to hear otherwise—and arranged Finn’s limbs as best he could. The stiffness that creeps into a man’s body in the wake of death had filled Finn, and one of his arms resisted Raphael’s efforts. His face, once it had been tenderly washed by Vera, was surprisingly boyish. Raphael felt the weight of his years when he saw the delicate lashes and the unlined swath of forehead clearly for the first time. Too young, he thought, to die so far from home.

And he realized how little he knew of Finn. How little any of them knew.

“Wait,” he said to Vera as she made to cover Finn’s face with Percival’s cloak. He strode to his bags and dug out his worn journal and his writing instruments. With the sun peering over his shoulder, he sat and carefully sketched Finn’s face on a blank page.

There will be a record, he promised his dead friend. You will not be forgotten.

Praise for the Foreworld Saga

The Mongoliad: Book One & The Mongoliad: Book Two

“Stephenson’s knack for dense historical detail combines with lots of sword-swinging adventure…As it stands, the book itself is a romp through this thinly fictional historic period, one that is full of well-described swordplay and richly imagined characters. The transitions between the voices of Bear, Teppo, deBirmingham, Bear (again), Brassey, and Moo is seamless. The Mongoliad: Book One feels like the start of a truly epic adventure.”

—Locus Magazine on The Mongoliad: Book One

“This off-beat alternate history of Eurasia could be your new obsession.”

—io9 on The Mongoliad: Book One

“The pacing is taut throughout..the fight scenes in particular are written exceptionally well, with a clarity and subtlety missing from just about every other representation of medieval warfare in prose or on film. The authors have clearly done their homework on the period, but they wear their collective education lightly; the result is a world with depth and texture, not a history textbook. Fans of Brian Wood’s Viking comic Northlanders, for instance, will find a lot to like here; The Mongoliad has a similar blend of action, period detail, and modern vernacular that somehow doesn’t feel out of place.”

—Tor.com on The Mongoliad: Book One

“Multiple battles, torture, betrayal scenes, and more fill these pages…one gets a surface glimpse into the prevailing culture in Northern Asia and Europe at the time.”

—Historical Novel Review on The Mongoliad: Book Two

“Suggestions of revelations to come combine with expertly crafted fight sequences and immensely enjoyable characters to hold the reader’s interest.”

—Publishers Weekly on The Mongoliad: Book Two