Get Lost in Literature

The Mongoliad (Book 1) by  Neal Stephenson, Greg Bear, Mark Teppo, E.D. deBirmingham, Erik Bear, Joseph Brassey, Cooper Moo "Boys who had been brandishing wooden swords a moment ago were suddenly armed with long steel." I don't know why, in my head, I thought this story was going to be a fantasy. Not that it wasn't fantastic, it was just surprising to find this is more along the lines of historical/speculative fiction. And there's a lot going on this book. Mongol's have taken over Europe and Asia. Cnan a Binder--a Binder is someone who helps people find their paths--is sent to guide a small band of knights on their quest to overthrow the Khan of Khans. Gansuhk, is a mongol warrior, ordered away from his comforts of roaming the steppes on horseback to the court of the Khan of Khans...Why? To control the Khan's drinking habit. I admit, I'm not familiar with any of the authors of this book, so I have the luxury of not being able to pick out one author...

“Four hundred billion suns spiraling through space together. Our solar system just one grain on that galactic carousel. The carousel itself a speck in the cosmos. And here I am in this small clearing, on the surface of the earth, as transient and unnoticed to the universe as the dry blades of grass that are poking into my shirt.”  This is the story of Sol. Who lives in a world where modern civilization has been divided into Night-dwellers (Smudges) and Day-dwellers (Rays). When I started this book, I admit I had something like Twilight in mind. I had a stressful week, and I wanted some light hearted, young adult nonsense, that oozed happiness from beginning to end. This did not ooze happiness, it oozed desperation. And I couldn't make myself stop reading it, because I was equally desperate to know what happened next.  Sol, a Smudge, is about to be left alone in the world. Her brother Ciel was reassigned to Day, she has no parents, and the grandfather who raised her is d...