The Mongoliad
Encyclopedia
The Mongoliad is an experimental fiction project of the Subutai Corporation, initially released in September of 2010. The corporation is an application company based in San Francisco and Seattle, whose chairman is speculative fiction
author Neal Stephenson
. Stephenson is the guiding force of the project, in which he is joined by colleagues including Greg Bear
.
The work is intended to be distributed primarily as a series of applications ("apps") for smartphones, which the Corporation views as a new model for publishing storytelling. At the project's core is a narrative of adventure fiction following the exploits of a small group of fighters and mystics in medieval Europe around the time of the Mongol conquests
. As well as speculative fiction authors Neal Stephenson, Greg Bear, Nicole Galland
, Mark Teppo
and others, collaborators include filmmakers, computer programmers, graphic artists, martial artists and combat choreographers, video game designers, and a professional editor. In a departure from conventional fiction, much of the content of The Mongoliad will be in forms other than text, not bound to any single medium and not in the service of the central narrative. Once the project develops momentum, the Corporation envisions fans of the work contributing, expanding and enriching the narrative and the fictional universe in which it takes place.
In the telling of the Corporation's president Jeremy Bornstein, the genesis of the project was in Stephenson's dissatisfaction with the authenticity of the medieval sword fighting scenes he had written into his Baroque cycle of novels. Stephenson gathered a group of martial arts enthusiasts interested in studying historical European swordfighting, and this eventually resulted in some of the members of this group collaborating on a set of stories which would make use of accurate representations of these martial arts.
The collaborators decided the project need not limit itself to traditional novel form, and began developing ideas on how to produce it in different media while retaining the caliber that would be expected of a new work by authors such as Stephenson or Bear.
An "alpha version" was demonstrated at the periodic application showcase SF App Show in San Francisco, California
on May 25, 2010.
The project went live on September 1, 2010. New chapters, as well as supplemental materials, are released on a weekly basis. The Mongoliad iPhone and iPad applications are available in the Apple App Store, and other supported platforms will include the Android and Kindle
.
Speculative fiction
Speculative fiction is an umbrella term encompassing the more fantastical fiction genres, specifically science fiction, fantasy, horror, supernatural fiction, superhero fiction, utopian and dystopian fiction, apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, and alternate history in literature as well as...
author Neal Stephenson
Neal Stephenson
Neal Town Stephenson is an American writer known for his works of speculative fiction.Difficult to categorize, his novels have been variously referred to as science fiction, historical fiction, cyberpunk, and postcyberpunk...
. Stephenson is the guiding force of the project, in which he is joined by colleagues including Greg Bear
Greg Bear
Gregory Dale Bear is an American science fiction and mainstream author. His work has covered themes of galactic conflict , artificial universes , consciousness and cultural practices , and accelerated evolution...
.
The work is intended to be distributed primarily as a series of applications ("apps") for smartphones, which the Corporation views as a new model for publishing storytelling. At the project's core is a narrative of adventure fiction following the exploits of a small group of fighters and mystics in medieval Europe around the time of the Mongol conquests
Mongol Conquests
Mongol invasions progressed throughout the 13th century, resulting in the vast Mongol Empire which covered much of Asia and Eastern Europe by 1300....
. As well as speculative fiction authors Neal Stephenson, Greg Bear, Nicole Galland
Nicole Galland
- Background :Galland was born in New York, but grew up in West Tisbury, a farming community on the island of Martha’s Vineyard, where her maternal family has roots going back to the 18th century. Her mother works as a nurse and her stepfather, a Viet Nam vet, was a Physician’s Assistant at...
, Mark Teppo
Mark Teppo
Mark Teppo is an American author of contemporary fantasy and Science fiction. His work is strongly peppered with references to occult concepts, most commonly those of Hermeticism and Alchemy...
and others, collaborators include filmmakers, computer programmers, graphic artists, martial artists and combat choreographers, video game designers, and a professional editor. In a departure from conventional fiction, much of the content of The Mongoliad will be in forms other than text, not bound to any single medium and not in the service of the central narrative. Once the project develops momentum, the Corporation envisions fans of the work contributing, expanding and enriching the narrative and the fictional universe in which it takes place.
In the telling of the Corporation's president Jeremy Bornstein, the genesis of the project was in Stephenson's dissatisfaction with the authenticity of the medieval sword fighting scenes he had written into his Baroque cycle of novels. Stephenson gathered a group of martial arts enthusiasts interested in studying historical European swordfighting, and this eventually resulted in some of the members of this group collaborating on a set of stories which would make use of accurate representations of these martial arts.
The collaborators decided the project need not limit itself to traditional novel form, and began developing ideas on how to produce it in different media while retaining the caliber that would be expected of a new work by authors such as Stephenson or Bear.
An "alpha version" was demonstrated at the periodic application showcase SF App Show in San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
on May 25, 2010.
The project went live on September 1, 2010. New chapters, as well as supplemental materials, are released on a weekly basis. The Mongoliad iPhone and iPad applications are available in the Apple App Store, and other supported platforms will include the Android and Kindle
Amazon Kindle
The Amazon Kindle is an e-book reader developed by Amazon.com subsidiary Lab126 which uses wireless connectivity to enable users to shop for, download, browse, and read e-books, newspapers, magazines, blogs, and other digital media...
.
Related topics
- 253 (novel), a novel released in 1996 in the form of a website
- The Diamond Age, or, a Young Lady's Illustrated Primer, a 1995 novel by Stephenson which described interactive media
- Interactive novelInteractive novelThe interactive novel is a form of web fiction and interactive fiction. While authors of traditional paper-and-ink novels have sometimes tried to give readers the random directionality offered by true hypertexting, this approach was not completely feasible until the development of HTML...
- Live action role-playing gameLive action role-playing gameA live action role-playing game is a form of role-playing game where the participants physically act out their characters' actions. The players pursue goals within a fictional setting represented by the real world, while interacting with each other in character. The outcome of player actions may...
- The PlantThe PlantThe Plant is an unfinished serial novel published in 2000 as an e-book by American author Stephen King.The novel is about the editor in a paperback publishing house, who gets a manuscript from what seems like a crackpot. The manuscript is about magic, but it also contains photographs that seem very...
, a 2000 novel by Stephen King which was serialized in e-book form
External links
- Subutai Corporation
- The Mongoliad at FacebookFacebookFacebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
from the Subutai Corporation channel - "Neal Stephenson, Greg Bear and friends launch The Mongoliad: a shared universe that could only live on the Web", Boing BoingBoing BoingBoing Boing is a publishing entity, first established as a magazine, later becoming a group blog.-History:...
, May 25, 2010 - The Mongoliad discussed at Futurismic.com