Download The Journeyer eBook

I'm an aspiring writer, so when I sit down to read a book, I'm not just reading it, I'm also looking at the nuts and bolts the author slapped it together with. So for me, finding a book with a writing style I enjoy is hard because I'm picky about the quality of the bits its made of and how those bits are soldered together. This one has a few ups and downs

Pros:
- Solid writing style: I have not found one, single, solitary typo, syntax issue, or vocabulary imbalance. Good job Gary!
- Easy read: the author doesn't spend needless amounts of time describing places or objects and the plot follows a singe protagonist on a linear plot. It's impossible to get lost.
- Casual length: its not too long, this book is only a few hundred pages.

Cons:
- Booooorrrrrriiiiiing!!!!!!! Good lord, this book is boring. It starts slow, continues slower, and probably ends in a veritable crawl (I don't know because I couldn't finish the darn thing). Aside from 1 creepy scene where Marco is captured Acre, nothing happens. Ever. And when that kidnapping in Acre is over, Marco shrugs his shoulders at the gruesome, near-death experience and decides, "I guess I'll tell no one about this." The sorcerer doesn't come after him again for destroying all his urns and ruining his ritual; and the only permanent impact it has on the main character is, "figs and sesames are yucky now." Wow Jennings... profound. Marco doesn't develop paranoia, or revulsion, or a hatred of dark arts practitioners. He doesn't try to get revenge on the boys who drugged him and left him to a horrible fate. He doesn't report it to any authority figure to prevent others from befalling the same fate. Nothing. Just "oh well, moving on." So why was it even in the book?

As Jennings regales us about one uneventful scene and sets another, I keep waiting for something of significance to happen, a challenge to make the protagonist grow, getting separated from his dad and uncle, the appearance of a love interest, ANYTHING. I kept telling myself, "surely there must be a reason the author decided this middle-of-nowhere pit-stop was noteworthy enough to expend ink on," But we get nothing. Bad form, sir Jennings, bad form.

- Weak Protagonist: The protagonist is a one dimensional, unlikable dolt with almost no interesting qualities. He doesn't have any goals or ambitions and just bounces around from place to place "experiencing" things, being led by his father and uncle---who are much more interesting characters than Marco, as they actually seem to have personalities and things they're striving for.

- Too many pointless side characters: As he travels, Marco bumps into a ton of other people from paupers to princes, and -none- of them have any impact on the tone, direction, or pacing of the story. Marco doesn't really learn from them, none of them have anything unique or wise or memorable to say. Jennings could literally have deleted 90% of these dialogues and lost nothing from the actual plot.

- Pedophilia: Uhh... Okay, so I get that other cultures are different, and this book takes place during a time period long before the present day... but I don't see how the incessant reemergence of little boys diddling each other and offering up their anuses adds anything to the story. Its uncomfortable, unnecessary, and serves no actual purpose other than perhaps to sate some unforgivably disgusting fetish for the author. Blegh.... what a wince-inducing waste of narrative. Jennings was better served by talking about architecture, ancient tools and tech, linguistics and cultural etiquette. Those are interesting ways to delineate their time / culture from ours. Not that any of that adds to the plot either. Which brings me to my next issue...

- What is the plot, exactly? At the beginning Marco sort of gets an ambition: get laid. Its weaker than watered down Bud Lite, but at least he was trying to accomplish something. But after Marco's imprisonment in Venice, the plot becomes: go somewhere else, I guess. But he doesn't do anything. He just follows along. He doesn't learn any cool skills or develop concerns / goals / needs of any variety. Anything can happen in the big open world, especially in those times. Would it have killed the author to invent something besides, "we bought a camel today, then rode that camel for like 5 months. One day I swallowed a bug." The End.

Gary Jennings researched his novels to exacting detail, which gives his usually first-person-narrated stories an accuracy and sense of "being there" that few other authors can accomplish. Since Marco Polo was broadly quoted as saying that he had reported only half of what he had seen and done, Jennings took that quote as the springboard to tell the "other half" in The Journeyer. Oh, and does he! Jennings is a true tale spinner, a titillating yarn teller nonpareil. Although this review site's parameters for violence and sexual content are limited to only three perfunctory levels, Jennings' inclusions of violence and sexual content are of the most exquisite and delicious descriptive language. To be clear: if heat bothers you, this kitchen is likely not for you. Nevertheless, once begun, The Journeyer is a hard read to put down. It's erudite, historically and argot accurate, and just plain fun to consume.

I didn't think that Gary Jennings could top himself after the masterpiece that was "Aztec," but I was wrong. The amount of research that must have been done, and the attention to detail, then woven into this mesmerizing tale of a world that was on the brink of linking cultures previously kept separate by geography, topography, fear, and peril. You will love this book. You will alternately praise Jennings for his mastery at the craft of weaving a tapestry of curiosities and curse him for the sleep you lose when you absolutely must find out where the story leads. This is exactly the kind of book that can awaken in the reader a thirst for knowledge, history, and adventure. Be forewarned: if you lend this book out, you'll never set eyes on it again.

I enjoyed Aztec very much so I went into this book with high expectations. I made it exactly 30% in (according to my Kindle) and I'll read no more. The story is somewhat plodding at this point. What I can't stand is Jennings' fascination with pedophilia. He describes in great detail how young boys are raised and physically conditioned to be used by men starting at age 4. The story's protagonist (Marco Polo) takes a boy of 8 to sell him into sexual servitude. All the while Polo has to fight off his personal lust for the boy and the boy is gladly used by Polo's Uncle. Polo then decides to not judge his Uncle so harshly. These type of descriptions are repeated in different ways. I really don't like to read books that cause me to wince so much.

Gary Jennings did good research and seemed to have follow the original translated work of Marco Polo, adding his own imaginative detail for information Polo left out (personal info and opinions). His early bio (fictitious narrative) is wonderful and sets Marco's personality as an adventurer who is ready for any challenge. The whole story from start to finish is great. It was terrific to be able to buy the book at a low price and have it shipped speedily. I am reading it with two other books simultaneously - Mr. Selden's Map of China by Timothy Brooke, and The Illustrated Edition of The Travels of Marco Polo translated by Henry Yule and edited by Morris Rossabi keeping Polo's activities neck and neck with each. Good books all and each.

First read this book in paperback, many years ago. Hard to believe a book can make such an impression, that you can remember portions for years. Not sure how the author can describe the experience of a long ago traveler, and make it so believable. It was almost like he was in the mind of the journeyer, and conveys the experiences and encounters of the main character with such flair that you believe this is a real biography. Hard to believe the author can describe the terrain, people encountered, and the sight, sound and smells of this journey, without having been there. What an imagination.
Thank goodness for Amazon and Kindle, I can read and enjoy this experience again. Long read, but worth it.

I'm an aspiring writer, so when I sit down to read a book, I'm not just reading it, I'm also looking at the nuts and bolts the author slapped it together with. So for me, finding a book with a writing style I enjoy is hard because I'm picky about the quality of the bits its made of and how those bits are soldered together. This one has a few ups and downs

Pros:
- Solid writing style: I have not found one, single, solitary typo, syntax issue, or vocabulary imbalance. Good job Gary!
- Easy read: the author doesn't spend needless amounts of time describing places or objects and the plot follows a singe protagonist on a linear plot. It's impossible to get lost.
- Casual length: its not too long, this book is only a few hundred pages.

Cons:
- Booooorrrrrriiiiiing!!!!!!! Good lord, this book is boring. It starts slow, continues slower, and probably ends in a veritable crawl (I don't know because I couldn't finish the darn thing). Aside from 1 creepy scene where Marco is captured Acre, nothing happens. Ever. And when that kidnapping in Acre is over, Marco shrugs his shoulders at the gruesome, near-death experience and decides, "I guess I'll tell no one about this." The sorcerer doesn't come after him again for destroying all his urns and ruining his ritual; and the only permanent impact it has on the main character is, "figs and sesames are yucky now." Wow Jennings... profound. Marco doesn't develop paranoia, or revulsion, or a hatred of dark arts practitioners. He doesn't try to get revenge on the boys who drugged him and left him to a horrible fate. He doesn't report it to any authority figure to prevent others from befalling the same fate. Nothing. Just "oh well, moving on." So why was it even in the book?

As Jennings regales us about one uneventful scene and sets another, I keep waiting for something of significance to happen, a challenge to make the protagonist grow, getting separated from his dad and uncle, the appearance of a love interest, ANYTHING. I kept telling myself, "surely there must be a reason the author decided this middle-of-nowhere pit-stop was noteworthy enough to expend ink on," But we get nothing. Bad form, sir Jennings, bad form.

- Weak Protagonist: The protagonist is a one dimensional, unlikable dolt with almost no interesting qualities. He doesn't have any goals or ambitions and just bounces around from place to place "experiencing" things, being led by his father and uncle---who are much more interesting characters than Marco, as they actually seem to have personalities and things they're striving for.

- Too many pointless side characters: As he travels, Marco bumps into a ton of other people from paupers to princes, and -none- of them have any impact on the tone, direction, or pacing of the story. Marco doesn't really learn from them, none of them have anything unique or wise or memorable to say. Jennings could literally have deleted 90% of these dialogues and lost nothing from the actual plot.

- Pedophilia: Uhh... Okay, so I get that other cultures are different, and this book takes place during a time period long before the present day... but I don't see how the incessant reemergence of little boys diddling each other and offering up their anuses adds anything to the story. Its uncomfortable, unnecessary, and serves no actual purpose other than perhaps to sate some unforgivably disgusting fetish for the author. Blegh.... what a wince-inducing waste of narrative. Jennings was better served by talking about architecture, ancient tools and tech, linguistics and cultural etiquette. Those are interesting ways to delineate their time / culture from ours. Not that any of that adds to the plot either. Which brings me to my next issue...

- What is the plot, exactly? At the beginning Marco sort of gets an ambition: get laid. Its weaker than watered down Bud Lite, but at least he was trying to accomplish something. But after Marco's imprisonment in Venice, the plot becomes: go somewhere else, I guess. But he doesn't do anything. He just follows along. He doesn't learn any cool skills or develop concerns / goals / needs of any variety. Anything can happen in the big open world, especially in those times. Would it have killed the author to invent something besides, "we bought a camel today, then rode that camel for like 5 months. One day I swallowed a bug." The End.

Gary Jennings researched his novels to exacting detail, which gives his usually first-person-narrated stories an accuracy and sense of "being there" that few other authors can accomplish. Since Marco Polo was broadly quoted as saying that he had reported only half of what he had seen and done, Jennings took that quote as the springboard to tell the "other half" in The Journeyer. Oh, and does he! Jennings is a true tale spinner, a titillating yarn teller nonpareil. Although this review site's parameters for violence and sexual content are limited to only three perfunctory levels, Jennings' inclusions of violence and sexual content are of the most exquisite and delicious descriptive language. To be clear: if heat bothers you, this kitchen is likely not for you. Nevertheless, once begun, The Journeyer is a hard read to put down. It's erudite, historically and argot accurate, and just plain fun to consume.

I didn't think that Gary Jennings could top himself after the masterpiece that was "Aztec," but I was wrong. The amount of research that must have been done, and the attention to detail, then woven into this mesmerizing tale of a world that was on the brink of linking cultures previously kept separate by geography, topography, fear, and peril. You will love this book. You will alternately praise Jennings for his mastery at the craft of weaving a tapestry of curiosities and curse him for the sleep you lose when you absolutely must find out where the story leads. This is exactly the kind of book that can awaken in the reader a thirst for knowledge, history, and adventure. Be forewarned: if you lend this book out, you'll never set eyes on it again.

I enjoyed Aztec very much so I went into this book with high expectations. I made it exactly 30% in (according to my Kindle) and I'll read no more. The story is somewhat plodding at this point. What I can't stand is Jennings' fascination with pedophilia. He describes in great detail how young boys are raised and physically conditioned to be used by men starting at age 4. The story's protagonist (Marco Polo) takes a boy of 8 to sell him into sexual servitude. All the while Polo has to fight off his personal lust for the boy and the boy is gladly used by Polo's Uncle. Polo then decides to not judge his Uncle so harshly. These type of descriptions are repeated in different ways. I really don't like to read books that cause me to wince so much.

Gary Jennings did good research and seemed to have follow the original translated work of Marco Polo, adding his own imaginative detail for information Polo left out (personal info and opinions). His early bio (fictitious narrative) is wonderful and sets Marco's personality as an adventurer who is ready for any challenge. The whole story from start to finish is great. It was terrific to be able to buy the book at a low price and have it shipped speedily. I am reading it with two other books simultaneously - Mr. Selden's Map of China by Timothy Brooke, and The Illustrated Edition of The Travels of Marco Polo translated by Henry Yule and edited by Morris Rossabi keeping Polo's activities neck and neck with each. Good books all and each.

First read this book in paperback, many years ago. Hard to believe a book can make such an impression, that you can remember portions for years. Not sure how the author can describe the experience of a long ago traveler, and make it so believable. It was almost like he was in the mind of the journeyer, and conveys the experiences and encounters of the main character with such flair that you believe this is a real biography. Hard to believe the author can describe the terrain, people encountered, and the sight, sound and smells of this journey, without having been there. What an imagination.
Thank goodness for Amazon and Kindle, I can read and enjoy this experience again. Long read, but worth it.