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351st out of 3,146 books
—
13,781 voters
The Journeyer
Marco Polo was nicknamed "Marco of the millions" because his Venetian countrymen took the grandiose stories of his travels to be exaggerated, if not outright lies. As he lay dying, his priest, family, and friends offered him a last chance to confess his mendacity, and Marco, it is said, replied "I have not told the half of what I saw and did."
Now Gary Jennings has imagine...more
Now Gary Jennings has imagine...more
Paperback, 1024 pages
Published
June 27th 2006
by Forge Books
(first published 1984)
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Toward the end of last year, I read Laurence Bergreen’s biography of Marco Polo. Subsequently, a buddy of mine not only clued me in to but provided a copy of Gary Jennings’ fictionalized narrative of the Venetian’s Asian wanderings in The Journeyer. I ran across a copy of another of Jennings’ works--Aztec Rage--years ago in a summer cabin or some such place, got started on it, but never finished and never got back to either the book or Jennings.
There are a couple of interesting discrepancies...more
There are a couple of interesting discrepancies...more
I read this book when I was frighteningly young. Basic plot: Marco Polo goes to China and fucks a lot of people on the way there. And back.
The writing is incredibly engaging and vivid. There's tons of body horror in this book (extreme torture, cannibalization) as well as sex... some gay, lesbian and transgender stuff, but it's mostly meant to be titillating from a straight male POV. It's also very racist and intensely, bizarrely, anti-Buddhist. Seriously, Marco Polo hates Buddhism as soon as he...more
The writing is incredibly engaging and vivid. There's tons of body horror in this book (extreme torture, cannibalization) as well as sex... some gay, lesbian and transgender stuff, but it's mostly meant to be titillating from a straight male POV. It's also very racist and intensely, bizarrely, anti-Buddhist. Seriously, Marco Polo hates Buddhism as soon as he...more
Jul 08, 2009
Kerriwyn
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Historical Fiction Fans, Explorer fans, Geography/History
This is the last book of Gary Jennings I've to read. Actually, that's not true, he wrote some book about a hot-air balloon, but I don't like those things at all so I won't be reading that.
If you like Jennings, this is classic. It's the story of Marco Polo. Full of interesting etymological "facts" and lots of sexual perversion. (Hey, you know it's true, lol)
Nothing beats a good piece of historical fiction! It's so escapist, yet, when written well, it's so very informative. One of the reasons I...more
If you like Jennings, this is classic. It's the story of Marco Polo. Full of interesting etymological "facts" and lots of sexual perversion. (Hey, you know it's true, lol)
Nothing beats a good piece of historical fiction! It's so escapist, yet, when written well, it's so very informative. One of the reasons I...more
The adventures of Marco Polo. I was probably 16 when I read this book. I read it because my mom had just finished it. This book will make you laugh out loud- when you least expect it, and make you slam it shut while being on the verge of tears. You will carry some of the characters with you for The rest of your life: Nostril, Aziz, and The Fondler. You can never forget their stories. Some scenes are so graphically horrible it's as if you've seen them and not read them. One of the most emotional...more
Fabulous book, a page turner. Strictly adult rated, but what kid is willing to plow through all of the cultural and historical fiction. Jennings has recorded every scatological word in every language between Italy and China in one volume as well as a rip-snorting adventure story. Also, as an added bonus, find out about all of the deviant sexual practices in said lands.
The book starts out with the statement of Marco Polo, that he is only able to record the very least portion of all the adventure...more
The book starts out with the statement of Marco Polo, that he is only able to record the very least portion of all the adventure...more
While I did enjoy the Journeyer I would have to say that it was not a great read. Sure the story of Marco Polo is a fascinating one and Mr Jennings did maintain my interest for 80% percent of the time.
What annoyed me, however, is that the story is not vastly different from Aztec. Man travels, has many weird and wonderful adventures, is witness to and indulges in some bizarre sex practices and later, reflecting upon his experiences, decides to self indulgently confess about his wanderings in a t...more
What annoyed me, however, is that the story is not vastly different from Aztec. Man travels, has many weird and wonderful adventures, is witness to and indulges in some bizarre sex practices and later, reflecting upon his experiences, decides to self indulgently confess about his wanderings in a t...more
this is my favorite read of all time. Takes about 100 pages to get going, but by the ending after a 1000 pages you wish there could be another 1000. His research into his subject matter, Marco Polo, has proven to be unbelievably accurate. The Great Khans earthquake detection machine was fully describe while I was at the national museum in Ulambator Mongolia. Aztec is his other great book and fully explains how Cortez and 60 soldiers could conquer a nation.
I love historical fiction, and the historical fiction aspect of this book was pretty much an A+ from the start. The plot and the prose seemed pretty immature early on, but really improved, and I was retroactively convinced that the early parts of the book were immature because the narrator was still immature. This book turned into a surprisingly good story of youth and aging, along with a fantastic flurry of random historical references.
Ranks alongside 'Aztec' as Gary Jennings' greatest work. Much like Aztec, it is a first person narrative, this time concerning Marco Polo and his journey from Italy to the court of the Yuan emperor Khubilai via the middle east, Persia, Nepal and finally China (and, later on, several other places).
Definitely one of the best historical books I have ever written, can't recommend it highly enough...
Definitely one of the best historical books I have ever written, can't recommend it highly enough...
Nov 14, 2012
Bettie
marked it as to-read
Number of MP3s: 29
Total Duration: 42:29:39
Book Description:
================
Legendary trader and explorer Marco Polo was nicknamed "Marco of the
millions" because his Venetian countrymen took the grandiose stories
of his travels to be exaggerated, if not outright lies. As he lay dying, his priest, family, and friends offered him a last chance to confess his mendacity, and Marco, it is said, replied, "I have not told the half of what I saw and did."
Now Gary Jennings has imagined the half left u...more
Total Duration: 42:29:39
Book Description:
================
Legendary trader and explorer Marco Polo was nicknamed "Marco of the
millions" because his Venetian countrymen took the grandiose stories
of his travels to be exaggerated, if not outright lies. As he lay dying, his priest, family, and friends offered him a last chance to confess his mendacity, and Marco, it is said, replied, "I have not told the half of what I saw and did."
Now Gary Jennings has imagined the half left u...more
I love to read. I am a voracious reader, yet, this book has captured my heart above all others. The story and the way Mr. Jennings was able to capture the courage and inspiration that Marco Polo had to traverse the silk trail was inspirational to me. At the tender age of 18, it inspired me to travel across our country with little to no money and discover myself. It has since helped me realize that life is the journey and when I feel stuck or unable to shed myself of unhealthy things to which I'v...more
This book started out slow for me, but really got interesting about a quarter of the way through and I didn't want to put it down. The historical descriptions and the stories Marco Polo tells (it's written in his voice) make you feel like you are there, or want to be there! I almost stopped a couple times, but I stuck with it and I'm glad I did.
Not the kind of book I'd normally pick up, but the mass-market paperback cover (not pictured) is shiny and iridescent and, I thought, worth 25 cents in its own right. But now I see the reviews are pretty positive and the book itself seems interesting... in a populist way (he said with a sneer).
I LOVE this book. It has scarred me for life. That's a sign of a great book. Some of the images and scenes from this book have stayed with me, years after the reading. It was so good, I didn't want to put it down, and when I was done reading it, I felt a remorse that it was over.
This is my favorite Jennings novel. I actually read it twice -- and it's a very long book. I've always loved adventure tales, however, and The Journeyer is fine adventure as well as an accurate portrait of the Mongol court and Kublai Khan. Recommended.
I was SO DISAPPOINTED in this book! I thought it would be so interesting reading about Marco Polo’s “imagined” and unrecorded travels – I do so enjoy good historical fiction. And I think it could have been good had Jennings left out all of the deviant sexual episodes. I am no prude by any means, but Jennings went way overboard in the weird and “out there” sexual stuff that it totally ruined the book for me. It was really almost obsessive and somewhat pornographic. There was just far too much of...more
About Marco Polo. Historical fiction, but this writer is one of a kind. The best. Each of his books are among my favorites. For this one he travelled along the Silk Road as it is today in the course of his extensive research.
I learned so much about the Middle East and Asia that my perspective is altered for good. The Mongol Empire with all it's bad beginnings acted the same as all the other empires once they settled down- Spreading people, culture, and science across Asia (by force). GJ also ma...more
I learned so much about the Middle East and Asia that my perspective is altered for good. The Mongol Empire with all it's bad beginnings acted the same as all the other empires once they settled down- Spreading people, culture, and science across Asia (by force). GJ also ma...more
Marco Polo was an explorer. It looks like Jennings was using Polos lost journal and notes to write the story of Marcos adventurous travels. A rich tale, well researched, bringing to life the Mongol Empire and the Emperors Court.
This was a lllooonng book. I had read Aztec previously and this book was based on the same formula, still I kept reading because it was a different setting. If I had not read Aztec previously, I might have given it 4 stars.
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I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Gary Jennings is such a good story teller that, while I was reading the book, I could completely believe that history was exactly as he portrayed it. It was a fun read and didn't seem like it was a long book.
Quite captivating but waaaay toooo many obscene scenes. It just takes off the charm of a good book. I sometimes wonder whether Jennings had some sort of pedophile inclination himself.
Reading The Journeyer requires effort. Many times I will put these books away. I am not one of those readers who feels beholden to finish no matter what. The Journeyer, true to its title takes you on a long ago adventure helping you to understand the polotics of the time and the need for further.
Still And to be quite frank I read this because at the time I couldn't think of anything else to read. My suggestion would be the same. The book will entertain you for quite some time, but it's not one...more
Still And to be quite frank I read this because at the time I couldn't think of anything else to read. My suggestion would be the same. The book will entertain you for quite some time, but it's not one...more
I love this book! It is in my top 10 all time favorites. You really just fall into the story and feel like you are there. I go back and read this book every 5-10 years.
Good book. Long book! I gave it 4 stars because it really is a very interesting historical book. But it had me constantly running to the internet to look up places, people, and foreign words (keep a piece of paper and pen handy to write things down to look up later). So it wasn't an "easy" read! Also, Jennings told ALOT of stories about Marco Polos sex life! Seriously, I'm not sure that was all that necessary, but, I guess, interesting in a way. Recommend it for those who love LOTS of historical...more
This is one of those books I pickup every couple of years and reread. And each time I am completely sad when I finish and know that whatever I read next will pale in comparison.
It's the "unofficial" biography of Marco Polo. The idea is that it's all the stuff he couldn't publish for mass consumption in his official book. It follows his travels from Venice into Persia and across central Asia to the capital city of Kubulai Khan. It's filled with gory violence, depraved sex (every taboo that can b...more
It's the "unofficial" biography of Marco Polo. The idea is that it's all the stuff he couldn't publish for mass consumption in his official book. It follows his travels from Venice into Persia and across central Asia to the capital city of Kubulai Khan. It's filled with gory violence, depraved sex (every taboo that can b...more
Very good read by Gary Jennings. A very detailed writer. Based on Marco Polo's life. What's real and what's fitction? In my top ten books.
"The Journeyer", the tales of the travels of Marco Polo is written in pastels. As distrubing as "Aztec"but a brillant saga.
I read this many years ago but have always considered it one of my all time favorite books. Jennings does fantstic research.
I absoulutely loved this book!! I would suggest this book to anyone who loves a little history with adventure!!
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Gary Jennings led a paradoxically picaresque life. On one hand, he was a man of acknowledged intellect and erudition. His novels were international best sellers, praised around the world for their stylish prose, lively wit and adventurously bawdy spirit. They were also massive - often topping 500,000 words - and widely acclaimed for the years of research he put into each one, both in libraries and...more
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