Book Probe reviews and previews new books, collections and magazines crammed with short stories, novellas, and other works involving words of nerd-related and geeky interest.

The Mongoliad by Neal Stephenson

The Mongoliad has 13th-century warriors and mystics vs. Mongols. The book began online, created by Neal Stephenson and Greg Bear, and it all started because Stephenson wanted to get his sword fights to look right.

To launch the book, Stephenson did this trailer. It has swordplay demonstrations, and it owns me.

Honestly, I can't even look at Neal Stephenson's deadpan without giggling. If the book is this good, The Mongoliad is going to be incredibly fun.

Fireside Magazine

Fireside Magazine is a successful Kickstarter launch.

The magazine is not in physical print, it's in all the e-formats. Think of the shelf space you'll save!

The first issue contains four stories, including one by Tobias Buckell, who wrote "A Tinker of Warhoon" in a 100th-anniversary John Carter of Mars anthology. So he gets my vote right there.

The best title in issue one goes to "Snow Ninjas of the Himalayas," which may be worth the cover price alone.

Fireside's people told me about the Kickstarter months ago, and it promptly got buried in a stack of email. So the thing got fully funded, no thanks at all to us. I'm tickled about that. You folks should give it a shot.