Conrad's Quest for Rubber

Conrad Stargard #6

by Leo Frankowski

ONWARD AND OUTWARD
Conrad Stargard has come a long way since he was first transported from the twentieth century to the thirteenth. Thanks to his knack for "inventing" such astonishing things as steam engines, machine guns, radios, and riverboats, he's turned Medieval Poland into a military powerhouse--capable of repelling invasions by marauding Mongols and Teutonic troops alike.
Now, with enemies vanquished, industry booming, and peace in the land, it is time to continue Poland's remarkable technological progress. And doing so requires harvesting raw materials only Lord Conrad knows where to "discover." Thus is founded the Explorer's Corps, whose intrepid members set out to map new frontiers from the Arctic Circle to the Amazon. But can even Conrad's knowledge of the far future prepare him and his subjects for what lies just beyond the borders of their kingdom?

Genres: Science Fiction, Time Travel, Alternate History, Fiction, Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Historical

292 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published December 1, 1998

Reviews

[Matthew Esham · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was the worst book of the series for me.

Leo takes the last couple of books and retells basically the same story from the view of a peasant who was at Okoitz and then joins the army, re-hashing the highlights of the other books.

Unfortunately for me, the magic was gone. I remember readign this book years ago and thinking it was just okay - but on reading it again I wasn't even able to finish it. It just got to be too boring.

I will miss you Leo Frankowski. I really liked the Conrad series, and was sad to see you passed away. I would have loved to read a conquest of Europe set of Conrad books.

[Ivan · Rating 1 out of 5]

The first third of the book is a boring retelling of the previous two books.
The next third of the book is a record of an unrelated battle (and how great Conrad's armies are).
The last third of the book is, finally, the quest for rubber. Which ends in a disaster that is quickly deus-ex-machinae'd away.

No plot structure to be seen. The whole book is pretty much a record of what happened, with no arcs to speak of, and with author's wanking material sprinkled in between. I think I prefer my smut with more plot and less roman salutes.

[Brentman99 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Conrad's Quest for Rubber was a welcome addition to the series because it sees him starting to explore the larger world around him. In order to move some of his technologies forward, Conrad needs rubber and the flexibility (pun intended) that it will bring with it. Thus, he establishes and equips a group called the Explorer's Corps.

This book was a major departure from the previous books, in that it focused on the diary of one main member who was a very minor character in previous books, even then only for a moment. While Conrad himself had a few moments in the book, Josip Sobieski, the corpsman who worked on Conrad's eye wound when fighting the Mongols, is the major player.

I think that this was a good change, however, it some ways it meant that the first quarter to third of the book was Josip retelling things that we had already seen from Conrad's point of view. While some of that worked, other parts were a bit boring.

I did like the expanded part about the bioengineered beings (Maude) and found the Explorer Corps time in the Amazon very interesting. But the part of the "invasion" of Conrad's territory by the Margrave of Brandenburg was a bit anti-climatic. The part where he calls upon his cousin, Tom, to help him solve the huge disease problem that he started in South America was a bit of a forced solution, but it worked.

Finally, I have to say that I gave the book only three stars because I was quite unhappy with the final ending. Here, Josip finally reunites with his father, then basically says, "Screw you for treating me like an asshole for so long," then packs up his wives and rides off. Not ending on a high note, that's for sure.

Overall, I still enjoyed the book because they are quick reads and the concept is so good. I have really enjoyed the series and will look forward to re-reading it when I retire in another ten years.

Worth the time spent reading.

[Barry Haworth · Rating 1 out of 5]

I think it was morbid curiousity that inspired me to read this book. This is a continuation of the Cross Time engineer series, in which a 20th century engineer is transported to 13th century Poland, and proceeds to industrialise it. The first part of this book is a recap of the series to date told from a different POV, while the rest deals with what happens after. Having dominated Europe, a program of exploration is embarked on, with various consequences good and bad. The book has all the flaws of the the rest of the series, with all of the wish fullfilment (technological and otherwise) of it's predecessors. So, while it was an interesting though experiment to imagine exploring the world in the 13th century using steam ships, I came away from this book wishing that I hadn't bothered.

[Elizabeth Rebecca Shaw · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is better than the previous one. It doesn't follow Conrad very much at all but is more focused on one of his subordinates, Josef. Josef is trained to handle boats along with his little group of friends after the big Mongol war and then is trained to do international exploring. It follows them to South America in search for rubber. There is some nonsense regarding future interference that tends to ruin the story in my opinion.

[Molly Hart · Rating 2 out of 5]

Definitely not the worst book in the series, but my god did this book have problems. Good lord! Thank god Conrad's cousin was able to miraculously create a cure of literally every disease known to man to prevent the death of the entire indigenous population of South America.

[Arthur · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is very little about Conrad (who, by this point in the series isn't all that likeable or interesting anyway), but does take place in the world. I was pleasantly surprised by this book and it felt the author was back in the game and enjoying writing the series again. The plot is interesting and the sense of exploration is really fun.

What I didn't find as interesting was the introduction of the sexbot, and most especially how unrealistic the reactions of the characters to her. Throughout the series, it's felt to me like the women have been somewhat unrealistic in their views on sex. In books 1-4, though, a lot of it could be attributed to the eccentricities of Count Lambert (the medieval Polish Hugh Heffner) and it kind of added a comedic element at times. Mostly, though, it's just felt like the author's teenage fantasies leaking through. Fine, whatever, as a guy I can see how it can be fun to think about sometimes, but in reality, a steady diet of bimbos just seems boring. In any case, up until the last book, it was pretty much ignorable and wasn't a huge part of the series. In book 5 (Lord Conrad's Lady), the women just started being completely unrealistic and it started feeling uncomfortable. In this book, it gets even worse, and the introduction of Maude the sexbot just made me roll my eyes and wince.

Luckily, unlike book 5, this book has more meat to the plot and it's easier to ignore the sex fantasies, because if you can get past that, there's some good writing and an interesting story here.

[Jon]

It had been a long time since the previous book in this series came out, so I was a little lost to start with, but I rapidly got into the story. The first book in the series was The Crosstime Engineer, but I couldn't tell you off the top of my head what the rest of them were named. This is a Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's court type of theme - with the hero sent to 12th century Poland rather than England, but...


For a change, the story isn't told, primarily, from Conrad's point of view, but is presented as excerpts from the journal of a baker's son named Josip. Josip isn't too happy with the bakery business, and doesn't look forward to inheriting the business from his father when the time comes, so when he is drafted into the army to fight the invading hordes, he takes to military life with a will.

We follow the story of his military service on Conrad's riverboats, then converted to the merchant marines (sorta). Eventually, he joins the new Explorer Corps and goes on journeys north to the Arctic Circle and south to Brazil, in search of rubber, which Conrad's new industrial society needs for a variety of reasons.

Lots of action, in both the art of war and the art of love (I almost think that the book should be titled Conrad's Quest for A Condom, but-). The book is a quick read, and I recommend it, as well as all the other novels in the series, to anyone who's ever wished that they "knew then what we know now."

[Wolfgarrr · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have to say, the first few books in this series was pretty good. But the longer i read this series the more the main character seams like a idiot. What got to me about this book is the main character doesn't even make a appearance until nearly 160+ pages into the book (Ebook format, 160 out of 487 pages).

Another thing that really annoyed me was the fact we basically have to reread the first few books, just told from someone else s perspective. No new material for all practical purposes.

This book was a disappointment..

[Richard · Rating 2 out of 5]

the Deus ex machina aspects of this series are starting to become somewhat annoying. Like many authors of series, the first one or two are truly novel and fun, the later ones are "turn the crank and cash the paycheck". I am reminded of Piers Anthony who wrote "A Spell for Chameleon" and then wrote a series of increasingly lame pun-themed sequels.

[Lars Dradrach · Rating 2 out of 5]

Second book in a row where Leo lets another POV retell most of the previous books with only slightly different words, it's quite annoying and I have to admit I skimmed quickly though most of it. The rest of the story was definitely weaker than the previous more repetitive and even more unbelievable, this is where I leave the series, RIP Conrad.

[Fatbaldguy60 · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite time travel books/series ever.

[Bryan457 · Rating 2 out of 5]

A few good things, but mostly a don't bother. The new pygmy wife was kinda disturbing/strange sexually.

[Shawn Deal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another book I loved in this series. Conrad is barely in this book, as the book really revolves around a character that he sends out on adventures. Still loved it.

[Little Timmy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredibly good series. The baisc man-out-of-time story line but very involved. Excellent characters and story. Highly recommended.

[Justin Overton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Staring to get a bit too far fetched......but anything goes I suppose in alternate realities