# Q about The Journeyer by Gary Jennings **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 19, 2004, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-about-the-journeyer-by-gary-jennings/230078 "2004-02-19T22:04:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![rdm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2acd7d/32.png) [@rdm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rdm)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2004, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-about-the-journeyer-by-gary-jennings/230078/1 "2004-02-19T22:04:48Z")
(mild spoilers) Does the focus ever change from being a whirlwind tour of sex? I’m about 220 pages into this book. I enjoyed the parts in Venice at the beginning and I enjoy the writing style, descriptions, etc. But I’m pretty tired of the constant sex scenes. I thought it was one thing when the young Marco was first learning about sex, but all the book has been so far is a tour of sex customs of the Middle East. Go here, have sex, learn some new perversions/techniques/names of all the body parts in a new tongue, repeat to infinity. Does this ever stop? Of course I’m sure there’s some more sex throughout the next 500 some pages but does the focus change? I thought there would be some adventure/politics/exploration. I just got done with Princess Shams(shudder) just to move on to 8 year old boys being anally raped as a tradition. All I’ve learned about these countries is their sexual appetites can seemingly never be sated(true as this may be, it’s not what I was hoping for from the book). So again, should I bother to continue? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2004, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-about-the-journeyer-by-gary-jennings/230078/2 "2004-02-19T22:49:44Z")
Well, IIRC, the sex continues all the way through. You get a lot more politics later on, and the sex kinda dies down, but it never goes away completely. Your call. ---
**Author:** ![Kizarvexius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/da6949/32.png) [@Kizarvexius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kizarvexius)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2004, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-about-the-journeyer-by-gary-jennings/230078/3 "2004-02-20T00:15:14Z")
Gary Jennings specializes in writing vast historical novels which include graphic descriptions of every conceivable crime against God and man. They’re like instruction manuals for deviants. :eek: If _The Journeyer_ turns you off, don’t ever pick up _Aztec_. ---
**Author:** ![Yossarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/9de0a6/32.png) [@Yossarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yossarian)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2004, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-about-the-journeyer-by-gary-jennings/230078/4 "2004-02-20T00:26:58Z")
_Aztec_ was like a story in the _Weekly Reader_ compared to Jennings’ _Aztec Autumn_. I’m no prude, and I haven’t read _The Journeryer_, but I’ve read all of the Jennings I can stomach. (And I really liked _Aztec_.) ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Rieux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Dr.Rieux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Rieux)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2004, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-about-the-journeyer-by-gary-jennings/230078/5 "2004-02-20T00:36:18Z")
> [@Kizarvexius](#): > > Gary Jennings specializes in writing vast historical novels which include graphic descriptions of every conceivable crime against God and man. They’re like instruction manuals for deviants. :eek: You say that as if it were a bad thing… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![rdm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2acd7d/32.png) [@rdm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rdm)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2004, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-about-the-journeyer-by-gary-jennings/230078/6 "2004-02-20T03:13:22Z")
> [@Kizarvexius](#): > > Gary Jennings specializes in writing vast historical novels which include graphic descriptions of every conceivable crime against God and man. They’re like instruction manuals for deviants. :eek: > > If _The Journeyer_ turns you off, don’t ever pick up _Aztec_. Dang, that was my next question(I wondered about Aztec)! Sad as I really like the overall feel of the book. ☹ This book seemed really promising but I’m not in the mood for this right now. I’ll try a couple chapters more. Anyone have any similar recommendations for me? I basically haven’t read anything in historical fiction besides The Name of the Rose(real good but too dry at times) and (if it counts loosely…)Quicksilver. I want a thick rich historical novel(or series) from most any period, hopefully with a good dose of adventure. I’m not a stickler for accuracy. ---
**Author:** ![Baldwin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baldwin/32/7264_2.png) [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2004, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-about-the-journeyer-by-gary-jennings/230078/7 "2004-02-20T03:28:28Z")
I’d skip Gary Jennings and just get a good edition of Marco Polo’s account of his travels. ---
**Author:** ![Ruby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/13edae/32.png) [@Ruby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruby)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2004, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-about-the-journeyer-by-gary-jennings/230078/8 "2004-02-20T03:58:37Z")
I enjoyed The Aztec very much. I was interested in the Aztec civilization at the time and found the detail to be facinating. The Journeyor was my second Jennings novel. It started out OK but ultimately I had an awful time choking it down. I rec’d Aztec Autumn as a gift a few years ago and haven’t even cracked the cover. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2004, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-about-the-journeyer-by-gary-jennings/230078/9 "2004-02-20T04:21:56Z")
I think _Journeyer_ is probably the worst for the sexual perversions. Jennings seemed to have a thing for pedophilia, especially, and he can be hard to stomach but he also has some fascinatingly detailed research in his books in between the debauchery. I’d recommend _Raptor_ as the least offensive, sexually. It’s still filthy but it’s not _sicko_ filthy. It’s about a hermaphrodite during the Gothic siege of Rome (it’s not as weird as it sounds).