The Years of Rice and Salt

It's a good, interesting book that I wish had ended sooner. The initial conceit is worthwhile: What would the modern world look like without European influence after 1350? We get a Chinese Columbus, a Turkic Da Vinci, and a World War that pits the spheres of China and India against those of Islam. The problem is that after the first few explorations of this idea, you get the point. And the Bardo theme that unites all of these disparate settings wears thin, even working against the size of the stakes at times. There's a lot of good here, and a lot to cut.