GENTLEMEN OF THE ROAD is set in the Kingdom of Arran, in the Caucasus Mountains, between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, A.D. 950. It tells the tale of two wandering adventurers and unlikely soulmates, variously plying their trades as swords for hire, horse thieves and con artists - until fortune entangles them in the myriad schemes and battles that follow a bloody coup in the medieval Jewish empire of the Khazars. Hired as escorts for a fugitive prince, they quickly find themselves half-willing generals in a mad rebellion, struggling to restore the prince's family to the throne. As their increasingly outrageous exploits unfold, they encounter a wondrous elephant, wily Rhadanite tradesmen, whores, thieves, soldiers, an emperor, and discover the truth about their young royal charge.
The first few pages worried me a bit. Chabon’s writing is dense and verges on flowery, and he was intentionally withholding some revelations about the characters, so I worried I’d be in for a dry story with uninteresting characters taking themselves far too seriously while accomplishing very little. Boy, was I wrong! The characters were wonderful, the story was rich, the plot took some great twists and turns, and the ending was deeply satisfying. This is a quick read and well worth your time!
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7 July, 2017:
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