The Road to Samarcand - Hardcover

O’Brian, Patrick

3.72

558 ratings by Goodreads

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0007262760 ISBN 13: 9780007262762

Publisher: HarperCollins, 2007

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A classic Patrick O’Brian novel, back in print after many years.

When Derrick’s missionary parents are tragically murdered he is entrusted to his gruff uncle Sullivan, Captain of The Wanderer. After surviving a killer typhoon on the South China Sea, and accompanied by their eccentric elderly cousin, they set off across land to discover the treasures of Central Asia.

Derrick befriends a fierce Mongol warrior and must help him battle a ruthless Chinese warlord. Given a gift of priceless jade, the group is pursued into the inhospitable mountains of Tibet where they are caught between fierce mountain monks and a terrifying unnamed creature that stalks them through the snow.

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Review:

'You are in for the treat of your lives. Thank God for Patrick O’Brian: his genius illuminates the literature of the English language, and lightens the lives of those who read him.' Irish Times

'Any contemporary novelist should recognize in Patrick O’Brian a Master of the Art.’ Sunday Telegraph

‘The best historical novels ever written.’
New York Times

‘If this should be your first experience of absorbing O’Brian, then i envy you the hours of quiet pleasure to come.’ Yorkshire Post

From the Publisher:

This stand-alone adventure novel from O'Brian (1914-2000) saw British
publication in 1954, before the Aubrey/Maturin historicals that made his
name. In the years before WWII, the teenage Derrick, orphaned by his
missionary parents, sails the China seas aboard the schooner Wanderer with
his American uncle Terrence Sullivan (who is the captain), his elderly
English cousin Ayrton (a professor of archeology) and Sullivan's business
partner, Mr. Ross. Ayrton wants Derrick to leave the sea and attend school,
but first they'll all embark on an archeological expedition to Samarcand
(in what is now Uzbekistan). Marauding rebels capture Ross and Sullivan
early on, and Ayrton (the most intriguing of the adult characters) pretends
to be a Russian weapons expert to free them. Earthy, sly humor keeps the
action set pieces perking along: frigid temperatures, militaristic Tibetan
monks and even the Abominable Snowman await. Six decades later, O'Brian's
richly told adventure saga, with its muscular prose, supple dialogue and
engaging characters, packs a nice old-school punch. (July)
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