The Road to Samarcand - Hardcover

O`brian, Patrick

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0393064735 ISBN 13: 9780393064735

Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company, 2007

Synopsis

This story begins where Patrick O'Brian's devoted fans would want it to, with a sloop in the South China Sea barely surviving a killer typhoon. But the time is the 1930s, and the protagonist a teenaged American boy whose missionary parents have just died. In the company of his rough seafaring uncle and an elderly English cousin, an eminent archaeologist, Derrick sets off in search of ancient treasures in central Asia. Along the way they encounter a charismatic Chinese bandit and a host of bad characters, including Russian agents fomenting unrest. (Most of these meet very bad ends.) The narrative as in all of O'Brian's novels touches on surprising subjects: astronomy, oriental philosophy, the correct identification of ancient Han bronzes, and some very local cuisine. It ends in an ice-bound valley, with the party caught between hostile Red-Hat monks and the Great Silent Ones, which is how the Tibetans designate the yeti."

About this title

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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About this edition

• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 0393064735
• ISBN 13: 9780393064735
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 272