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Silk Road (2011)

by Colin Falconer(Favorite Author)

3.94 of 5 Votes: 2

ISBN

0857891081 (ISBN13: 9780857891082)

languge

English

genre

Historical Fiction

publisher

Atlantic Books

review 1: So I am a bit torn on this one - it's not quite a full 4 stars. The writing was generally excellent and the setting of Knight Templar's journey from Palestine to Xanadu and the legendary court of Kubilai Khan was quite interesting. I also liked the secondary plot of the Tartar princess Khutelun, and the romance aspect was well done (not overdone). My complaints were: 1) the pace was uneven, 2) Josseran's companion William is very one dimensional, and 3) some of the gory bits, especially at the end, were a bit too horrifying for me.
review 2: This book was not for me. Too much violence, brutality and cruelty. Once the Mongols were established as vicious and ruthless, why keep subjecting the reader to such excesses? Depictions of the filth and disgusting living c... moreonditions were overblown (one reviewer commented that hygiene in the time was better than described). Descriptions of geography were compelling, from mountains to desert and the Silk Road. I appreciate the research into Tatar society, and complexities of the plot in Kubilai Khan's court. Some characters were intriguing but others seemed flat (William the priest, who was also one of the most despicable characters I've met in books). The ending was disappointing and left me feeling unresolved. less

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