The Road to Samarcand by Patrick O'brian
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.
One of our greatest contemporary novelists, Patrick O’Brian is the author of the twenty volumes of the best-selling Aubrey/Maturin series, as well as many other books, including Testimonies, The Golden Ocean, The Unknown Shore, and biographies of Joseph Banks and Picasso.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780393064735 |
| ISBN 10 | 0393064735 |
| Title | The Road to Samarcand |
| Author | Patrick O'brian |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Publisher | WW Norton & Co |
| Year published | 2007-07-03 |
| Number of pages | 272 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |