There’s a tendency in recent years for highly regarded mainstream writers to dabble in genre fiction. Writers such as Ian McEwan with Solar (my review) are writing science fiction books, but I have trouble enjoying them because it’s not clear that they enjoy the genre. Michael Chabon, on the other hand, started out as a mainstream writer (Mysteries of Pittsburgh
Zelikman (described as a black-clad scarecrow who knows some medicine) and Amram (a giant Nubian who’s smarter than he looks) are our two heroes. They make their living (if you can call it that) as mercenaries and pulling scams (such as fake fighting each other and collecting the money from bets). They are enlisted to deliver Filaq (the remaining survivor of his fathers family) to his mother’s people. Filaq’s father was one of the twin kings (in a weird political setup) of a city and was overthrown by his brother. Filaq wants revenge, but the heroes are planning on returning him to his intended destination. Until life intervenes.
There is kidnapping, battles, elephants, sword play, medicine, horse riding, horse thievery, surprises and adventure. In the afterward, Chabon mentions that the working title for his book was Jews with Swords. It’s a book very much in the tradition of Rudyard Kipling and James Fenimore Cooper. It’s a well written boys adventure story, the type of which you don’t see much anymore. It’s a wonderful story with fun characters. The characters are mostly there to serve the plot, rather than be the focus of the story. But they do a good job serving the plot. Chabon is a master writer and we’re lucky to have him firmly in the genre camp. Highly recommended.
It wasn’t until after I’d finished Gentlemen of the Road that I realized what a wonderful book it was.