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, Wonder Boys), but his heart and soul are with genre fiction. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay was his first dabbling in genre fiction, but it was more of a mainstream story about genre than a genre story. Since then he’s moved into more traditional genre fiction with science fiction( The Yiddish Policemen’s Union), mystery (The Final Solution: A Story of Detection (my review)) and now adventure. So who are the Gentlemen of the Road?

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