Book Review - Gentlemen of the Road

[akaihyo]

Gentlemen of the Road: A Tale of Adventure by Michael Chabon or as we call it around here Jews with Swords (which was the working title of the book). Chabon is to be commended for writing a pulp adventure tale in this day and age, so I do, I highly respect his initiative and goals in writing about the adventurous Jews of the middle ages. However, the book is not great, it is good, a smooth read and Chabon does dialog and character interaction very well. But the historical period is not so much shown and explained as referenced and the action, well, the action is just poorly written, a problem in an adventure story. The plot is solid but fate always turns for our heroes and there are no surprises. Still, not a bad way to spend a few hours. My Grade: C+