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List Price: $24.95 | | Publisher: Random House Audio
Salesrank: 830395
Released: October 30, 2007 |
| Our Price: $6.39 |
| Used Price: $5.35 |
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| Media: Audio CD |
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Editorial Review:
Michael Chabon’s Pulitzer Prize-winning bestseller, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, sprang from an early passion for the derring-do and larger-than-life heroes of classic comic books. Now, once more mining the rich past, Chabon summons the rollicking spirit of legendary adventures–from The Arabian Nights to Alexandre Dumas to Fritz Leiber’s Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser stories–in a wonderful new novel brimming with breathless action, raucous humor, cliff-hanging suspense, and a cast of colorful characters worthy of Scheherazade’s most tantalizing tales.
They’re an odd pair, to be sure: pale, rail-thin, black-clad Zelikman, a moody, itinerant physician fond of jaunty headgear, and ex-soldier Amram, a gray-haired giant of a man as quick with a razor-tongued witticism as he is with a sharpened battle-ax. Brothers under the skin, comrades in arms, they make their rootless way through the Caucasus Mountains, circa A.D. 950, living as they please and surviving however they can–as blades and thieves for hire and as practiced bamboozlers, cheerfully separating the gullible from their money. No strangers to tight scrapes and close shaves, they’ve left many a fist shaking in their dust, tasted their share of enemy steel, and made good any number of hasty exits under hostile circumstances.
None of which has necessarily prepared them to be dragooned into service as escorts and defenders to a prince of the Khazar Empire. Usurped by his brutal uncle, the callow and decidedly ill-tempered young royal burns to reclaim his rightful throne. But doing so will demand wicked cunning, outrageous daring, and foolhardy bravado . . . not to mention an army. Zelikman and Amram can at least supply the former. But are these gentlemen of the road prepared to become generals in a full-scale revolution? The only certainty is that getting there–along a path paved with warriors and whores, evil emperors and extraordinary elephants, secrets, swordplay, and such stuff as the grandest adventures are made of–will be much more than half the fun.
From the Hardcover edition.
Gentlemen of the Road: A Tale of Adventure Reviews:
a great adventure tale 
2009-08-15 - Stating in his after word that the alternative title for this work was"Jews with Swords," you can get an idea of the playfulness the author had while writing this book. Michael Chabon came highly recommended by a variety of friends, and this slim novel caught my eye while perusing the shelves at my local book store. Having never read Chabon before, my impression was of a 'serious' novelist who utilized quirky titles, and with some trepidation I decided to purchase "Gentleman of the Road." I was pleasantly surprised with an incredibly well written and entertaining adventure tale set in an interesting historical period.
The book centers around the scare-crow figure of Zelikman and his physical opposite, the imposing Amram, who as partners and kindred spirits seek to make their fortune traveling the road. They con, they save a youth, they lead an army as Chabon creates a lively atmosphere set in the 10th century crossroads of the Caucus mountains. The characters are well-written and charismatic, and although the book is slim, make a strong impression throughout and remain memorable. I thoroughly enjoyed the setting and while the plot unfolds like a pulp adventure novel, Chabon's mastery of the language is charming. By the end, I felt two things, a sense of wanderlust - wanting to travel, and a desire to read more. "Gentleman of the Road" is in the fine tradition of entertaining adventure novels and a thoroughly enjoyable read.
Gentlemen of the Road 
2009-07-22 - This is an adult comic strip of a book. The illustrations are magnificent; in the style of the great comic bppk illustrators. The plot, rather the episodes, require the reader to remember what happened in the last chapter; sort of like remembering what happened in the last Sunday comic strip. It is helpful to know about the Khazar or to reread "The lost Tribe" by Koestler. A wonderful book. Highly recommended for adult men remembering "Prince Valiant" and "Terry and the Pirates".
where is the Kindle edition of the book he is famous for? 
2009-07-06 - I am sure this ouevre by Chabon is all well and good, but the synopsis starts out by saying how fabulous The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay is - but the more famous title is not available in Kindle format - I'm wondering if/when it will be.
What it lacks in ambition, it more than makes up for in fun and adventure.
2009-06-26 - I enjoyed Chabon's early work; pieces like Wonder Boys are wonderful pieces of drama that really show off his talent for establishing characters and their psychologies. However, this second wave of work, filled with more experimentation and playfulness - from the neo-noir stylings of Yiddish Policemen's Union to the Holmes homage The Final Solution - maintains all of Chabon's literary talent while giving the work a higher level of simple, pure enjoyment. The fact that he creates such wonderful worlds while smuggling in literature? Even better. Gentlemen (I prefer Chabon's admitted original title, Jews with Swords) is a quick read, but its short length is packed with adventures, wonderful environments, surprising twists, and characters who come to live perfectly. A classic adventure novel in the tradition of everyone from Dumas to Errol Flynn, Gentlemen plunges the reader into a 10th century struggle in the desert and creates a tale that's pure fun. I can't say enough how enjoyable it is, and how much I recommend it. What it lacks in the ambition of something like Union, it more than makes up for in joy and adventure.
Kings of the road
2009-05-14 - This is a departure of what I usually read. Its about these two misfits in the middle ages ,who are forced to be theives, because of their religion and race. One is a Jew,who loves hats and the other is a black man.
They are trying to help this kidnapped slave ,who is actually a prince get back to his family.
It kind of reminded me of the Prince Valiant Cartoons that I read in the papers for years and the cartoons to go with the story are awesome.
The writing style is bizarre and cumbersome at first ,but its a short story if you like Robin Hood and that sort of thing.
