Gentlemen of the Road - Tapa dura

'Perfection. There are perhaps four other books I've loved this much, and none have made me cry more.' -- Daily Telegraph on Kavalier & Clay 'Dazzling. Chabon has not so much attempted the great American novel as brought to life the idea that it had already been written - week by week, in the humble heroism of the comic book.' -- Independent on Kavalier & Clay 'It's absolutely gosh-wow, super-colossal - smart, funny, and a continual pleasure to read.' -- Washington Post on Kavalier & Clay 'A superb creation, a raucously comic yet deeply lyrical work' -- Sunday Times on Wonder Boys 'Mingles wit, sex and fine writing' -- Sunday Telegraph on MYSTERIES OF PITTSBURGH

GENTLEMEN OF THE ROAD is set in the Kingdom of Arran, in the Caucasus Mountains, between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, A.D. 950. It tells the tale of two wandering adventurers and unlikely soulmates, variously plying their trades as swords for hire, horse thieves and con artists - until fortune entangles them in the myriad schemes and battles that follow a bloody coup in the medieval Jewish empire of the Khazars. Hired as escorts for a fugitive prince, they quickly find themselves half-willing generals in a mad rebellion, struggling to restore the prince's family to the throne. As their increasingly outrageous exploits unfold, they encounter a wondrous elephant, wily Rhadanite tradesmen, whores, thieves, soldiers, an emperor, and discover the truth about their young royal charge.