The Road to Samarcand

by Patrick O'Brian

This story begins where Patrick O'Brian's devoted fans would want it to, with a sloop in the South China Sea barely surviving a killer typhoon. But the time is the 1930s, and the protagonist a teenaged American boy whose missionary parents have just died. In the company of his rough seafaring uncle and an elderly English cousin, an eminent archaeologist, Derrick sets off in search of ancient treasures in central Asia.

Along the way they encounter a charismatic Chinese bandit and a host of bad characters, including Russian agents fomenting unrest. (Most of these meet very bad ends.) The narrative—as in all of O'Brian's novels—touches on surprising subjects: astronomy, oriental philosophy, the correct identification of ancient Han bronzes, and some very local cuisine. It ends in an ice-bound valley, with the party caught between hostile Red-Hat monks and the Great Silent Ones, which is how the Tibetans designate the yeti.

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Adventure, Travel, Historical, Asia, 20th Century

272 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1954

About the author

Patrick O'Brian's acclaimed Aubrey-Maturin series of historical novels has been described as "a masterpiece" (David Mamet, New York Times), "addictively readable" (Patrick T. Reardon, Chicago Tribune), and "the best historical novels ever written" (Richard Snow, New York Times Book Review), which "should have been on those lists of the greatest novels of the 20th century" (George Will).

Set in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars, O'Brian's twenty-volume series centers on the enduring friendship between naval officer Jack Aubrey and physician (and spy) Stephen Maturin. The Far Side of the World, the tenth book in the series, was adapted into a 2003 film directed by Peter Weir and starring Russell Crowe and Paul Bettany. The film was nominated for ten Oscars, including Best Picture. The books are now available in hardcover, paperback, and e-book format.

In addition to the Aubrey-Maturin novels, Patrick O'Brian wrote several books including the novels Testimonies, The Golden Ocean, and The Unknown Shore, as well as biographies of Joseph Banks and Picasso. He translated many works from French into English, among them the novels and memoirs of Simone de Beauvoir, the first volume of Jean Lacouture's biography of Charles de Gaulle, and famed fugitive Henri Cherriere's memoir Papillon. O'Brian died in January 2000.

The Aubrey-Maturin Series on Goodreads

Reviews

[Jason Koivu · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun, almost Hardy Boy-esque adventure!

Or perhaps The Road to Samarcand might be even more relatable to the tv show "Jonny Quest". It takes place in a sort of Middle East-meets-Far East setting circa the 1930s and follows a teen boy, his uncle and a small, colorful band (only men, no romance to be had here) as they travel through exotic locales in a kind of last-hurrah for the boy before he must return to England for his studies.

Samarkand in Uzbekistan





Here we have one of Patrick O'Brian's earlier works and it shows in the lack of nuance so prevalent in his later work. The characters are caricatures, not the full-bodied beings they'd become in his Master & Commander series.

Though his craft is maturing at this point, he's still capable of enthralling readers with the occasional arresting passage. Certainly the adventures could be more exciting, but what keeps The Road to Samarcand afloat is O'Brian's seemingly innate ability to tell a gorgeous story.

[Ian Laird · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story is labelled ‘An Adventure', but adds up to half of one.

I do not know whether Patrick O’Brian (of the Aubrey / Maturin novels - Master and Commander etc) contemplated further tales with this cast, but the story feels incomplete: the journey has begun but not concluded.

The tale is set in the exotic East of the 1930s, that picturesque Raiders of the Lost Ark period, insulated by two world wars, in a part of the world perpetually in tumult, with pirates, adventurers, Chinese warlords, both good and bad, warring Mongols and formidable Tibetans. And a yeti or two when the terrain becomes most forbidding.

There is a great deal of story. Teenaged orphan Derrick is surrounded by impossibly accomplished heroes, a stereotyped elderly cousin who is an archaeologist, caricatured national types (Chinese, Swedish and Russian), and a young Mongol horseman to bond with along the way.

The descriptions of the perils, the countryside, its colourful inhabitants and their way of life are completely convincing. There’s a lot of harrowing detail, including the opening action sequence- a ferocious typhoon buffeting a schooner in the South China Sea. Later there are icy winds, our heroes sheltering in the snow and assorted savagery, but the characters are not so well done, some are two dimensional, even one dimensional as O’Brian seems to waver between a boys own tale and a bloodthirsty adult yarn. And while there is enough action for several books, we reach the end with parts of the story unfulfilled, a feeling of more to come.

Overall, an entertaining half an adventure set in a colourful time and place.

[Philip · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read a fair amount of Conrad when I was younger and had more patience, and I enjoyed Russell Crowe's "Master and Commander" film. But that aside, I have zero interest in seafaring sagas, and so have never read any of O'Brian's "Aubrey/Maturin" or Forester's "Hornblower" books. However, I'd heard good things about O'Brian as a writer who does solid historical research, and this book sounded like an interesting outlier that fell more into my areas of interest.

Well, I probably should have read the other reviews first. This is firmly in the "boy's adventure" mold (what we'd call YA today); similar to things like Stevenson's Kidnapped and Treasure Island, or - even more accurately - a Tintin story without the pictures. Nearly every character is a caricature, and every plot point is telegraphed way in advance, ("there's a dangerous side valley/lamasery/patch of desert over there that we won't go to," so of course they end up going there later - that sort of thing).

The book's first quarter takes place in China, then the middle half in Central Asia, with the conclusion in Tibet - hence going on all three bookshelves. Not terrible but certainly not great, and not aging all that well. I'm rounding up generously to 3 stars, but can't think of anyone I'd recommend this to.

[Barb Middleton · Rating 4 out of 5]

The narrator of this audiobook was brilliant and one of the best I've ever heard. A young adult adventure that gives some history of the silk road during the 1930s. Derrick is an orphaned American teen whose English cousin, a professor, is going to send him to England for school. Derrick's cousin comes to get him as he is working on a schooner with his uncle in the China seas. Before going to England they make a journey to Samarcand. Along the way they encounter bandits, warfare, Russian agents, Tibetian monks, and more. The descriptions of the changing landscape and cultures makes for a page-turner. Written in 1954 the novel shows a bit of colonialism. I didn't expect it to be so funny, especially with the cook who has scholarly pursuits and from Olaf, the Swede. The villains are archetypes and the ending is a bit abrupt. I would have liked to have gone back to the character Derrick but it is still satisfying overall. I highly recommend the audiobook.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a lovely surprise! After having read all the Aubrey-Maturin series I bought this audiobook from Audible but never expected it to equal that series. Very different in most ways, but still a very enjoyable listen, especially when narrated by Simon Vance. It reminded me of parts of Jules Verne's Around the World in Eighty Days. Although it begins on a ship in the ocean, most of the story takes place during a long trek in Asia, with all the accompanying surprises and danger. Derek is a teenager on his uncle's schooner, soon to be sent off to school. An eccentric English cousin has the idea of an adventure to Samarcand to view some dig sites. They meet up with roving bandits, monks, and various bands of Mongol tribes fighting each other.

[Bruce · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written in 1955, probably as a "boys adventure story" the book is a bit gee whizzicle. But still worth a read. The farther you get in the book, the less it reads like "The Hardy Boys In Central Asia".

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Tintin book - shaggy dog, sea captain, dotty professor, mongol sidekick and all. Excellent..

[Commander Law · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well that was a Boy's own adventure story if ever I read.

Not sure about the ending, did the author run out of steam/interest?

[Reet · Rating 4 out of 5]

This whole book, the quest on the road to Samarcand, is to bring the nephew of Sullivan to school. Derrick's parents were missionaries in China, and had died. Sullivan and his partner Ross, and their crew members Li Han and Olaf were sailing the seas when Sullivan got the message. They sailed to China to pick up Derrick. After discussing what to do with Derrick, they decide he needs to go to school. School is in Samarcand. So they set out on the silk road.

Ugh. Li Han the cook, and Olaf, a crew want to go along on the road to samarcand.
P.49:
"... They grew more and more despondent as the preparations neared their end, and Derrick remembered uneasily that he had promised to ask whether they could go along with the expedition. He could not very well forget it, because Li Han kept reminding him, either by strong hints or else by unexpected delicacies, a shark's fin, an unusually large sea slug or a basket of loquats, all of which were intended to spur him on...."

Their guides for the trip: the three sons of the chief of the Kokonor Mongols.
P.58:
"He spoke to the mongols, obviously explaining who Derrick was, and then he said to derrick, 'this is Young hulagu, this is chingiz, and this is kubilai.' the mongols, hearing their names, bowed each in turn to derrick, and Derrick bowed back, wondering what was going on behind their impassive, expressionless faces. The eldest broke a piece of bread, dipped it in salt and handed it to derrick.
'don't say anything,' murmured sullivan. 'bite it clean in half and give it back.'
Derrick did so; the Mongols gave a hint of a smile and divided the remaining piece among themselves. then there was a silence until their fire had blazed away to glowing embers: one of the Mongols went back to the tethered horses, took some strips of dried horse flesh from under the deep saddle, impaled them on the long iron skewers that he carried threaded in his felt Boot and burnt them roughly on each side over the fire. he handed them round, and Sullivan whispered, 'it would be a good thing if you could eat your piece in seven bites.'
It nearly choked derrick, the raw, warm flesh, but he got it down, and immediately afterwards the Mongols scattered the ashes of their fire, remounted, and stood by while Sullivan attacked the car."

The professor tells Derrick some of the history of gengis Khan, whom the Mongol sons count as their ancestor:
P.127-8:
" 'yes,' said the professor, when they talked about the great Khan that evening, 'he was a very successful man in his way. that is to say, in his wars he caused the death of 18 million people. He made at least 18 million homes miserable, and he ravaged a larger tract of country than any man before or since: he did it so thoroughly that what was once useful land is now desert, and will be desert forever. he was a very successful man in that he accomplished all that he set out to do. But if I were descended from him, I should regard it as my greatest shame and I should conceal the fact. You may smile, derrick,' he said very seriously, 'but suppose you had a small house of your own, and some fields that gave you your living, and suppose that you belonged to a country that threatened no one. and then suppose one morning you found a troop of savage, hostile men feeding their horses on the crops that were to keep you through the winter, taking away and slaughtering your cattle and then coming to your house, bursting in, stealing all the things you valued and had possessed, perhaps, all your life – things that had been earned or made by your father and grandfather and handed down to you – robbing and then burning the house for fun. then suppose they killed your children and your wife, and carried you away to work or fight for them for the rest of your life. you would not consider those men very admirable characters, would you? No, nor do i. however hard you try to imagine that misery you will not realize a hundredth part of it: but if you do your best, and then multiply that wretchedness by 18 million, you will have a remote hint of a conception of how much misery a man who wages aggressive war can cause, and you will begin to understand why I should not be proud of being descended from chingiz khan, or any other aggressive barbarian, whatever Century or Nation he may belong to.' [Ivanka, Erick, Don Jr....]

In the time that this book was written, I suppose snow leopards were not endangered species.
P.205-6:
".... They had risen for days to the last high pass before tanglha-Tso, and they were just descending again towards the snow line when a thar dashed across their path, leaping madly over the rocks: immediately behind it came a snow leopard, gaining on it fast in huge bounds. The professor, who was in front, whipped up his rifle and fired. the Snow leopard seem to check in mid-air. It fell awkwardly on its side, staining the snow with Scarlet blood. It gave a great coughing roar and came straight for them. The professor was fumbling at his spectacles: he had knocked them sideways as he fired, and the others could not shoot without hitting him. but five yards from the professor's maddened pony the leopard fell, rolled, twitched and lay still. chingiz, racing through the line of plunging, panicking yaks, put a bullet between his eyes for good measure, but the great beast was already dead. Chingiz ran forward to take its whiskers for a charm, and the others gathered around it. Lying there on the snow it looked unbelievably large, with its thick yellowish fur and its long, deep-furred tail.
'big, big, big,' cried Ngandze in admiration, stretching out his hands: he bent, cut off an ear and ate it with every appearance of appetite.
'what an extraordinarily bold creature,' said the professor, who was still a little flustered.
'they are very bold,' said sullivan. 'I suppose it is because so few of them are killed.'
'professor,' murmured Ross in his ear, 'you were not aiming at the thar, were you?'
'I cannot deny it,' replied the professor, with a blush, 'but they were very close together, you know, and I assure you that I did fire on purpose.'

A Yeti begins stalking them when they are skirting the lands of the red hat lamas, a forbidden zone.
P.242:
"They made a tour of the far outside ring of the camp: they saw nothing, but still, when they came back, they felt twice as strong, warmer and encouraged. The wind was dropping fast, and the moon was higher now yet there was a dark band in the sky behind it that promised more snow to come. the others were up, and with them was chang. He was trembling, his tail was down; but he had caught the spirit that was in the men. he left them, instead of creeping at Derrick's heel, and in a moment he had found the blood. He scratched down to it, threw up his head, and bayed.
'that's better,' cried sullivan, and as Chang went out, away from the hollow, they followed him. 'we can cope with these beasts,' said sullivan, half to himself. they all felt that the peril could be faced and overcome now, and there were triumphant faces under the cold Moon: but when they turned the yaks' great Rock it was as if a great hammer has struck them all . There were no yaks.
there was one, 10 yards from the shelter; but it was dead, dismembered and mangled horribly. yet still, mainly in the drifting snow, there was the deep-plowed track of the rest. it was a path that forked, one branch going up the valley and a fainter one leading down towards the old valley and the glacier.
Olaf, from high up on a rock, shouted, 'Ay seen one, Cap'n, way down on the glacier.'
they leaped up after him, and there, far away and often obscured by the racing Shadows of the clouds, they saw the black shape of a fleeing yak just turning the corner right-handed down the old valley on the glacier.
'you and Li Han go down and catch it,' Cried Sullivan. 'don't go too far over the ice. look lively. We'll go up and find the rest.' "
Li han and olaf disappear. The rest are afraid they'll never see them again, but they cannot afford the time to go after them. they must get off the glacier before the winter comes on stronger.

Ross, Sullivan's partner, develops frostbite on his feet; they have turned black, so he struggles more and more to keep up with the rest.
P.247:
'Sullivan brought him into camp that night, but in the morning he was not there. there was his rifle, his ammunition, his meager rations for the next few days – there was no more after that – and on top of the neat pile a note for Sullivan. Sullivan had read it and had gone out. Derrick had thought that he was searching for ross, although a light fall of snow in the night would have made the search almost impossible, but he was not. He was sitting on a rock, out of sight of the others. he sat there for an hour, and then, with a face like death, he came back and slowly began arranging things for the morning's march. Derrick had questioned him: he had not replied. Derrick had repeated the question, and Sullivan had knocked him down: Derrick had not questioned him again.
they all of them understood the agonizing decision that Sullivan had made, and they respected it, for he alone knew what Ross had said in that last note that he had managed to scribble in the night.
but that was two long days ago and since then the weather had been bitterly cold."

They are brought to the lamasery by one of the red hat lamas. they are in big trouble now. These are not quiet, pious lamas; they are murderous, hating men. But they are helped by one of the lamas to escape.
P.262-3:
"but Derek hailed again, a long and extraordinarily loud ahoy that came flapping back from the farther side. He raced back past Sullivan and the professor, tearing down the slope. They stared after him in amazement.
he had seen what they had not, and his heart was almost bursting as it thumped with joy. when first he had seen the three yaks and the two walking men he had been coming down to report that the path was still clear: the sight that pulled him up: he had waited a minute to see the yaks and the men clear into sight round the corner before he ran down to make his report of their number and strength, and in that minute he had recognized a tall, lumbering form and one short, slight one with a black Chinese cap.
He sped on, tripped and took a frightful plunge down 50 yards of snow: he picked himself up unhurt and came to a steeper slope again. he squatted, edged on to the slope and slid the whole length of it, shrieking 'olaf, ahoy! Li Han. Ahoy There, ahoy.' he was halfway down the slope and moving at a terrifying Pace when he saw that there was a form on one of the yaks, a form that waved an arm. 'ahoy, Mr ross,' he bawled. Ahoy!' he went smack into a soft drift and plunged straight through it to the other side.
in another moment he was shaking hands, having the breath knocked out of his body by Olaf's huge slaps on the back, asking questions, answering them and at the same time hopping with delight.
there was nobody at the helicopter now. they were all racing down, and Sullivan was the first up after derrick. after a single, powerful handshake with Ross and a quick word with him, he said, 'olaf, here's all the ammunition left. You see that machine up there? There are five men coming down towards it. If they approach; one shot over their heads. If they come near, shoot to kill.' "

They get the abandoned Russian helicopter started (of course they do), Olaf driving, and make it to Samarcand. the end. Jolly adventure.

[Cole Schoolland · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderfully enjoyable read by O'Brian. Strong ties to his Aubrey/Maturin series and common thematic elements abound. However, it is unique to works in that it is what I would call a "Young Adult" novel in its quick pace and simple, action-packed plot. Very fun and refreshing read from O'Brian.

[Graham · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fascinating insight into life from the 1930s. These stories would not be out of place in *the original Eagle* annuals of the 1950s, full of derring-do, manly muscularity, brave folk doing outlandish things, and a view of cultures which were acceptable back then.
This special edition includes a short novel - the Road to Samarkand - and three short stories - Noughts and Crosses, Two’s Company and No Pirates Nowadays.

Road to Samarkand (The title has it as “Samarcand”) is a camel, horse, yak and foot trek along the Silk Road from a port in the South China Sea. Various adventures are had and there is a respectful treatment of the various folks along the way. Individual characters have their own way of speaking, and there is a strong attempt to work the cultures encountered. It was amusing (bearing in mind the current war in Ukraine) to see some renegade Russians trying to fit out one tribe of warlords with mechanised weaponry as a way of destabilising the region! The various milieux of sea, desert, and icy mountain are written well: the dangers are explained well, and you even get a Yeti or two.
The helicopter in the monastery at the end is more of a “machina ex deus” and somewhat anachronistic, but this is just being picky.

The three shorts are prequels to this longer story, playing as they do with the relationship between Sullivan and Ross: having a narrow escape whilst shark fishing, training a skua and a sea eagle whilst on lighthouse duty, and dealing with “pirates” in the South China Sea.

All these are great fun. Worth reading to see what the great man was plotting (literally) before his magnum opus (opera?) of the Aubrey and Maturin books.

[Erica Lyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was aimed at a much younger audience than I was expecting. I didn’t mind that so much, as the story is engaging if a bit convenient. What bothered me about this book is they never made it to Samarkand. Of course the title is the ROAD to Samarkand, but the story ends with them flying out of the Kunlun mountains in a helicopter looking at the aforementioned road. I would love to see the road that takes you from Tibet to Uzbekistan without a set of adventures that would double the length of this book. I have long been fascinated by Samarkand and I was grievously disappointed not to have reached the promised destination on this journey. A good book for younger readers and those unfamiliar with the geography of the Far East.

[Alain · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a gamer and I couldn't help but equate this adventure story to that of the Uncharted series. In a way someone at Naughty Dog drew inspiration for the Nathan Drake/Sully story from the Derrick/Sullivan one. Maybe it's just me but I found the similarities to be quite substantial. The two Sullys didn't have a perfectly clean past record, Derrick & Drake were mentored on the hands of these quasi father figures, adventures through uncharted islands and harshly cold mountainous regions in the Himalayas, Yetis, and the list goes on.

All in all I loved the book, but if it had a more adult rather than a young adult orientation in its writing it would have been perfect.

[Bill Carmean · Rating 2 out of 5]

A third rate Aubrey/Maturin goes to Tibet and other places in Asia. Simply not worth reading. It continues to amaze me (although it should not) that an author with an imagination and an in-depth knowledge such as O'Brien's can write such third rate stuff. But, as I have discovered again and again this year, such things happen more often than not. It's so, so hard to write beautifully and persuasively.

[Glenna Barlow · Rating 4 out of 5]

a true adventure tale - what you'd expect from patrick o'brien, other than the fact that very little of it takes place at sea. i picked this up after returning from samarkand thinking it appropriate although the action all takes place in trying to get to the titular location. it's full of colorful characters who each have their strenghts to bring to the journey. it's a story that might have taken place centuries ago so it's a little surprising it was set fewer than 100 years ago.

[Michael R · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reads like a Victorian adventure novel penned by H. Rider Haggard and published in “Boy’s Own.” Hard to believe it’s from 1954. Unique in its East and Central Asian setting. Only occasionally culturally sensitive. Funny as all get out. Monstrously entertaining. A real page-turner and a rousing adventure yarn.

[Brin Murray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining, very Indiana Jones meets Tintin in Tibet. Hints of O'Brian's wonderful use of language and immense erudition touching on all sorts of esoterica, but essentially a fast-moving adventure story without attempting the depth of the Aubrey-Maturin novels. The end did feel oddly abrupt, though - like he'd got bored with writing it and just decided to stop!

[Janet · Rating 3 out of 5]

An old-fashioned rip-roaring adventure, with ferocious Mongol tribesmen, hidden treasure and yeti footprints in the snow. Daring deeds abound, and (as expected) the good guys win out in the end, although not altogether unscathed.

[E · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very enjoyable land-based plot for Patrick O'Brian. It is set in that vast tract of land that comprises western China north of the Himalayas. The protagonist is a youngster, and parts of the novel seem aimed at that demographic. But a quick and entertaining read nonetheless.

[Lucy · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF. This is probably the most racist book I’ve ever read, with its cringey depictions of Chinese people, but besides this, it’s just not very good on any level. I’ve never read any of the Aubrey-Maturin books. They have to be better than this one.

[John Barclay · Rating 3 out of 5]

For a first novel, at the time it was written, it's great.

For today, it's racist and foolish and not worth it.

It is fun to see the early form of Stephen Maturin in one of the characters, but that's about it.

[Kyra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Disappointing. There are flashes of the O'Brian to come in the canon, but overall this is a plodding Boy's Own tale for children. I had to prod myself to keep reading through to the implausible finale.

[Michelle Bhatt · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Road to Samarcand was surprisingly entertaining. While I found the first 50 pages slow to read hard to get into the story, I then found I didn't want to put it down. The characters develop at a nice pace and it was a fun, adventure story with lot's of obstacles along the way.

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

great narration

[April · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didn’t care for it. Story was unbelievable.

[Federico Kereki · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good set of adventures, in foreign lands. Grouping together the novel (THE ROAD TO SAMARCAND) with other three stories featuring the same main characters was a good idea.

[Sally Grey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book read like a young adult adventure novel written in a different era. It was a ripping good story and I think my grandson might like it.

[Carl · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting precursor to the Aubrey-Maturin Series.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very exciting early Patrick O’Brian, I enjoyed it, but it did seem to end in the middle!

[Evelyn Hurley · Rating 5 out of 5]

A thoroughly enjoyable adventure