Conville & Walsh
literary agency
Silk Road
- Author: Colin Falconer
- Category: Fiction Commercial Historical
- Publisher: Corvus (UK)
- Pub date: 1 October 2011
- Length: 496 pages
About Silk Road
The Silk Road in the thirteenth century, made famous by the writings of Marco Polo, involved a truly extraordinary journey possible for only the most fearless of travellers. Colin Falconer’s new novel takes its readers across the legendary deserts of Persia and the Taklimakan, over the Pamirs and Hindu Kush to the legendary Xanadu and the dazzling court of Khubilai Khan – for while Europe was still in the Dark Ages the ‘barbarians’ of China and Central Asia had a thriving and brilliant culture.
Journey with Josseran Sarrazini - a man shaken from all that he believes to be true, tormented by his past and his conscience, ultimately transformed by an alien culture he is pledged to destroy. Ride with Khutelun - a Tatar princess trying to keep faith with her loyalties to her father and her tribe as well as to her own wayward nature. See them find in each other a kinship and connection they cannot find in one of their own - even though their union is utterly impossible. Hate and pity Josseran’s companion, William - a Dominican friar, the Pope’s own emissary to the Barbarian and a man of fearsome zeal but who, near the end of the journey, commits a sin so unthinkable, so appalling, he never finds peace again.
From the secret shamanic rites of the Tatar Mongols to the horrific black hurricanes of the Taklimakan desert, from the Storehouse of Winds to the Palace of Myriad Tranquillities, this is breath-taking adventure on an epic scale.
About the Author
Born in the north of London, Colin drove cabs and played guitar in dark bars and rough pubs before joining an advertising agency – ‘a step down.’ He then worked as a television and radio scriptwriter, and as a freelance journalist. He has been a full time novelist for the last twenty years with his work so far translated into seventeen languages.
He travels regularly to research his novels and his quest for authenticity led him to run with the bulls in Pamplona, pursue tornadoes across Oklahoma, go cage shark diving in South Africa, accidentally get tear gassed in La Paz, and complete a 1000km walk of the Camino in Spain.
A critic once introduced him to an audience this way: ‘Colin Falconer’s novels are based on dedicated research and a profound knowledge of his subject, stories of passion and human frailty drawn on a vast canvas, about the perennial nature of love and the human spirit.’