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The Silk Tree
Forced to flee Rome from the barbaric rampages of the Ostrogoths, merchant Nicander meets an unlikely ally in the form of Marius, a fierce Roman legionary. Escaping to a new life in Constantinople, the two land upon its shores lonely and penniless. Needing to make money fast, they plot and plan a number of outrageous money-making schemes, until they chance upon their greatest idea yet.Armed with a wicked plan to steal precious silk seeds from the faraway land of Seres, Nicander and Marius must embark upon a terrifyingly treacherous journey across unknown lands, never before completed. But first they must deceive the powerful emperor Justinian and the rest of his formidable Byzantine Empire in order to begin their journey into the unknown...An adventurous tale of mischief, humour and deception, Nicander and Marius face danger of the highest order, where nothing in the land of the Roman Empire is quite what it seems.
350 pages, Hardcover
First published November 1, 2014
23 people are currently reading
172 people want to read
About the author
Julian Stockwin
52 books334 followersJulian Stockwin was sent at the age of fourteen to Indefatigable, a tough sea-training school. He joined the Royal Navy at fifteen. He now lives in Devon with his wife Kathy. Julian has written 24 books to date in the Kydd series of historical adventure fiction, the story of one man's journey from pressed man to admiral in the age of fighting sail, and a non-fiction book, 'Stockwin's Maritime Miscellany.' His latest Kydd series title is THUNDERER. And, he's also published two historical standalone novels, THE SILK TREE, set in the time of Emperor Justinian and THE POWDER OF DEATH, about the quest for the secret of gunpowder.
Series:
* Thomas Kydd
Series:
* Thomas Kydd
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
December 5, 2017
Plot: 3 (adventure has potential but never establishes risk)
Characters: 2 (unlikable and interchangeable)
Accuracy: 0 (will leave you knowing less about the period)
I started this book with high hopes. Unique and unusual stories about a real instance in history tend to be a sign that the author really knows his stuff. A dilettante will just add some period dross onto a tired and true story and call it a day, ala Legionary or any of the other military adventure novels that are so popular these days. An expert or enthusiastic amateur will have come across some important event and recognize the dramatic potential (as in, for example, Cleopatra's Heir, The Angel and the Sword, The Egyptian, Creation, The Death Of Attila, etc.). Alas, while this novel seems like it should be the latter, with its original narrative about the genuine importation of silk-producing worms to Constantinople under Justinian, it displays very little knowledge about the period. While that powerful amateur enthusiasm does show up occasionally, it’s narrowly focused around specific works and ideas.
What does the novel get wrong? Pretty much everything. The most confused element is the question of identities. We start the book with the proud Roman legionary decrying the North African as a Greek. But what does that mean? It implies that the Eastern Empire isn’t really Roman (this is actually stated explicitly several times later on) but what is actually Roman then? The Western Empire fell in 476, which was three-quarters of a century before this book begins. So does that make him an Italian legionary? He claims to be from the Pannonian legions but Pannonia had been under Ostrogothic rule for even longer than Italy. Yet he’s clearly not with the Gothic army since he’s fighting them. So who is he serving? It sure isn’t the Eastern Empire, as is made clear later on when he refers to them as his cousins. The only explanation that makes “sense” is that he’s from the Western imperial army, which had collapsed long before he was born. Even more confusingly, why is our other lead (the North African) considered a Greek? I genuinely can’t answer that one. North Africa had always been part of the Latin-speaking Western Empire but had been under Vandal rule since 439. The best explanation I can think of is that he’d come over with the reconquering Eastern army a bit more than a decade before the book is set, but this doesn’t line up with him having been raised there. To put it simply, as written, neither of our two leads could ever have existed. It’s just not possible. Which you’d think would be a priority for a novel.
That’s not to imply, of course, that mistakes are limited to confusion over ethnic identities. No, the problems go far deeper than that. Except for infrequent moments of excitement (such as the description of Ptolemy’s Geography or the descriptions of China in Ammianus and Herodotus) the book is basically a combination of half-remembered Roman history lessons and generic pre-modern attitudes. Basic facts are wrong, and repeatedly so. Valens did not die in battle against the Persians, for example, and John the Cappadocian was praetorian prefect rather than Count of the Sacred Largesses. And those are big names you could find in any general encyclopedia or a basic Google search. To return to the East/West divide (which is really where most of his problems come in) he treats the Western Romans (or their descendants rather, who he just calls Romans) as High Imperial Romans of the sort familiar to us from film and stories, while the Eastern Romans (which he calls Greeks or Byzantines) are just a weaker and corrupted form. Thus, while the (nonexistent) Western Empire still uses legions and cohorts and arms its soldiers with the gladius while they’re paid with sesterces (despite all these things having been phased out since at least the third century) the Eastern units are usually given generalized designations (troop, unit, sword, gold coins) or old (and equally anachronistic) Roman ones (such as the procurator of Syria). Religionwise, his ignorance is astounding and frankly insulting. It’s his conclusion that the Christian Church was a Western invention, and that all proper monks and priests would speak in Church Latin. Until this was corrupted by the Greek, presumably, when they drifted from the true Catholic faith. For anyone not aware, the Bible’s actually written in Greek (τὰ Βιβλία is just Greek for “the Book”) and it’s Latin that’s the foreign tongue.
I’m less comfortable pointing out the errors with regards to the East Asian history since I’m less familiar with the subject (and such books are uncommon in English anyway). I can state with certainty that there was Roman trade with Sri Lanka (although I question whether they’d have sailed directly there without skirting the Indian coast) and that Eastern Wei fell at about this time, but beyond that I’m not sure. One thing I am confident about is that the Wei dynasty was not as long-established and serene as it appears at the beginning. Wei was in the process of dissolving and had been for decades. It also didn’t encompass all of China, which I appreciate is a hard fact to convey when the Romans knew nothing about China’s history (even their name for China, Serica, came from the Latin word for their most famous export, silk), but it should at least have been possible to mention this in terms of the Han people. In keeping with the general indifference to the meaning of ethnic identities the term Han isn’t even mentioned except to refer back to the long-extinct Han dynasty. It’s worth noting also that the Chinese words and names are transliterated using the old Wades-Giles system rather than the far more common (and official) Pinyin form. So the Qi dynasty is written Ch’i and Gao comes out as Kao. No idea why, but I suspect it means the author is relying on some pretty old books. Stylistically, the detached and refined nature of the Chinese court might be a bit too much. I’m sure the Wei court would have couched their words in allusions and courtesy as described, but here it seems too affected and unnatural. There’s a strong whiff of orientalism in the Othering of the Chinese here.
There’s some philosophy in here too, but it’s beyond shallow. Aristotle’s teachings are reduced to “That nothing, no idea or belief can be accepted, without we have evidence for it. And if there is evidence in our hands, we are obliged to admit it as a truth.” Which has nothing to do with Aristotle and everything to do with the modern scientific method. A passing Buddhist monk immediately points out that looking at the desert doesn’t provide evidence that cities and people exist, yet they clearly do. This absurd argument immediately collapses our Greek’s faith in Aristotle. Why, if we cannot deduce the existence of cities from observing a small patch of desert, that should be proof that they don’t exist! It’s attempting to be a clever intellectual argument about the nature of evidence and the world beyond our power to observe, but it’s so ridiculously simplistic and irrelevant that it makes all the characters involved look like morons. You don’t have to include philosophical debates in your adventure novel if you don’t want to. But if you are going to include them it needs to be something better than this, which fundamentally misrepresents both philosophies.
There’s not much advantage to ignoring the historical defects and focusing on the plot either. Our two leads are not enormously sympathetic. The legionary Marius (a ridiculously Republican family name that was never a cognomen) is introduced in the process of needlessly murdering a small child to keep it silent. This act so impresses our more cowardly (or practical) merchant Nicander (also an unusual Classical name) that he immediately teams up with him. In the first of many inconsistent characterizations, Nicander is able to persuade Marius to help him and the refugees escape the Ostrogoths by calling on his duty as a Roman legionary to protect the citizens of the empire. Citizens like the child he just thoughtlessly butchered. Err... The characterization from then on is fairly simplistic: Marius is brutal and simple but concerned with duty, while Nicander is clever and shifty but occasionally compassionate. And that’s really as deep as it gets. I rarely sensed any personality in the secondary characters. The gleeful torturer Marcellus sounds much the same as the devoted treasurer Narses or the calculating John the Cappadocian or the mad emperor Wenxuan. Only the circumstances of their meetings vary. Indeed, it’s hard to take threatening characters seriously when they come across so mundane.
The plan is pretty absurd. Sneak into China and steal a silk plant, that part sounds believable enough. It’s better than the initial plan (send a military force through Persia to steal silk from China), which is so far from any possible reality as to undermine the very believability of the world. But they have to get support and funding for this endeavor while knowing nothing about China or any of the lands to the east. Which means approaching powerful patrons and lying to them about being monks with travel passes from the emperor of China. Which is great, apart from the fact that, again, none of them knows anything about the east, or even the eastern provinces they claim to be from, because both of them come from the distant west. This doesn’t stop a string of people (ranging from John the Cappadocian to the emperor Justinian himself) from jumping wholeheartedly on board with no evidence of planning or skepticism whatsoever. Their vague goal alone is apparently enough to justify their kidnapping by every powerful man (and woman) in Constantinople, in a farcical Who’s Who account of all famous individuals from Justinian’s reign. I’m almost surprised they didn’t bring Theodora back from the dead to witness it. Then, once they get beyond the empire, their plan is to wing it. To repeat: their plan is to lie to the emperor and half of Constantinople, kill their guards and steal the funds they were given, and then hope that they can find a way to China despite not knowing how far it is, what language they speak, or even how to get there. In short, it’s not a plan, it’s an aspiration. And these are the idiots we’re meant to believe pulled off this spectacular feat? If it wasn’t for all-too-convenient interventions at key points they’d never have gotten anywhere. Imagine, if you will, just how likely it is for slavers from western India to enslave a ship’s crew and ship them all the way to north-eastern China. Credulity strains.
I’d love to find something more positive to say about this novel, but I got bored before they even began their quest and only hung on out of curiosity and the hope that things would get better. I suppose as an adventure novel it’s not the worst. The action scenes are too imprecise to really work, but the basic adventure components are there: derring-do, dealings with kings and emperors, tyranical usurpers, beautiful princesses, enslavement, skullduggery, and constant escapes. It needed more genuine cliffhangers (there was no point where I truly believed our protagonists were in danger) and a clearer sense of direction, but the basics of a generic pulp adventure novel are otherwise present. Yet it’s not really aiming for that. It’s trying to be more: an exploration of different cultures and beliefs (the awful philosophy debate is a big giveaway) and it’s in this area that it fails completely. We never get any real picture of these societies and if the ill-thought out attempts to define ethnic identities is incomprehensible to someone who knows what the basic situation was, it’s going to be even more confusing for someone without a background in the subject.
Characters: 2 (unlikable and interchangeable)
Accuracy: 0 (will leave you knowing less about the period)
I started this book with high hopes. Unique and unusual stories about a real instance in history tend to be a sign that the author really knows his stuff. A dilettante will just add some period dross onto a tired and true story and call it a day, ala Legionary or any of the other military adventure novels that are so popular these days. An expert or enthusiastic amateur will have come across some important event and recognize the dramatic potential (as in, for example, Cleopatra's Heir, The Angel and the Sword, The Egyptian, Creation, The Death Of Attila, etc.). Alas, while this novel seems like it should be the latter, with its original narrative about the genuine importation of silk-producing worms to Constantinople under Justinian, it displays very little knowledge about the period. While that powerful amateur enthusiasm does show up occasionally, it’s narrowly focused around specific works and ideas.
What does the novel get wrong? Pretty much everything. The most confused element is the question of identities. We start the book with the proud Roman legionary decrying the North African as a Greek. But what does that mean? It implies that the Eastern Empire isn’t really Roman (this is actually stated explicitly several times later on) but what is actually Roman then? The Western Empire fell in 476, which was three-quarters of a century before this book begins. So does that make him an Italian legionary? He claims to be from the Pannonian legions but Pannonia had been under Ostrogothic rule for even longer than Italy. Yet he’s clearly not with the Gothic army since he’s fighting them. So who is he serving? It sure isn’t the Eastern Empire, as is made clear later on when he refers to them as his cousins. The only explanation that makes “sense” is that he’s from the Western imperial army, which had collapsed long before he was born. Even more confusingly, why is our other lead (the North African) considered a Greek? I genuinely can’t answer that one. North Africa had always been part of the Latin-speaking Western Empire but had been under Vandal rule since 439. The best explanation I can think of is that he’d come over with the reconquering Eastern army a bit more than a decade before the book is set, but this doesn’t line up with him having been raised there. To put it simply, as written, neither of our two leads could ever have existed. It’s just not possible. Which you’d think would be a priority for a novel.
That’s not to imply, of course, that mistakes are limited to confusion over ethnic identities. No, the problems go far deeper than that. Except for infrequent moments of excitement (such as the description of Ptolemy’s Geography or the descriptions of China in Ammianus and Herodotus) the book is basically a combination of half-remembered Roman history lessons and generic pre-modern attitudes. Basic facts are wrong, and repeatedly so. Valens did not die in battle against the Persians, for example, and John the Cappadocian was praetorian prefect rather than Count of the Sacred Largesses. And those are big names you could find in any general encyclopedia or a basic Google search. To return to the East/West divide (which is really where most of his problems come in) he treats the Western Romans (or their descendants rather, who he just calls Romans) as High Imperial Romans of the sort familiar to us from film and stories, while the Eastern Romans (which he calls Greeks or Byzantines) are just a weaker and corrupted form. Thus, while the (nonexistent) Western Empire still uses legions and cohorts and arms its soldiers with the gladius while they’re paid with sesterces (despite all these things having been phased out since at least the third century) the Eastern units are usually given generalized designations (troop, unit, sword, gold coins) or old (and equally anachronistic) Roman ones (such as the procurator of Syria). Religionwise, his ignorance is astounding and frankly insulting. It’s his conclusion that the Christian Church was a Western invention, and that all proper monks and priests would speak in Church Latin. Until this was corrupted by the Greek, presumably, when they drifted from the true Catholic faith. For anyone not aware, the Bible’s actually written in Greek (τὰ Βιβλία is just Greek for “the Book”) and it’s Latin that’s the foreign tongue.
I’m less comfortable pointing out the errors with regards to the East Asian history since I’m less familiar with the subject (and such books are uncommon in English anyway). I can state with certainty that there was Roman trade with Sri Lanka (although I question whether they’d have sailed directly there without skirting the Indian coast) and that Eastern Wei fell at about this time, but beyond that I’m not sure. One thing I am confident about is that the Wei dynasty was not as long-established and serene as it appears at the beginning. Wei was in the process of dissolving and had been for decades. It also didn’t encompass all of China, which I appreciate is a hard fact to convey when the Romans knew nothing about China’s history (even their name for China, Serica, came from the Latin word for their most famous export, silk), but it should at least have been possible to mention this in terms of the Han people. In keeping with the general indifference to the meaning of ethnic identities the term Han isn’t even mentioned except to refer back to the long-extinct Han dynasty. It’s worth noting also that the Chinese words and names are transliterated using the old Wades-Giles system rather than the far more common (and official) Pinyin form. So the Qi dynasty is written Ch’i and Gao comes out as Kao. No idea why, but I suspect it means the author is relying on some pretty old books. Stylistically, the detached and refined nature of the Chinese court might be a bit too much. I’m sure the Wei court would have couched their words in allusions and courtesy as described, but here it seems too affected and unnatural. There’s a strong whiff of orientalism in the Othering of the Chinese here.
There’s some philosophy in here too, but it’s beyond shallow. Aristotle’s teachings are reduced to “That nothing, no idea or belief can be accepted, without we have evidence for it. And if there is evidence in our hands, we are obliged to admit it as a truth.” Which has nothing to do with Aristotle and everything to do with the modern scientific method. A passing Buddhist monk immediately points out that looking at the desert doesn’t provide evidence that cities and people exist, yet they clearly do. This absurd argument immediately collapses our Greek’s faith in Aristotle. Why, if we cannot deduce the existence of cities from observing a small patch of desert, that should be proof that they don’t exist! It’s attempting to be a clever intellectual argument about the nature of evidence and the world beyond our power to observe, but it’s so ridiculously simplistic and irrelevant that it makes all the characters involved look like morons. You don’t have to include philosophical debates in your adventure novel if you don’t want to. But if you are going to include them it needs to be something better than this, which fundamentally misrepresents both philosophies.
There’s not much advantage to ignoring the historical defects and focusing on the plot either. Our two leads are not enormously sympathetic. The legionary Marius (a ridiculously Republican family name that was never a cognomen) is introduced in the process of needlessly murdering a small child to keep it silent. This act so impresses our more cowardly (or practical) merchant Nicander (also an unusual Classical name) that he immediately teams up with him. In the first of many inconsistent characterizations, Nicander is able to persuade Marius to help him and the refugees escape the Ostrogoths by calling on his duty as a Roman legionary to protect the citizens of the empire. Citizens like the child he just thoughtlessly butchered. Err... The characterization from then on is fairly simplistic: Marius is brutal and simple but concerned with duty, while Nicander is clever and shifty but occasionally compassionate. And that’s really as deep as it gets. I rarely sensed any personality in the secondary characters. The gleeful torturer Marcellus sounds much the same as the devoted treasurer Narses or the calculating John the Cappadocian or the mad emperor Wenxuan. Only the circumstances of their meetings vary. Indeed, it’s hard to take threatening characters seriously when they come across so mundane.
The plan is pretty absurd. Sneak into China and steal a silk plant, that part sounds believable enough. It’s better than the initial plan (send a military force through Persia to steal silk from China), which is so far from any possible reality as to undermine the very believability of the world. But they have to get support and funding for this endeavor while knowing nothing about China or any of the lands to the east. Which means approaching powerful patrons and lying to them about being monks with travel passes from the emperor of China. Which is great, apart from the fact that, again, none of them knows anything about the east, or even the eastern provinces they claim to be from, because both of them come from the distant west. This doesn’t stop a string of people (ranging from John the Cappadocian to the emperor Justinian himself) from jumping wholeheartedly on board with no evidence of planning or skepticism whatsoever. Their vague goal alone is apparently enough to justify their kidnapping by every powerful man (and woman) in Constantinople, in a farcical Who’s Who account of all famous individuals from Justinian’s reign. I’m almost surprised they didn’t bring Theodora back from the dead to witness it. Then, once they get beyond the empire, their plan is to wing it. To repeat: their plan is to lie to the emperor and half of Constantinople, kill their guards and steal the funds they were given, and then hope that they can find a way to China despite not knowing how far it is, what language they speak, or even how to get there. In short, it’s not a plan, it’s an aspiration. And these are the idiots we’re meant to believe pulled off this spectacular feat? If it wasn’t for all-too-convenient interventions at key points they’d never have gotten anywhere. Imagine, if you will, just how likely it is for slavers from western India to enslave a ship’s crew and ship them all the way to north-eastern China. Credulity strains.
I’d love to find something more positive to say about this novel, but I got bored before they even began their quest and only hung on out of curiosity and the hope that things would get better. I suppose as an adventure novel it’s not the worst. The action scenes are too imprecise to really work, but the basic adventure components are there: derring-do, dealings with kings and emperors, tyranical usurpers, beautiful princesses, enslavement, skullduggery, and constant escapes. It needed more genuine cliffhangers (there was no point where I truly believed our protagonists were in danger) and a clearer sense of direction, but the basics of a generic pulp adventure novel are otherwise present. Yet it’s not really aiming for that. It’s trying to be more: an exploration of different cultures and beliefs (the awful philosophy debate is a big giveaway) and it’s in this area that it fails completely. We never get any real picture of these societies and if the ill-thought out attempts to define ethnic identities is incomprehensible to someone who knows what the basic situation was, it’s going to be even more confusing for someone without a background in the subject.
December 29, 2018
This delightful adventure tale takes us to the year AD 549, a time in which Rome is rampaged by the Ostrogoths.
The book is written in the same kind of style, atmoshpere and verve as the Kydd series, in which the Kydd-Renzie combination has now been replaced with the Nicander-Marius combination.
The storytelling is as always really excellent and very enjoyable as in the Kydd series and it gives the reader a pleasure to travel along with Nicander and Marius towards their destinations and forth-coming dangers.
People who can flee Rome are seeking refuge elsewhere, just like our two main characters of the book, the merchant Nicander and the Roman Legionary Marius.
And so when Nicander and Marius meet each other in the devastation of Rome they decide to flee to a new life in Constantinople which is ruled by the Emperor of the East, Justinian.
Penniless and lonely Nicander and Marius arrive at Constantinople when they decide to embark upon a dangerous and treacherous mission across unknown realms to try to steal some precious silk seeds away from China.
And so in an adventerous tale of mischief and deception they have to face danger everywhere in their quest, if they want to fulfill and succeed in their dangerous plan of stealing the silk seeds.
Recommended to you all, for this is an excellent book, and this is an adventure tale that is written in such an elegant way that it reads "as Smooth as Silk"!
The book is written in the same kind of style, atmoshpere and verve as the Kydd series, in which the Kydd-Renzie combination has now been replaced with the Nicander-Marius combination.
The storytelling is as always really excellent and very enjoyable as in the Kydd series and it gives the reader a pleasure to travel along with Nicander and Marius towards their destinations and forth-coming dangers.
People who can flee Rome are seeking refuge elsewhere, just like our two main characters of the book, the merchant Nicander and the Roman Legionary Marius.
And so when Nicander and Marius meet each other in the devastation of Rome they decide to flee to a new life in Constantinople which is ruled by the Emperor of the East, Justinian.
Penniless and lonely Nicander and Marius arrive at Constantinople when they decide to embark upon a dangerous and treacherous mission across unknown realms to try to steal some precious silk seeds away from China.
And so in an adventerous tale of mischief and deception they have to face danger everywhere in their quest, if they want to fulfill and succeed in their dangerous plan of stealing the silk seeds.
Recommended to you all, for this is an excellent book, and this is an adventure tale that is written in such an elegant way that it reads "as Smooth as Silk"!
May 14, 2022
The Silk Tree – Julian Stockwin. After being forced to flee Rome merchant Nicander forms an unlikely partnership with Marius a fierce Roman legionary. They attempt to make a new profitable life in Constantinople but things go wrong and then they come up with a scheme to make a huge a amount of money by stealing the seeds of the precious silk seeds from the faraway land of Seres. The problems with this plan they don’t know what the seeds of the silk tree look like or where the land of Seres is or even if that is where they come from. They set off on a journey that to start with is just a scam, but when they ended up getting captured by pirates and end up sold as slaves as savage barbarians in what we know as China. The then follows their journey as try and make their way back to Constantinople along with a Lady Mei and her lady in waiting Lai Tai Yi who need to escape. It is set in the 6th century and from a time when the silk was moved by different camel trains and no one person knew the whole journey. I enjoyed the book, although I thought the ending was a little rushed and it left me wanting to know more about what happened afterwards. I just felt these characters wouldn’t have settled back down into a normal life after such an adventure, I could see them setting off on another adventure.
January 28, 2019
Merchant Nicander and legionary Marius escape to a new life in Constantinople. Determined to make their fortune, they chance upon their greatest idea yet. They will somehow travel to a faraway land and steal the secret of silk and return the makings to Constantinople and become wealthy.
This proved a fascinating story, full of colour and incident. Many characters were real people who lived and died during this period of the 6th century. The details make for an enthralling tale. As do the vibrant characters and realistic setting.
Journey on the Silk Road to consuming read.
This proved a fascinating story, full of colour and incident. Many characters were real people who lived and died during this period of the 6th century. The details make for an enthralling tale. As do the vibrant characters and realistic setting.
Journey on the Silk Road to consuming read.
June 26, 2021
I listened to the audio book of this one, on the libby app. It was a good narration.
I love the adventure of The Silk Tree, set against the backdrop of the changing powers and on a journey across the known world. The protagonist is relatable in his desire to make the most of situations when life let's you down, and I found myself invested in his success. In fact, all the characters feel dynamic and the relationships believable. It's a great adventure story, although not something I would usually pick or enjoy.
I love the adventure of The Silk Tree, set against the backdrop of the changing powers and on a journey across the known world. The protagonist is relatable in his desire to make the most of situations when life let's you down, and I found myself invested in his success. In fact, all the characters feel dynamic and the relationships believable. It's a great adventure story, although not something I would usually pick or enjoy.
August 31, 2023
Seems harsh to give it merely three stars- it's an enjoyable and undemanding though well informed and well-structured adventure story!
To my mind it is as though Stockwin has read an entry from Procopius and decided to use it as a springboard for the most fantastical (yet never unbelievable) tale of hapless skulduggery and duplicity, spanning beyond the limits of the then known world.
There's no doubt that Stockwin is an assured and capable writer. He could write more like this and I'd buy it!
To my mind it is as though Stockwin has read an entry from Procopius and decided to use it as a springboard for the most fantastical (yet never unbelievable) tale of hapless skulduggery and duplicity, spanning beyond the limits of the then known world.
There's no doubt that Stockwin is an assured and capable writer. He could write more like this and I'd buy it!
March 18, 2018
I quite enjoyed this tale of how Nico and Marius travel to China to acquire the secret of silk before returning to Constantinople with their prize. However at times the description of the journey seems overlong and the details of how Nico discovers his philosophical knowledge seems an aside to the main narrative. The two main characters are interesting and their relationship is one of the strengths of the novel.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 25, 2018
La venta de seda es una de las mayores fuentes de ingresos para la China del siglo VI d.C. Pero en Bizancio existe la ambición de romper ese moñopolio y descubrir los secretos de su cultivo. Dos supuestos monjes cruzarán el mundo en esa aventura.
August 3, 2020
In the latter days of the Roman Empire, a displaced businessman and an ex-soldier team up to defraud the Emperor. They plot to bring back from China the means to make silk and thus cut out the middle man. This was a passable adventure story, nothing sparkling but entertaining enough.
December 13, 2021
This is a good and enjoyable read but not in the same class as most of the Kydd books. The story meanders and the ending is not very satisfactory. It is hard to avoid comparison with the naval history books but I like Stockwin's writing and will continue to read his books.
March 16, 2022
A well researched historical romp which I found entertaining for the most part though the book could have been better if shortened. Towards the end I found it a bit repetitive with them trudging through the mountains. I liked the ending though.
March 13, 2025
An enjoyable straightforward adventure story. Contrasting the known Roman/Greek world with the
unknown Chinese. Fascinating to see how separate the two worlds were then compared to now with globalisation.
unknown Chinese. Fascinating to see how separate the two worlds were then compared to now with globalisation.
May 28, 2017
Ok, but not great. It sort of reads like a first novel, and just never really gripped me.
August 13, 2018
Good little yarn, but a rushed and corny ending.
August 24, 2018
Quiet an interesting adventure story with the backdrop of silk trade in Roman kingdom. Started with a fast pace but slowed in the second half...
January 28, 2023
Nice story, interesting to read whilst travelling the silk road. Writing wasn't great.
dnf
July 16, 2025DNF
March 28, 2017
The Silk Tree is somewhat unusual in my experience, as it is a historical novel that chooses to focus not on the well-known Roman stories of Julius Caesar and Augustus, but on the later history when the Empire has divided in two. The Western half, centred around Rome has fallen, plunging Europe into the so-called Dark Ages, while in the East, the Byzantine Roman Empire is still going strong.
Two men, merchant Nicander and former soldier Marius, flee Rome as it is being sacked by the rampaging Ostrogoths. They make their way to Constantinople and, desperate to revive their fortunes, they come up with a plan to win the Emperor's favour by travelling to China and stealing the secrets of silk production. But there's one small catch: Not even the greatest Roman scholars can agree on exactly where China is or how to get there. The Silk Road is tightly controlled by the Persians - who have been sworn enemies of Rome for centuries by this point.
So begins a journey into the unknown. I have to say that, personally, I found the book to almost feel a bit rushed in terms of pacing. I would have liked more descriptions of the stops on their journey, the different cultures they come into contact with - those details that we do get are basic to the point of making many locations seem the same or confusingly similar. With regards to the Chinese part of the story, we only get glimpses for example of the emperor's court when surely a more thorough exploration is warranted. Events are rushed through and we are given little chance to get to know characters - which in turn means that the reader struggles to sympathise with them. Even the ending of the novel feels rushed, as if the author was worried about the book becoming too long or was writing to a strict word limit. The love story element was also rather predictable and Nicander's spiritual journey perhaps deserved more of an exploration?
Overall, it's a slightly frustrating book. Interesting and worth reading because it focuses on an area of history that most historical fiction seems to ignore, but you feel that the author could have done better and gone into more depth with the journey, the locations, the cultures. He tries to be epic, but comes up short.
Two men, merchant Nicander and former soldier Marius, flee Rome as it is being sacked by the rampaging Ostrogoths. They make their way to Constantinople and, desperate to revive their fortunes, they come up with a plan to win the Emperor's favour by travelling to China and stealing the secrets of silk production. But there's one small catch: Not even the greatest Roman scholars can agree on exactly where China is or how to get there. The Silk Road is tightly controlled by the Persians - who have been sworn enemies of Rome for centuries by this point.
So begins a journey into the unknown. I have to say that, personally, I found the book to almost feel a bit rushed in terms of pacing. I would have liked more descriptions of the stops on their journey, the different cultures they come into contact with - those details that we do get are basic to the point of making many locations seem the same or confusingly similar. With regards to the Chinese part of the story, we only get glimpses for example of the emperor's court when surely a more thorough exploration is warranted. Events are rushed through and we are given little chance to get to know characters - which in turn means that the reader struggles to sympathise with them. Even the ending of the novel feels rushed, as if the author was worried about the book becoming too long or was writing to a strict word limit. The love story element was also rather predictable and Nicander's spiritual journey perhaps deserved more of an exploration?
Overall, it's a slightly frustrating book. Interesting and worth reading because it focuses on an area of history that most historical fiction seems to ignore, but you feel that the author could have done better and gone into more depth with the journey, the locations, the cultures. He tries to be epic, but comes up short.
December 4, 2014
This story is a great departure for Mr. Stockwin. Previously he has published 15 books in the "Kydd" series, set in the Golden Age of Sail.
The Silk Tree is a standalone novel, set in the 6th century, and is a fast paced travel adventure from Constantinople to far China, primarily via sea, and back via the Silk Road.
The characters are generally likeable, although two of the main supporting characters feel a little too one-dimensional. Here I refer to Marius, the ex-legionary, and Lai Tai Yi, a lady in waiting to Lady Mei. I would have liked to see more growth from them, but as supporting cast they fulfilled their roles well.
The main character, Nicander shows great growth throughout the novel, and doesn't feel at all as an author's wish fulfillment, but rather as a canny merchant, a thinker,and eventually a spiritualist through his introduction to the Tao.
I won't spoil the story for future readers, but I will say that the story, while entrancing the imagination with its elaborate travel vistas and interactions with interesting cultures feels a little cut short. As I got near the end of the book, I started to feel a bit nervous as to how Mr. Stockwin would resolve the story. He manages to, and for the most part it is believable and entertaining.
Personally, I would have enjoyed having the last two chapters, especially the final one, extended slightly to make the ending seem a little less "pat".
The highlights for me were the obvious research that went into making the Sogdians, the Chinese and other cultures so rich. I know I've read a good book when I'm inspired to spend some time on Wikipedia and elsewhere researching what the author wrote about, so that I can learn more.
Ultimately, this is an adventure story, set against the backdrop of the 6th Century Roman Empire and the Silk Road, and in this it is highly successful. It constantly entertains, always moving forward. When the tale is done, it ends, and leaves the imagination of the consequences and eventual fate of the characters as an exercise to the reader.
The Silk Tree is a standalone novel, set in the 6th century, and is a fast paced travel adventure from Constantinople to far China, primarily via sea, and back via the Silk Road.
The characters are generally likeable, although two of the main supporting characters feel a little too one-dimensional. Here I refer to Marius, the ex-legionary, and Lai Tai Yi, a lady in waiting to Lady Mei. I would have liked to see more growth from them, but as supporting cast they fulfilled their roles well.
The main character, Nicander shows great growth throughout the novel, and doesn't feel at all as an author's wish fulfillment, but rather as a canny merchant, a thinker,and eventually a spiritualist through his introduction to the Tao.
I won't spoil the story for future readers, but I will say that the story, while entrancing the imagination with its elaborate travel vistas and interactions with interesting cultures feels a little cut short. As I got near the end of the book, I started to feel a bit nervous as to how Mr. Stockwin would resolve the story. He manages to, and for the most part it is believable and entertaining.
Personally, I would have enjoyed having the last two chapters, especially the final one, extended slightly to make the ending seem a little less "pat".
The highlights for me were the obvious research that went into making the Sogdians, the Chinese and other cultures so rich. I know I've read a good book when I'm inspired to spend some time on Wikipedia and elsewhere researching what the author wrote about, so that I can learn more.
Ultimately, this is an adventure story, set against the backdrop of the 6th Century Roman Empire and the Silk Road, and in this it is highly successful. It constantly entertains, always moving forward. When the tale is done, it ends, and leaves the imagination of the consequences and eventual fate of the characters as an exercise to the reader.
March 13, 2016
Like another reviewer, I should have loved this book - I enjoy this genre and the adventure from the west to China and back is always interesting, whatever the era. But I am writing a review half way through because I'm not sure I'm going to finish the book. It was very slow to get going. 2 stars to start.
There's no doubt about the historical research. My main problem is the writing and language. I'm trying to work out why it doesn't work. Sometimes the dialogue, especially from Marius, just sounds inauthentic. There were too many descriptive words telling, not showing. In just half a page, a character "gasped", "croaked", "yelped" and "shrieked".
It's 3 stars now I've got to the end.
There's no doubt about the historical research. My main problem is the writing and language. I'm trying to work out why it doesn't work. Sometimes the dialogue, especially from Marius, just sounds inauthentic. There were too many descriptive words telling, not showing. In just half a page, a character "gasped", "croaked", "yelped" and "shrieked".
It's 3 stars now I've got to the end.
August 19, 2016
Painfully predictable (using a quote from Procopius that reveals the success of the central mission of this book at the beginning really gives the whole book away), anachronistic (residents of the Eastern Roman Empire, who would have considered themselves unqualified Romans, refer to the empire as the Byzantine Empire, a 19thC neologism), with a writing style that was not emotionally engaging (during the almost-deadly crossing of the desert I just kept remembering that Mary Renault did it much better in The Persian Boy).
I am giving it two stars because it was entertaining trash when I turned off my brain.
I am giving it two stars because it was entertaining trash when I turned off my brain.
December 7, 2014
c2014: FWFTB: merchant, legionary, Seres, chariot, Byzantine. A pleasant enough read but going by the synopsis, I should have loved this book. I can't say that I really liked it either. 'Pleasant' and 'nice' are probably the best words that I am going to be able to use. It certainly is a strange mixture of skills between the two main characters and that helps the story along. Perhaps I was mildly put off by the predictability of the plot. I can recommend the book to those of the normal crew that like a light-ish historical read. "Do your act how you like, why should I care?
December 12, 2014
An entertaining romp with good historical detail (like most of his books that I've read) but I felt the ending was a bit 'flat', as if the publisher had told him to wrap the story up quick or some such...
A good read tho.
A good read tho.
November 22, 2015
Just about OK. Some interesting history but it dragged on a bit. If it had been more interesting then I'd have finished it sooner but it was one of those books that you could put down and not pick up again for a while.
March 10, 2016
Fantastic.
August 13, 2017
I suppose the writing was equivalent to the Kydd stories: not as amazing as some other historical fiction writers but still quite gripping and well constructed.
December 24, 2016
The overall story was very good but the last section felt a little weak, designed to tie up the loose ends rather than a great ending to the story.
April 3, 2017
I really wanted to love this book. The topic was intriguing to me. I really enjoy the Kydd series by Stockwin and was looking forward to more of the same - a great historically-based tale with fabulous characters. Unfortunately, that's not quite what I found in The Silk Tree. There were times in the novel when Stockwin provides great description that paints a picture, but more often not. There seemed to be large gaps in the story and settings. The characters develop as the novel progresses, but we never really get to know them, their history, and why they act the way they do. I had higher hopes for The Silk Tree, but I still think it's a worthwhile read.
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