Peter Ward. Dragon Horse. London, Doubleday, 2008
Macaranda, or Samarkand as it was later known, is situated at the terminus of one of the ancient Silk Roads. In 818 AD, when our story opens, it is the capital of China's Western Empire.
Two boys hurry through the sun-blasted streets to hear Shou Lao's latest tales. The storyteller has been away for ten years. Rokshan is the younger son of one of the city's most powerful trading families. To his surprise, he learns that he must solve the riddle which the venerable raconteur relates.
He is directed to begin a journey across the Flame Mountains to the court of The Crimson King. An ancient evil is awakening. Rokshan must prevent the return to earth of Han Garid and his thunder dragons.
There is a lot to like about this book. I particularly admire the way in which Ward has formatted his work. The prologue consists of a legend which explains the genesis of the dragon horses. He has then divided his opus into parts, each headed by a scroll narrating a fable relevant to the story's progress. The author has exhaustively researched his subject, and for those who are interested, there is a bibliography at the end of the book. Ward has also thought to include a fascinating historical note in regard to the Silk Roads. A simple map is located on the page subsequent to the dedication.
Authenticity is further added to this story by the author's use of existing locations for settings (e.g. The Taklamakan Desert, Lake Baikal, and the Pamir Mountains), and words such as yurt and khagan, which are still in current usage. The writer has incorporated a real life and ongoing archaeological mystery (the Fellowship of the Three One Eared Hares), and even has his nomads riding Tarpans, a breed of steppe pony now extinct. Well done Mr Ward.
After all this attention to detail and background, I found the actual writing itself a disappointment. It's as green as a plateful of peas. The verb, adverb, thing happens all through the book, e.g. "but as he heard the stern finality in his uncle's voice …”
Dialogue is stilted, unnatural, and often melodramatic, as when An Lushan, our protagonist's elder brother, speaks to his father: "it is well known that the Wild Horsemen have long been restless and resentful of the imperial yoke, refusing to increase their tribute payment to the emperor as he wishes. But they have brought their own doom upon themselves by their leader's incitement to open rebellion.”
However upon scrutinising the title page, all becomes clear. There, in a font so small that only pixies would notice it, are the words: ‘Random House Children's books.'
If you are able to ignore the poor text, and concentrate instead upon Rokshan's adventures, you will soon be as enmeshed in the story as prawns in a trawler's net.
Apart from needing a severe pruning, (shame on you Random House)! this book is a winner.
Jan.