Stabenow has disappointed me, which makes me sad because I have enjoyed her Kate Shugak books so much. Of course, the disappointment is somewhat contingent on whether this is intended to be the first of a trilogy or the first of a series. I hope this is a trilogy, because I can excuse a cliffhanger ending in a volume of such; even Tolkien did it. I still think, unless the books are so long that dividing the story into parts is necessary (as in Tolkien), a blatant cliffhanger is a cheap trick to encourage readers to buy the next book.
She has produced another appealing strong female character in an intriguing setting: the Silk Road of the thirteenth century. I rather think that making Johanna the granddaughter of Marco Polo was a bit much, but I can excuse that; naming her Johanna is tougher to swallow, since her mother is Polo's half Chinese daughter and her father is fully Chinese. But, never mind that, the story is an entertaining picture of the transcontinental trade that did so much to shape the world, and the Venetian connection gives her a destination.
Still, I am seriously annoyed because it ended with Johanna's sidekick dead (but somehow I doubt he remains dead) and the evil villain not nearly as dead as he is supposed to be. By the way, the title is not a description of trade on the Silk Road, it is the name of the Chinese city where it all begins.
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