While readers may feel slightly refreshed to see a female heroine of a fantasy novel, many will be seriously taken aback at the actions of the female villain in the book, King Amir's first wife Medusimia - and rightly so. Medusimia's character is entirely defined by her sexuality; the authors for some reason chose to include a heated, explicit sex scene involving her within the first few chapters. Apparently Medusimia is angry at the King who sent for another wife, but she then, puzzlingly, retreats to the lair of the powerful sorcerer Vulmire to spend her time.

Meanwhile, in another confusing development, Yasamin learns much about her family history from the wise, magical Mosesra, but none of it seems to have anything to do with the rest of the story. The "real" plot seems forgotten chapter after chapter as the narrative switches from one unexplained storyline to another:various new unnamed and increasingly more evil villains conspire against the heroine, without any kind of justification or motive.

I finished the novel only out of a vague, shallow kind of curiosity - not because the plot or characters carried any kind of pull. While not terribly boring, this is your basic, run-of-the-mill, creatively-lacking fantasy novel, with a sprinkling of entirely inappropriate, and perplexing, graphic sexual content. I'm still baffled by what exactly the road of silk itself is. For these reasons, I'd only recommend "The Road of Silk" for mature young-adult readers with a lot of patience, long-suffering, and low expectations.