An orphan named Carlo Chuchio reads and dreams when he is supposed to be working for Uncle Evariste. One day, a new bookseller appears in the market. He gives Carlo an ancient book filled with stories. When the book's pages fall from their binding, Carlo finds an old parchment map. He believes that the map shows the way to a royal treasury located somewhere on the "Road of Golden Dreams." It's fortunate that Uncle Evariste fires him soon after this discovery. Carlo, with a bag of money from his kind uncle, sets off to find the treasure. The questionable Baksheesh hires himself as Carlo’s camel puller and, promptly, engages the services of an assistant camel puller—a beautiful Kirkassi girl named Shira. Carlo the Chooch leads an expedition fraught with peril through Keshavar and learns what treasures are most important.
©2024 Kathy Maxwell at https://bookskidslike.com ( )

Compared to Alexander's other books, this one it pretty forgettable. But it seemed like a nice last gift from a fantastic writer. ( )

This is the last novel of Lloyd Alexander, author of The Chronicles of Prydain. I was both excited and worried about reading this book. I loved the Chronicles of Prydain as a kid, but was afraid this book would be awful in comparison. Thankfully, this was not the case.

This story is about a young man named Carlo Chuchio, a character who is not as appealing as that lovable assistant pig-keeper Taran, but still interesting nonetheless. Carlo "the chooch" sets off on an adventure seeking great treasure and is accompanied by a fast-talking but lazy flatterer, a beautiful girl with a wild streak, and an eccentric genius. Their journey is filled with danger and excitement while the travelers encounter storytellers, brigands, and dream merchants, in a dazzlingly romantic fantasy world that seems to be intentionally reminiscent of the Arabian Nights.

While the story at time seems rambling, with random events happening one after the other, the reader is still left with an amazement at Alexander's storytelling abilities. I would not recommend going into this tale hoping for a grand-sweeping epic fantasy novel, but rather for a satisfying travel/adventure story, much like the stories of Sinbad the sailor. ( )

Simply a great yarn that will sweep you away. It's got the feeling of Arabian Nights and a touch of Don Quixote.

Carlo discovers an old map that implies a treasure to be found and he sets out to find it when his uncle kicks him out of the house. As he sets out, he is joined by the persistent but lazy Baksheesh; Shira, a girl who longs to return home to avenge her father’s murder by an evil caravan leader; and the patient dreamer Saloman. They encounter various adventures, dangers and interesting people, making their quest more about the journey than the destination.
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I believe that this was Lloyd Alexander's very last book. Like many authors he could not go back. Its humour and travel makes it resemble the Prydain chronicles somewhat. However, there is no magic and obliquely depicted but terrible brutality, so that it also resembles his Westmark novels. ( )