The Silver Branch (Book)/Review by Darth tom

Having had this book lent to me by a very reputable friend, I must admit that, for once, I was optimistic about it being a good book. Being a student of Latin and a person fascinated with the Romans, this looked like a very good book and a good addition to the world of Roman fiction novels, despite being a considerably old book. Well, my pessimism has now returned, after reading this book, as you will see from the review below.

Overall/Average: Pretty poor all round novel. Much more could have been done to improve it, and it's definitely not one I would recommend or would read again.

Literary ability: Rosemary Sutcliff seems to have literary potential (despite her being dead) in this book, and some of her use of literary devices and descriptions is quite good, yet she tries to use the same style as Tolkien, and fails. She tries to use few, but very descriptive words and, quite frankly, fails by some way. Whereas Tolkiens small, but image full, descriptions capture you, hers just don't describe it enough. The actual style was of reasonable quality, but it just didn't have the same amount of ability.

Historical correctness: Whilst this isn't necessary, I think it should be included, as this book is meant to have historical references. I think that the author did quite well, with her research, and she is allowed creative licence to change things, yet some of her translations of the Latin were just poor, and some facts she stated were blatantly wrong, and she was intending them to be correct.

Plot: Pretty weak plot. It had the potential, but failed to deliver. At some points, I was thinking: This plot sucks. It must get better. Yet it didn't. The plot never grabbed me, and was never that detailed. At some points I thought: Oh, if the author takes the plot this way, or elaborates upon this, the plot will really improve, yet it never did. The only really vaguely exciting bit was at the end, and that was only for a short section. Not a very good plot at all.

Characters: The characters were pretty low on description, with only two actually being featured throughout, and they were pretty weak characters, never really described properly. The author failed to establish any link between the reader and the characters, and the closest I came was a mild twinge of annoyance at the death of Evicatos. Could do miles better. I felt that each character was glossed over.

Illustrations: Whilst this isn't necessary, if they're included in a book, they must be included in the review. In some books, such as one I have previously reviews, the illustrations complement the writing beautifully, helping to assist the enjoyment of the reader, yet these images were poorly drawn and did the opposite; they made me want to stop reading. Very poor all round illustrations.