Most helpful customer reviews
|
|
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Like one of my oldest friends, Oct 19 2008
I had the good fortune to be introduced to Rosemary Sutcliffe when I was perhaps nine or ten, and consumed her books as rapidly as I could find them. You don't need to dig very deep to see the formula that Sutcliffe used, nor do you need to be a psychologist to understand the relationship between her childhood illness and long convalescence and the early travails and crippling of her main characters. But, despite this formulaic quality, the stories move me, and none more than Eagle of the Ninth.
Sutcliffe seems to have an almost intuitve understanding of Roman Britain, and all that I have read of its history has been coloured by my reading of Sutcliffe. Her book has a steady, even pace which suits me, but contemporary young readers might find that this pace, as well as the vocabulary, strains their patience. Still, I have faith that this book will bring as many rewards to new readers as it has to its old friends.
|
|
|
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
History Comes Alive, Jul 16 2009
Those who have been brought up on fluff and drivel (aka "junk food for the mind") might find this book a little slow to begin with, but those who persevere will be rewarded with an action-packed piece of history. Set in Roman Britain in the second century, A.D., "The Eagle of the Ninth" chronicles the efforts of Marcus Flavius Aquila in his quest to discover what had happened to a missing Roman legion. The Ninth Legion, led by Marcus's father, had disappeared fifteen years earlier, and the fate of the soldiers and the legion's eagle standard (the symbol of a legion's honour) was unknown. After rescuing a Celtic slave (Esca) from certain death as a gladiator, Marcus and Esca traveled north to Hadrian's wall and beyond into the northern wilds, spurred on by rumours that the legion's eagle was in the hands of one of the outland tribes.
Originally pubished in 1954, "The Eagle of the Ninth" continues to entertain anyone interested in Roman history--for in fact, the Ninth Legion did exist and it did disappear without a trace. Recent archaeological discoveries have renewed interest in the disappearance. The book is bound to experience a revival, as it is currently being made into a movie directed by Kevin Macdonald and starring Jamie Bell and Donald Sutherland. Production starts in August 2009 and is supposed to hit movie theatres in 2010. The movie will be shot in Glassgow and the Scottish highlands--including scenes shot around Loch Lomond.
There is a reason this book is still around over half a century after it was first published--it should be on everyone's "must read" list.
|
|
|
5.0 out of 5 stars
Rome the triumphant!, Jun 22 2004
Sutcliff has to be one of the most consummately skilled authors in this genre, both for style and characterization. Her sense of time and place is wonderful, and she manages to powerfully evoke our interest in her character's struggles and triumphs. As another reviewer noted, Sutcliff's people are real, not some silly pasteboard stereotypes of modernity, flicked back about 1500 years.The plot is tight, avoiding unnecessary haste (which helps to give a sense of reality, as well), but not degenerating into a slough of wasted pages devoted to trivialities. Sutcliff's keen sense of location is a delightful aspect of the story--- one feels that she was intimately acquainted with Great Britain's wilds, and loved them for what they are and were: solemn, unfathomable, and full of mystery. An obvious scholar of Celtic and Roman traditions and culture, Sutcliff manages to subtly impart a great deal of information without lapsing into "textbookishness"--- that alone is no mean feat! Readers will find that there horizons have been broadened after diving into her books. Sadly, most of her best fiction is out of print, but here are some titles of her most enjoyable stories-you might want to check the libraries:
Mark of the Horse Lord
The Eagle of the Ninth
The Silver Branch
The Lantern Bearers
Sword Song
Warrior Scarlet
|
|
|
Most recent customer reviews
|
by Roasem Sutcliff
by Rosemary Sutcliff
by Rosemary Sutcliff
by Rosemary Sutcliff
by Ludmila Zeman
