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Aug. 20th, 2007

The problem with writing a book that follows one family through the ups and downs of Roman Britain is that it inevitably causes the reader, or at least this reader, to draw comparisons with Rosemary Sutcliff. Although Sutcliff set her books in many historical eras Roman Britain is the backdrop for many of them and, indeed, many of the best of them. Following the progress of one family is also a trick of Sutcliff's - The Capricon Bracelet does this in one volume as a series of short stories, but her most famous family must be the Aquila family who, as far as I'm aware, first appear in The Eagle of the Ninth and I last encountered them in The Shield Ring, set against the backdrop of resistance to the Norman Invasion in the Lake District. The problem with causing a reader to compare your work to that of a well-loved children's author is that you are almost bound to lose out.

( Emperor )

The Quick Reads books are designed to appeal to adults who, for one reason or another, are anxious about reading. As such they are intended to be short with a limited vocabulary. I can't quite decide whether Terrance Dicks was an inspired choice to author one of these or a result of a misguided identification of "short with a simple vocabulary" with "suitable for children".

( Review of Made of Steel )

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