![]() The diorama tends to be present when Silverlock is traveling from one location to another. One or two might make sense-if someone observed Moses and the golden calf, it is sort of necessary to include them in the retelling, but if Puck, Fred Astaire, the Marquise de Merteuil, and the Pillsbury Dough Boy all happened to be walking by Moses and his calf? What good does it do to anybody to mention them other than to…name drop. Any time a character either steps away from Silverlock for a moment, or wants to tell Silverlock something that happened at some point in the past when he wasn’t present, he finds himself dropping a dozen names into the conversation that really needn’t be there. The name drop happens constantly and for little purpose. Most of the references present fall into three categories: the awkward cameo, the diorama, and the name-drop. He’s pretty effective at it, he holds his own in conversations, he doesn’t ask too many questions, he isn’t a complete bore, but he doesn’t exactly contribute a great deal either. Mostly he’s that friend of a friend that showed up at a party, and doesn’t seem to realize the next day that it is time to go home. Silverlock doesn’t learn anything, he doesn’t accomplish anything, he doesn’t do much of anything. There isn’t much of a plot other than man wanders around magical world for a few weeks. It is an effective way of introducing a character or concept laden with history or baggage quickly and effectively, and giving readers the ‘a-ha’ moment when they figure out who someone is.īut in Silverlock, Myers quickly runs into a few problems, the gimmick becomes the story. This concept is hardly new, from the Odyssey to the Aeneid to The Inferno authors have used literary, historical and legendary characters to populate their worlds. Along with his guide, a local, he sets off on a journey through this land and has encounters with the population along the way. Silverlock tells the story of an average guy from Chicago who finds himself shipwrecked off the coast of a fantasy land where hundreds of characters from myth, legend and literature all live. The simple fact is that Silverlock is a poorly written, not very interesting novel that used the same gimmick over and over. Finding the references, or not, is immaterial so far as I’m concerned. It seems like most people who enjoy it dismiss those who don’t as not enjoying the references or not wanting to ‘play the game’ of reference hunting. I’ve read many of the works referenced in the books. I have a degree in art history, and minor in classical civilizations. When the premise of this novel, and the unique history, were told to me, I figured this is something I could really enjoy. I wanted to love Silverlock and kept holding out that something would suddenly change my mind. So when the Delian pairs Silverlock with Golias we are invited to watch the creation of his character in every sense of the word. The first sentence of the book illustrates this: "If I had cared to live, I would have died." And here is this rootless, disconnected piece of human flotsam smacked down in the middle of story with a Capital S.Īs to plot, it's not so much an absence of plot but rather the presence of ALL PLOT and plot devices: love, lust, good, evil, steadfastness, betrayal, war, peace, friendship, compassion, bravery, cowardice, joy, grief, atonement and revenge. He is not even interested in his own story. Here we have the case of a modern man, egocentric, detached, materialistic, and apathetic to everything. ![]() To me, after reading this book several times over the last 30 years, the point of this book is simply in praise of "story" how it defines us and uplifts us, how basic it is to the human experience. I do not agree, however, with those who claim that the book is pointless and plotless. I am sympathetic with those who feel that a lack of familiarity with classics of literature an culture leave one on the outside. I have been reading the comments made by other GoodReads members on Silverlock, by John Myers Myers.
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