REVIEW: The Silver Skull by Mark Chadbourn

The Silver Skull (Swords of Albion series #1) by Mark Chadbourn
Publisher: Pyr 24 November 2009
Format: Paperback, 424 pages
ISBN 10: 1591027837
ISBN 13: 9781591027836
1st book in a Series
Copy: Out of pocket


Back of the book "A Devilish plot to assassinate the queen, a cold war enemy hell-bent on destroying the nation, incredible gadgets, a race against time around the world to stop the ultimate doomsday device...and Elizabethan England's greatest spy!"


This is my first Mark Chadbourn novel and I had a lot of high hopes for it but it just did not get it done for me. While the novel is full of high action and a great deal of mystery and intrigue, I found it to be mundane.


One of the reasons that I did not find The Silver Skull as entertaining as other reviewers, is that it attempted to take things from other famous British literary icons and it just did not work for me. For instance, Will Swyfte, our hero is given a few gadgets to help him in his mission. While you could state that it is in the same vein as James Bond, I found it to be a little too close for comfort. Another reason that The Silver Skull did not work for me is that I read Dan Abnett's Triumff: Her Majesty's Hero, which I also did not enjoy, and they both had very similar characters. A cocky and always lucky protagonist who is the Queen's go-to-guy in an emergency. While this could nearly describe a lot of protagonists in literature these two just rubbed me the wrong way. The third thing that I just did not like was the weapon that they were all hunting, the silver skull, just seemed unimaginative as far as weapons go. What it can do was interesting but the skull itself did not have the impact it should have in my opinion.


One thing that I found Mark Chadbourn does well, is that he has a real understanding of British myths and folklore. He can create an eerie situation when the called for. Early on in the novel, we flash back to when Mary Queen of Scots is being beheaded and the setting and pacing is dead on. You come away from the scene with the hairs on the back of your neck raised. 


I can not tell you exactly why I did not find this book as charming as the rest of the world, perhaps it was because I was getting over the flu when I read it and that somehow soured my experience. Whatever the reason, I did not find the book to be what I expected it to be. Which is a shame. There were a lot of great things to be found within it's pages so, maybe a re-read is called for when I have some time. The Silver Skull could be read as a standalone but, it does leave things open for sequels which is what is planned. Perhaps I will give the second book a shot and see if it changes my prospective of things.


Plot  7.5
Characters  7
Style  8


Overall  6/10