The Silver Bough

This is a good story (not always easy to find) and a very enjoyable read. Three American women find themselves in a small coastal (maybe!) Scottish town and become involved in historic events. You get a great feel for the small coastal town, and Tuttle creates a fine sense of the mystical about the goings-on. Which heroine will ultimately fall for the handsome, enigmatic stranger? The story should keep you guessing to the end, and the payoff is great. Enjoy!

The Silver Bough is a lovely contemporary fantasy, with compelling characters and an interesting use of celtic mythology. It starts out a bit slowly, as we are introduced to our cast of characters, but builds into a compelling read as we are pulled into the mystery of what is going on, and what the relationship of that is to the past. Tuttle is always worth reading, and this book is no exception. If you haven't checked out her other books, I highly recommend them all, especially her recent book "The Mysteries," now out in paperback. If you like Jonathan Carroll, Sean Stewart, and Gwnnyth Jones, give Tuttle a try.

The book starts off definetly with two feet firmly planted in the real world. Ashley is finding her roots and going back to Appleton, Scotland where her granny came from. However, a landslide isolates the dying town. Soon, people are seeing mermaids, kelpies, and ghosts. It might put the town back on the map again, but first someone must eat the golden apple... A mixture of modern and myth, superbly blended together into a gripping plot.

On the coast of Scotland in the Highlands is the town of Appleton, a place that is connected to the mainland by one small road. When an earthquake hits, the townsfolk are cut off from the rest of civilization. Supplies will be brought in by a ferry and mail and medical supplies will be flown in. Three American women are in Appleton. The town librarian Kathleen, the widow Nell who has bought Orchid House and one of her trees is a special golden apple that has not been seen for over fifty years. Visiting the town is Ashley whose grandmother was born there and left without telling anyone she was going. She refused to tell her family about that part of her life which makes Ashley all the more eager to get in touch with her roots. Another stranger in the town is Rhoan, a man in his twenties who looks exactly like the person in a photo that is over half century old. Much of the magic that lay hidden comes out in the cut off Appleton. It seems as if the place is moving into the Otherworld where the Apple Fairest that appeared in one of Nell's trees changes the reality of our world and gives those deserving them their heart's desire. SILVER BOUGH is all about subtle magic that is part of Appleton, a place that many believe originated in another dimension. Readers gradually became aware of the power that is in the very land itself and that of Rhoan, who is part of that magic and wants to return to his father's home. The characters are three dimensional and have a role in the upcoming events as Lisa Tuttle has written a spell binding Scottish Brigadoon like fantasy. Harriet Klausner

I have been getting into more fantasy like Gaimen's Neverwhere and thought I should try this book. I got it ahead of time in a reviewer copy format from my work. I thought the setting was great - a lonely peninsula in Scotland where time has nearly stopped. Tuttle writes pretty well and keeps you guessing so you want to know what is going to happen next. I only have one criticism and that is Tuttle wrote about fantasy creatures and places but you never really visit it them in the novel. She touches around the edges of the fantasy realm and leaves you hanging a little bit.