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This sequel to Silver in the Wood does several things which I particularly dislike: it breaks up the couple that was formed at the end of the last book rather than continue them as a couple, and it takes characters I liked a lot in the last book and makes them unlikable.
After Henry Silver and Tobias Finch got together at the end of Silver in the Wood, this book opens with them broken up and Silver sulking in a very unattractive manner. This novella is from Silver's point of view, and he comes across extremely badly: whiny, selfish, self-pitying, needy, controlling, and lacking empathy or caring to the point of being borderline sociopathic.
I had liked him a lot in the last book, and if there was foreshadowing of how awful he was, I missed it.
The reason why he and Tobias broke up is kept a secret till near the end. It's effective as a reveal - what Silver did was much worse than what I'd imagined - but it makes the conflict between them for most of the book fall flat because we have no idea what went down between them.
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The actual story is that Silver agrees to help Tobias and his mom find a vanished girl, and end up in Faerie. It's... fine. Not as evocative and lovely as the first book, but it has some good moments. An ending sequence involving the dryad Bramble is wonderful. But I couldn't get past how awful Silver was.
If you liked Tobias/Silver or Silver himself in the first book, I don't recommend this. If you liked the woods, it does have some good woodsiness but mostly takes place out of them. If you enjoyed Silver's folkorist pursuits and the mythology in general, but aren't that attached to Tobias/Silver, then go for it.
After Henry Silver and Tobias Finch got together at the end of Silver in the Wood, this book opens with them broken up and Silver sulking in a very unattractive manner. This novella is from Silver's point of view, and he comes across extremely badly: whiny, selfish, self-pitying, needy, controlling, and lacking empathy or caring to the point of being borderline sociopathic.
I had liked him a lot in the last book, and if there was foreshadowing of how awful he was, I missed it.
The reason why he and Tobias broke up is kept a secret till near the end. It's effective as a reveal - what Silver did was much worse than what I'd imagined - but it makes the conflict between them for most of the book fall flat because we have no idea what went down between them.
( Read more... )
The actual story is that Silver agrees to help Tobias and his mom find a vanished girl, and end up in Faerie. It's... fine. Not as evocative and lovely as the first book, but it has some good moments. An ending sequence involving the dryad Bramble is wonderful. But I couldn't get past how awful Silver was.
If you liked Tobias/Silver or Silver himself in the first book, I don't recommend this. If you liked the woods, it does have some good woodsiness but mostly takes place out of them. If you enjoyed Silver's folkorist pursuits and the mythology in general, but aren't that attached to Tobias/Silver, then go for it.
