rachelmanija (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
rachelmanija) wrote2022-09-23 11:58 am
rachelmanija) wrote2022-09-23 11:58 am
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Drowned Country, by Emily Tesh
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.
Tobias had been helping Mrs. Silver deal with dangerous magical beings for a year. He then took some time off to stay with Silver while he adjusted to being the new Green Man. Mrs. Silver, who is Silver's MOM, wrote letters asking Tobias to come help her with a dangerous monster hunt, but Silver lied about the letters, telling Tobias that his mother never even mentioned him. He did this so Tobias would stay by his side - like, LITERALLY never leave him, not even temporarily to work. This is particularly awful as Tobias is illiterate and apparently dyslexic and relies on other people to read for him, so it adds in taking advantage of someone's disability.
I normally allow for in-story context and literary conventions rather than jumping to "this behavior is abuse," but cutting off communication between a partner and people trying to reach them, lying about it, and doing so specifically so they won't leave the house is a classic abusive control move.
The result of this is that Mrs. Silver and Tobias each thought the other was ignoring them and no longer cared about them or the work they did together. As her plea for help was never answered, she hunted a dangerous creature alone, was severely injured, and was left with a permanent disability. Again, this is Silver's MOTHER.
Tobias found out and dumped Silver - very understandably! I get that Silver was under extreme stress due to suddenly being the wild man of the woods, but I still found this whole thing totally unforgivable, and no longer wanted them to get back together once it came out. Especially since Silver never feels sorry because it was wrong, but only because it made Tobias dump his sorry ass. And I loved them as a couple in book one.
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.
Tobias had been helping Mrs. Silver deal with dangerous magical beings for a year. He then took some time off to stay with Silver while he adjusted to being the new Green Man. Mrs. Silver, who is Silver's MOM, wrote letters asking Tobias to come help her with a dangerous monster hunt, but Silver lied about the letters, telling Tobias that his mother never even mentioned him. He did this so Tobias would stay by his side - like, LITERALLY never leave him, not even temporarily to work. This is particularly awful as Tobias is illiterate and apparently dyslexic and relies on other people to read for him, so it adds in taking advantage of someone's disability.
I normally allow for in-story context and literary conventions rather than jumping to "this behavior is abuse," but cutting off communication between a partner and people trying to reach them, lying about it, and doing so specifically so they won't leave the house is a classic abusive control move.
The result of this is that Mrs. Silver and Tobias each thought the other was ignoring them and no longer cared about them or the work they did together. As her plea for help was never answered, she hunted a dangerous creature alone, was severely injured, and was left with a permanent disability. Again, this is Silver's MOTHER.
Tobias found out and dumped Silver - very understandably! I get that Silver was under extreme stress due to suddenly being the wild man of the woods, but I still found this whole thing totally unforgivable, and no longer wanted them to get back together once it came out. Especially since Silver never feels sorry because it was wrong, but only because it made Tobias dump his sorry ass. And I loved them as a couple in book one.
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.
