Reviews - Sombras por Silencio en los Bosques del Infierno

1.27k reviews for:

Sombras por Silencio en los Bosques del Infierno

Brandon Sanderson

4.06 AVERAGE

dryad23's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous dark emotional tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

brycejohnson's review against another edition

4.0

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: N/A

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

Chilling pioneer horror vibes. I loved the setting and Threnody's "magic system."

Most gruesome Brando Sando l've read yet.

Looking forward to the next installment on this planet.

Content Warnings

raulterhes's review against another edition

5.0

Another winner from Brandon. Honestly I'm a sucker for the Cosmere as a whole, so might not be the most objective on this, but I don't care. Reading Sanderson makes me happy, always, and that's all this is about.

Also isn't this the best title of a book, like ever. Like it just draws you in, sets the setting and gives a depth to the world. Literally it introduces the story perfectly. And how cool of a name is Silence.

Ok done fanboying, let's review this. Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell is a short novella (yes Brandon can actually write short stuff, although with great difficulty it seems), set on the world of Threnody. Here there are Shadows, which are some kind of ghosts that attack people if they break certain rules, especially at night. The story focuses on Silence, a middle-aged innkeeper, who is also a bounty hunter, trying to keep her an. It's basically a thief catching story, but with the added depth of the Shadows.

Fast paced, with pretty much action, another masterfully crafted world and quite a bit of character depth for such a short story, Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell gets a big like from me.

Who would I recommend it? Actually anyone. If you really don't want to commit to a bigger Sanderson book, maybe just check out the prose, this is interesting, although I think it would still be better to pick a full standalone as the first book.

“(And no, for those searching, Hoid does not make an appearance. Unfortunately, he needed to be somewhere else in the timeline at this point.)” <- where u at Hoid? :(

heysunbee's review against another edition

3.5

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

(I read this in Arcanum Unbound: The Cosmere Collection)

This was a surprisingly good read! I have low expectations for novellas since they’re much too short for us to grasp the characters and the world, but Sanderson delivers a tension-filled story set in such a dark and unforgiving world.

Our lead Silence is a single mother who struggles to make ends meet in this world’s equivalent of a diner / rest stop - the most stereotypical horror movie setting. Sanderson knows how to take it to the next level while also putting a fantasy spin on this trope. I don’t want to give away more of the story but their world is the most depressing of all the worlds I’ve read of Sanderson, including the setting of Mistborn. At the end of it, I respected Silence for her ingenuity and her tenacity to survive amidst such troubling odds. If I were in that world, I would just quit because the odds are quite clearly stacked against you.

This novella surprised me. This is darker and more graphic than his usual fare so you need to be aware that this leans more into horror in terms of genre. It’s quite refreshing to see Sanderson take a different approach and it made me feel more excited to read his other novellas. If you’re looking for something Sandersonian but you’re not ready to commit to his tomes, I recommend giving this a try! It’s not his typical style but his common elements are still present in the story - overwhelming odds, resilient characters, and a magical system with its own set of logic within the world.

Give this a try if you haven’t read anything by Sanderson yet and you want to experience his writing style and worldbuilding or if you’ve read a lot of Sanderson and you’re interested in seeing more of the Cosmere.

adwaitkhedkar's review against another edition

5.0

Huh I really liked this was not expecting it
The world, through whatever tidbits I got was really immersive and I FELT the tension

ethanreadsb00ks's review against another edition

5.0

I want to learn about this world a lot. The title alone gives it an epic start and while 5 stars might seem excessive, I really did enjoy it that much. I loved the protagonist, dear Silence. I love that she was an older mother and a woman trying to keep an inn running, look after her children and deal with family trauma. And also was a hitwoman.

That's before you even touch the shades, their rules, the world building and the characters in her inn. Such a joy. Really hope this comes back as a full novel.