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ofearna's review
3.0
I knew the "surprise" about 1/2 way through the book... And I've never read his stuff before.
claritybear's review
4.0
"Discovering" Graham Joyce a few days ago (bless a fellow librarian for the rec) has been so exciting. Such vivid descriptions, rich characters, intriguing stories, great sex scenes (yeah, I said it), it's all engrossing. I've only read two of his books so far-both deeply similar and quite different all at once-and I'm so pleased there are quite a few more for me to devour.
mrninjaviking's review
4.0
Through a drawing here at GoodReads.Com, I was given a copy of "The Silent Land" by Graham Joyce. I was thrilled, given that I entered the drawing close to the deadline and have really enjoyed Joyce's work. (Would have bought this book had I not gotten this copy.)
From the review by Publishers Weekly found on Amazon.Com:
As I said, I have enjoyed every novel I have read by Joyce on some level. Unfortunately I read his first novel most recently, and it's not always easy to do that. It's like taking a step back. However, and back to the point, I had no clue what this book was about when I opened it to read. I never read the description/review above. I didn't read the flaps on my copy. I went in cold (no pun intended). I had put this on my wish list at Amazon this way, and when I won the drawing I didn't want to change find out more.
What I found interesting though is that I quickly assumed what had happened to Zoe and Jake. Honestly, it isn't hard to figure out. You might come close to guessing the actual ending without reading the book. What makes this book so good though is getting to the finish. The journey that Zoe and Jake take. What their relationship means and how they deal with their situation.
There is a fascinating tale woven in the pages of this book. Zoe is hiding something from Jake, something she has never done before. And Jake starts taking stances that aren't normal for him. However, Joyce gives you enough of a feel of the characters, little bits sprinkled throughout the whole story, that makes you really feel these "facts" about them without being given major chunks of their past. Honestly, there is very little that looks back at either of their pasts. 90% of the book is the here and now that Zoe and Jake are dealing with. I feel it was quite a feat to pull this off.
This is on top of doing something that was easy to see coming, yet making the whole story engaging, interesting, and entertaining. It had a couple of some duller moments in the middle, but at certain times throughout the book, it was hard to put it down after finishing a chapter for the night.
Joyce continues to be an author I will continue to buy. He doesn't write books that will knock your socks off, but is consistent in giving his readers very good tales that can be fascinating.
From the review by Publishers Weekly found on Amazon.Com:
Near the outset of this gently haunting fantasy thriller ... a freak avalanche buries Zoe and Jake, a couple on a skiing holiday near the Pyrenean resort town of Saint-Bernard-en-Haut. After digging out, they find themselves the only inhabitants of the unnaturally silent landscape. Back at their hotel, they discover they're still alone. All their efforts to leave for the next town only bring them back in a circle. Jake suspects that they've died—but then Zoe begins seeing furtive figures and hearing snatches of speech that suggest this likely explanation is more complex than it seems. Joyce brings freshness to this familiar supernatural scenario by emphasizing the humanness of his characters over the weirdness of the phenomena.
As I said, I have enjoyed every novel I have read by Joyce on some level. Unfortunately I read his first novel most recently, and it's not always easy to do that. It's like taking a step back. However, and back to the point, I had no clue what this book was about when I opened it to read. I never read the description/review above. I didn't read the flaps on my copy. I went in cold (no pun intended). I had put this on my wish list at Amazon this way, and when I won the drawing I didn't want to change find out more.
What I found interesting though is that I quickly assumed what had happened to Zoe and Jake. Honestly, it isn't hard to figure out. You might come close to guessing the actual ending without reading the book. What makes this book so good though is getting to the finish. The journey that Zoe and Jake take. What their relationship means and how they deal with their situation.
There is a fascinating tale woven in the pages of this book. Zoe is hiding something from Jake, something she has never done before. And Jake starts taking stances that aren't normal for him. However, Joyce gives you enough of a feel of the characters, little bits sprinkled throughout the whole story, that makes you really feel these "facts" about them without being given major chunks of their past. Honestly, there is very little that looks back at either of their pasts. 90% of the book is the here and now that Zoe and Jake are dealing with. I feel it was quite a feat to pull this off.
This is on top of doing something that was easy to see coming, yet making the whole story engaging, interesting, and entertaining. It had a couple of some duller moments in the middle, but at certain times throughout the book, it was hard to put it down after finishing a chapter for the night.
Joyce continues to be an author I will continue to buy. He doesn't write books that will knock your socks off, but is consistent in giving his readers very good tales that can be fascinating.
dansco112's review
5.0
This book is a magical tragedy. There is no other way I can describe this hard-hitting, heartwarming, emotional wrenching story of two people stuck between life and death.
The book follows couple Jake and Zoe after they seemingly surviving from an avalanche during one of their many skiing holidays. When they get themselves out of the snow, they find their hotel, the village, everything is silent and abandoned. This could of been a typical horror book of some unknown monsters prowling around the village and our heroes have to find a way to survive them.
But Joyce does not do that.
Instead, the supernatural is treated as normality. The twist is revealed in the 5th chapter when Jake states that they're dead. So...that's the reality of the situation. They're dead. This is clearly heaven or hell. So what happens?
Well, they live in it.
Zoe and Jake attempt to live in the world they are trapped into, and they begin to stop trying to escape it. They eat at the restaurant with food that seemingly never decays, they shop in stores wearing clothes that they don't even need to buy, it almost seems as if they can live here forever.
Than the tragedy starts brewing.
As the book goes on, everything starts decaying, more strange things happen, but it's not excessively "horrible" nor is it terrifying. It's more foreboding.
Joyce makes the tragedy in the decay of our loved ones. Zoe survives at the end, along with her baby, but Jake dies. Zoe never died. She only cheated death, giving them more time together and finalizing their relationship and love. The Silent Land, in a way, is a romance. We spend a lot of time figuring the relationship of these two, and while some may complain that the two characters aren't developed, I personally believe it's meant to be. Because it doesn't matter. They are spending their time together, and we are watching the final moments of a couple finalizing their feelings towards each other.
Joyce overlaps various genres into this book: Mostly fantasy, a little bit of horror, sometimes romance, and mystery. And just form personal experience, seeing every occurrence come together such as the phone calls, the tree that Zoe would always set up for her dad Archie, it almost brought a tear into my eye.
On the writing side, Joyce creates a magical, ominous world with simple yet visual descriptions that anyone can pick up and read. It's easy, and its captivating. If I really HAD to state one flaw with this novel, it would be sometimes the dialogue, in this case more of the phrasing and words, can seem a bit over the top or random at times, but I can ignore that and just see the beauty of this book. This book is just...I can't recommend it enough. It's beautiful. The imagery, the story, the twists, the characters. I love it. And that is why I will be coming back to Graham Joyce, ready for more.
“
The book follows couple Jake and Zoe after they seemingly surviving from an avalanche during one of their many skiing holidays. When they get themselves out of the snow, they find their hotel, the village, everything is silent and abandoned. This could of been a typical horror book of some unknown monsters prowling around the village and our heroes have to find a way to survive them.
But Joyce does not do that.
Instead, the supernatural is treated as normality. The twist is revealed in the 5th chapter when Jake states that they're dead. So...that's the reality of the situation. They're dead. This is clearly heaven or hell. So what happens?
Well, they live in it.
Zoe and Jake attempt to live in the world they are trapped into, and they begin to stop trying to escape it. They eat at the restaurant with food that seemingly never decays, they shop in stores wearing clothes that they don't even need to buy, it almost seems as if they can live here forever.
Than the tragedy starts brewing.
As the book goes on, everything starts decaying, more strange things happen, but it's not excessively "horrible" nor is it terrifying. It's more foreboding.
Joyce makes the tragedy in the decay of our loved ones. Zoe survives at the end, along with her baby, but Jake dies. Zoe never died. She only cheated death, giving them more time together and finalizing their relationship and love. The Silent Land, in a way, is a romance. We spend a lot of time figuring the relationship of these two, and while some may complain that the two characters aren't developed, I personally believe it's meant to be. Because it doesn't matter. They are spending their time together, and we are watching the final moments of a couple finalizing their feelings towards each other.
Joyce overlaps various genres into this book: Mostly fantasy, a little bit of horror, sometimes romance, and mystery. And just form personal experience, seeing every occurrence come together such as the phone calls, the tree that Zoe would always set up for her dad Archie, it almost brought a tear into my eye.
On the writing side, Joyce creates a magical, ominous world with simple yet visual descriptions that anyone can pick up and read. It's easy, and its captivating. If I really HAD to state one flaw with this novel, it would be sometimes the dialogue, in this case more of the phrasing and words, can seem a bit over the top or random at times, but I can ignore that and just see the beauty of this book. This book is just...I can't recommend it enough. It's beautiful. The imagery, the story, the twists, the characters. I love it. And that is why I will be coming back to Graham Joyce, ready for more.
“
tasharobinson's review
3.0
The first part of this book really caught me, as a married couple on vacation struggles to survive an avalanche, then to explain the increasingly strange phenomena that follow, as they find themselves in an empty world, with all the luxuries they could want, but no people, and no sense of time passing for the objects around them — meat doesn't decay, candles don't burn down, etc. But as the story went on, it started to feel more and more arbitrary and repetitive, as they alternate sex and luxurious meals with hiding things from each other and freaking out about strange phenomena. By halfway through the book, I knew where it was going and I was waiting for either the twist or for the focus to shift more to the psychological aspects of the situation, which it didn't. This reminded me of the film Bokeh, which has a very similar premise, sans avalanche, but that film ends up being more about the human effects of this situation, and less about a foreordained reveal. I liked the writing in this book, but struggled to finish it.
abbeyreads13's review
5.0
5⭐️
Speculative fiction about a couple who goes skiing only to experience an avalanche. They are then stranded on the mountain, and when they try to get down the mountain, they end up going in circles.
Let me start by saying this book surprised me so many times. We start out with feeling the thriller, spooky vibes then move into sort of a suspenseful but passionate place with the main couple, then the last third is the most soul crushing devastation. Comedy is used so diligently to keep the reader laughing just as much as they are holding back tears.
I was openly sobbing for an hour after finishing this, my emotional / sensitive fans of speculative fiction will love this one (I hope!)
Speculative fiction about a couple who goes skiing only to experience an avalanche. They are then stranded on the mountain, and when they try to get down the mountain, they end up going in circles.
Let me start by saying this book surprised me so many times. We start out with feeling the thriller, spooky vibes then move into sort of a suspenseful but passionate place with the main couple, then the last third is the most soul crushing devastation. Comedy is used so diligently to keep the reader laughing just as much as they are holding back tears.
I was openly sobbing for an hour after finishing this, my emotional / sensitive fans of speculative fiction will love this one (I hope!)
slippy_underfoot's review
5.0
Beautifully written and well realised, though the reveal becomes apparent early on. The couple feel real; loving, sexy and fractious by turns. Slight, but moving, and it certainly makes me keen to read more of his work.
kwough's review
5.0
This is one of the loveliest books I've read in a long time (not that it's necessarily light or happy). After finishing it on Kindle, it went to a preview page for Some Kind of Fairy Tale, which I read last year and also loved, not realizing it was the same author. I can't believe I've just discovered this writer, and since he passed away in 2014 there won't be any more books. I have a lot of catching up to do.
jcpdiesel21's review
2.0
Fantastic premise, disappointingly poor execution. The first third is dull and frustratingly repetitive. The middle portion is slightly more interesting as some developments finally occur, but the book stalls out in the end to a conclusion that puts all of the various pieces in place and makes sense, but ultimately is predictable. The characters have very little depth, due to their constant bickering I got no sense of the great love that they are supposed to share, and I wasn't invested at all in their fates. The best thing about this book is the stunning cover and dust jacket combination that cleverly overlap.