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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Nothing happens. Good characters and beautiful scenery... but nothing in the plot. Bleh. 1.5
A lot of people really love this book, but I just didn't enjoy it. It wasn't terribly written, so it gets 2 stars instead of 1, but it was a drag for me to get through. The story is really slow and not much happens. Even when things do happen, they aren't very well explained and I felt like I had very few answers at the end of the book. The world the story is set in seemed interesting, but there was almost no world building which made it confusing. I also found the "natives" to be written in a very othering way, which was troubling. If you really like westerns and road trip stories you might like this, but it wasn't for me.
Every month, I try out a different book subscription box and review them on my TikTok (@livingforliterature). Last month, I tried out My Sci-Fi Club, and picked the fantasy category. I recieved two hardcover fantasies, one of them being Silver On The Road by Laura Anne Gilman, published by Sage Press. I decided to start the month with this read.
This is a Western Fantasy, and as someone who has never read a Western before, I was intrigued. Izzy grew up in the Devil’s West, in a small town called Flood, where a man known as the devil (unclear on what he actually is). When Izzy turns sixteen, she makes a Bargain with the devil to become his left hand, and thus embarks on a journey with a rider called Gabriel, off to find what she’s meant to do around the whole of the Territory.
I loved the worldbuilding. It gave me real Red Dead Redemption vibes with saloons, and cowboys, and all the Western classics–but with a tinge of fantasy elements like demons, magicians, powerful crossroads, chimeras, and more. Plus, there was an element of rules in the Territory that basically came to this: if you don’t cause offense, you’re free to roam the land, but if you cause offense, justice must be served.
I also liked the characters. My favorite character was the mad magician Farron, who reminded me of the Mad Hatter. Gabriel was definitley the Arthur Morgan of this nove; I wish we learned more about his bargain. Izzy, my least favorite character, was kind of just a clueless girl coming to her own powers.
I think the plot had a lot of potential, but it was too slow getting to the point. I understand they are on the road, camping in spots, but we don’t need to know every detail they take to cook their beans and get dressed. It did make the pages go by slower, which made it all the more frusturating when the resolution wasn’t clear and Izzy was still mostly clueless at the end, leaving us, the readers, clueless. It is a series, though, so perhaps more is revealed in later books.
One thing I was slightly uncomfortable with was the portrayal of “Natives” as they are called in the book. It may have been historically accurate–I honestly am not sure and would love to hear other perspectives on it.
Overall, I’d give this book three stars. I probably will finish the series when giving the oppurtunity, but won’t actively seek out the books. I am, however, interested in reading more Westerns.
This is a Western Fantasy, and as someone who has never read a Western before, I was intrigued. Izzy grew up in the Devil’s West, in a small town called Flood, where a man known as the devil (unclear on what he actually is). When Izzy turns sixteen, she makes a Bargain with the devil to become his left hand, and thus embarks on a journey with a rider called Gabriel, off to find what she’s meant to do around the whole of the Territory.
I loved the worldbuilding. It gave me real Red Dead Redemption vibes with saloons, and cowboys, and all the Western classics–but with a tinge of fantasy elements like demons, magicians, powerful crossroads, chimeras, and more. Plus, there was an element of rules in the Territory that basically came to this: if you don’t cause offense, you’re free to roam the land, but if you cause offense, justice must be served.
I also liked the characters. My favorite character was the mad magician Farron, who reminded me of the Mad Hatter. Gabriel was definitley the Arthur Morgan of this nove; I wish we learned more about his bargain. Izzy, my least favorite character, was kind of just a clueless girl coming to her own powers.
I think the plot had a lot of potential, but it was too slow getting to the point. I understand they are on the road, camping in spots, but we don’t need to know every detail they take to cook their beans and get dressed. It did make the pages go by slower, which made it all the more frusturating when the resolution wasn’t clear and Izzy was still mostly clueless at the end, leaving us, the readers, clueless. It is a series, though, so perhaps more is revealed in later books.
One thing I was slightly uncomfortable with was the portrayal of “Natives” as they are called in the book. It may have been historically accurate–I honestly am not sure and would love to hear other perspectives on it.
Overall, I’d give this book three stars. I probably will finish the series when giving the oppurtunity, but won’t actively seek out the books. I am, however, interested in reading more Westerns.
The story was one long, very slow ride, both literally and figuratively. The premise of the book was intriguing and the characters both interesting and likeable. But it was a frustrating read in that it sprinkled tiny droplets of action and revelation at about the rate one sees rain in the desert during its dry season. I felt at times I could die of thirst before getting a drink.
At the end, it left me dissatisfied. Yet the world and characterizations, slow-moving as they were, were interesting enough to carry me through until the end. I only hope that the next book will not require as much patience awaiting the plot and characters to develop.
Spoiler
In addition, little is resolved by the end of the book. It felt like merely one of innumerable pauses in the crawl of the story arc.At the end, it left me dissatisfied. Yet the world and characterizations, slow-moving as they were, were interesting enough to carry me through until the end. I only hope that the next book will not require as much patience awaiting the plot and characters to develop.
I grew up reading and watching Westerns; one of my first loves was Little Joe from Bonanza. I know the genre, and its faults (*waves at representations of Indigenous people and women*) pretty well, and I have both a healthy dose of nostalgia and skepticism for media that starts playing with the West.
Which is part of why, I think, Silver on the Road was such a pleasant surprise! It has solid prose, it treats Indigenous people as distinct cultural groups (though I'm still uncomfortable with the devil/etc acting as a colonizing figure), and the growth of the characters and relationships managed to avoid being caricatures/tropes while still falling into patterns. This is the first 16yo in ages that I didn't grow tired of, and including Gabriel as a PoV character created a nice balance.
I liked the pacing, the episodic feeling that the plot and travelling created. The (somewhat predictable) plot - young girl with a lot of responsibility has to grow into her powers - also reminded me of my favourite novels from when I was younger, like The Blue Sword (which also featured a lot of riding, dry territory, etc).
Which is part of why, I think, Silver on the Road was such a pleasant surprise! It has solid prose, it treats Indigenous people as distinct cultural groups (though I'm still uncomfortable with the devil/etc acting as a colonizing figure), and the growth of the characters and relationships managed to avoid being caricatures/tropes while still falling into patterns. This is the first 16yo in ages that I didn't grow tired of, and including Gabriel as a PoV character created a nice balance.
I liked the pacing, the episodic feeling that the plot and travelling created. The (somewhat predictable) plot - young girl with a lot of responsibility has to grow into her powers - also reminded me of my favourite novels from when I was younger, like The Blue Sword (which also featured a lot of riding, dry territory, etc).
This started pretty slow and in the beginning, the protagonist was hella annoying. But she grew, the plot picked up and the world building is some of the best I've seen in a long time. I think I'll pick up the sequel.
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I liked this book a lot; I found the setting and characters interesting.
My full review is available at: https://cannonballread.com/2019/01/how-to-suppress-womens-writing-and-silver-on-the-road-sistercoyote/ (Combined with my review of Joanna Russ' How To Suppress Women's Writing)
My full review is available at: https://cannonballread.com/2019/01/how-to-suppress-womens-writing-and-silver-on-the-road-sistercoyote/ (Combined with my review of Joanna Russ' How To Suppress Women's Writing)