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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
I'm not a fan of the Wild West so I was not expecting to love this book but I did. It was so original and immediate. You really felt like you were in this young girl's head as she stumbled through her initiation into life "on the road" and in her new role.
I liked all the characters because they felt like real people, flawed but all with some good in them.
The way magic works was intriguing as were the monstrous creatures she encounters.
It was gritty but not so much that it was painful to read.
I liked all the characters because they felt like real people, flawed but all with some good in them.
The way magic works was intriguing as were the monstrous creatures she encounters.
It was gritty but not so much that it was painful to read.
You know about Westerns -- a period of American history with cowboys and Indians, buffalos and Spanish missionaries. There are elements of truth in that, and a whole lot of modern mythology. Gilman has written a novel set in a version of that world that includes magic. It's not like any fantasy magic I've encountered before. It seems to rise logically out of the landscape. There's a character that people call the Devil, but it would seem that people with a Christian background misapplied a name they knew to something outside of their understanding.
The protagonist is a young woman heading out into this world as the Devil's agent, learning her job as she goes. You hear her point of view, and that of the man who the devil hired to teach her to survive on the road. They encounter silver miners (silver has a role in magic), Indians, a magician, missionaries and more. I loved it.
The protagonist is a young woman heading out into this world as the Devil's agent, learning her job as she goes. You hear her point of view, and that of the man who the devil hired to teach her to survive on the road. They encounter silver miners (silver has a role in magic), Indians, a magician, missionaries and more. I loved it.
An very early period western steampunk, i.e. no gadgets, with magic. It was fairly slow paced and an interesting read once sort of thing. It's part of a series that I probably won't read.
I really liked this book! I agree with the general consensus that the book was a little slow, which made it hard to get going on. However, the world building was excellent. I really want to read the second one (And learn about Gabriel!).
4.5 stars
This is beautiful and compelling and a new take on some very old ideas. What a ride!
This is beautiful and compelling and a new take on some very old ideas. What a ride!
First off, I'm really enjoying this trend of fantasy books set in the Old West. I really enjoyed Patricia Wrede's Frontier Magic series, and while I haven't started Rae Carson's new Gold Seer series yet, it is high on my to read list.
Silver on the Road is one of those books that features young adults, but isn't exactly a young adult books. While it would be a fine read for an older teen, it has enough grit and edge for adults.
Isobel was literally raised by the Devil. When she makes the decision to become the Devil's Left Hand she sets out to train as a rider with the experienced Gabriel. The book does not shy away from the realities of life on the road, especially in mixed company. In this way, it almost reminded me of Lonesome Dove. The book was a bit slow in the middle, but there is plenty of action along the way. I also enjoyed the diverse cast of characters. We meet American Indians, Spanish priests and women riders.
Silver on the Road is one of those books that features young adults, but isn't exactly a young adult books. While it would be a fine read for an older teen, it has enough grit and edge for adults.
Isobel was literally raised by the Devil. When she makes the decision to become the Devil's Left Hand she sets out to train as a rider with the experienced Gabriel. The book does not shy away from the realities of life on the road, especially in mixed company. In this way, it almost reminded me of Lonesome Dove. The book was a bit slow in the middle, but there is plenty of action along the way. I also enjoyed the diverse cast of characters. We meet American Indians, Spanish priests and women riders.
The setting for this is the Weird West. The Devil is in charge of the Western territory and many people that live there under his protection have a deal with him. Izzy was left in the care of the devil as part of the deal her parents had with him when they left the territory. Working in the saloon under Marie his right hand and seeing the nature of many deals with the devil she decides on her sixteenth birthday to enter a deal with him herself. She doesn’t want the usual things that people want when approaching him about a deal. Instead she becomes his Left Hand, an agent to be seen out in the territory enforcing his will with the marshals and the residents. She is traveling with a stranger who has been offered a favor by the devil to show her the ropes of the road and he has a secret of his own.
I liked the story and the setting. The hazards of traveling by horseback blended in with the story and gave the story universe depth. I’ll be looking for the next one.
Digital review copy provided by the publisher through Edelweiss
I liked the story and the setting. The hazards of traveling by horseback blended in with the story and gave the story universe depth. I’ll be looking for the next one.
Digital review copy provided by the publisher through Edelweiss
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
LOOOOOOVED the first 95% of the book. Laura Anne Gilman's SILVER ON THE ROAD is a delightfully original fantasy Western about Izzy, a young girl who has been indentured to the devil (you read that right) in the Wild West during the Jefferson Administration. The territory between the English, French, Spanish, and US holdings within North America is a fantastical land full of monsters, demons, and magic. The devil's law keeps everything in balance.
Izzy, turning 16, signs a new contract, becoming The Devil's Left Hand, his magical manager of the Devil's West.
There's a lot of wonderful characterization, complex and believable, and lots of great magic. There's a neat relationship between Izzy and the devil, as well as between Izzy and her mentor on the road, Gabriel. Their other sidekick, a disreputable magician, is compelling, too. (I would have enjoyed getting to know some of the American Indian characters a bit more.)
Where the story loses it's last star, for me, is plot. In a series, like in a serial, you need to have a satisfying resolution to the episode/volume, as well as the series or serial as a whole. That's not done here. There is a slight shift in Izzy's POV, and that's it. Because the last third of the novel lacks the building to a climax and then the climax itself that you would usually get in a novel, the end just falls terribly flat.
I'll be reading the next volume in the series, for sure, but I wish this one hadn't felt like just a tease.
The book is pretty clean in language and sexual situations, but it's very dark. I have mixed feelings about the appearance of Hebrew in the text (the devil speaks Hebrew--it's only not offensive because I think the author is Jewish based on her name and because I can see she's doing something interesting with the devil here--he's not what most Christian texts show him as). I'm still pondering as to whether I'll recommend it to my 14 y o, or only to my 17 y o.
Izzy, turning 16, signs a new contract, becoming The Devil's Left Hand, his magical manager of the Devil's West.
There's a lot of wonderful characterization, complex and believable, and lots of great magic. There's a neat relationship between Izzy and the devil, as well as between Izzy and her mentor on the road, Gabriel. Their other sidekick, a disreputable magician, is compelling, too. (I would have enjoyed getting to know some of the American Indian characters a bit more.)
Where the story loses it's last star, for me, is plot. In a series, like in a serial, you need to have a satisfying resolution to the episode/volume, as well as the series or serial as a whole. That's not done here. There is a slight shift in Izzy's POV, and that's it. Because the last third of the novel lacks the building to a climax and then the climax itself that you would usually get in a novel, the end just falls terribly flat.
I'll be reading the next volume in the series, for sure, but I wish this one hadn't felt like just a tease.
The book is pretty clean in language and sexual situations, but it's very dark. I have mixed feelings about the appearance of Hebrew in the text (the devil speaks Hebrew--it's only not offensive because I think the author is Jewish based on her name and because I can see she's doing something interesting with the devil here--he's not what most Christian texts show him as). I'm still pondering as to whether I'll recommend it to my 14 y o, or only to my 17 y o.
This was a really interesting Western fantasy; my only quibble is that while it did a really good job of wrapping up the main character's journey of growth and responsibility, and in becoming someone worthy of being the Devil's Hand in the territory (it's not such a bad thing as it might sound), there were a few loose threads that were obviously dangling, but not enough to feel confident that there's a sequel planned to actually deal with them.