You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
adventurous
mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Slowly easing its way through its heroine's development, Silver on the Road has little in the way of plot but plenty in the way of vibe.
Way, way better than I was expecting. And I was expecting pretty bloody good.
This book had a marvellous premise, interestingly woven character and excellent prose. All brought low by the plot's execution. I honestly felt like the instances where something was actually happening were few and far between. Those instances were without a fault intensely engaging and interesting. But the rest of the time was spent on what felt like aimless, purposeless wandering.
I know we are probably meant to see Iz's growth from a child who had never left Flood to a proper rider, but like in [b:God's War|9359818|God's War (Bel Dame Apocrypha, #1)|Kameron Hurley|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1303144535l/9359818._SY75_.jpg|14243275], the previous book I read, we mostly just see a lot of moving around. Waking up, preparing camp, random bit of world-building, moving on, rinse, repeat. Granted, there's a point to all the moving, but the fact remains there's little to no actual advancement of the book's apparent plot for most of the book itself, the important scenes peppered in between a whole lot of nothing. And no matter how prettily written it is, it still is mostly uninteresting. Even if it compels you to read on somehow.
I'll admit, I feel a little guilty writing this. I don't know whether I am simply being too harsh on the book. Perhaps there's just some genre convention that I am missing. It is possible, as I honestly just decided to read it based on the premise and little attention was paid to anything else. But in any case, for the few interesting scenes, and the engaging characters (I loved Farron and Isobel) and the premise itself, and the hope that the second book will redeem the failing's of the first, I give it three stars.
I know we are probably meant to see Iz's growth from a child who had never left Flood to a proper rider, but like in [b:God's War|9359818|God's War (Bel Dame Apocrypha, #1)|Kameron Hurley|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1303144535l/9359818._SY75_.jpg|14243275], the previous book I read, we mostly just see a lot of moving around. Waking up, preparing camp, random bit of world-building, moving on, rinse, repeat. Granted, there's a point to all the moving, but the fact remains there's little to no actual advancement of the book's apparent plot for most of the book itself, the important scenes peppered in between a whole lot of nothing. And no matter how prettily written it is, it still is mostly uninteresting. Even if it compels you to read on somehow.
I'll admit, I feel a little guilty writing this. I don't know whether I am simply being too harsh on the book. Perhaps there's just some genre convention that I am missing. It is possible, as I honestly just decided to read it based on the premise and little attention was paid to anything else. But in any case, for the few interesting scenes, and the engaging characters (I loved Farron and Isobel) and the premise itself, and the hope that the second book will redeem the failing's of the first, I give it three stars.
The Old West, as ruled by the devil, where magicians and spirits and demons and magic exist. Isobel is the Devil's Hand - a sort of special agent - but she is brand new to the job and untested and untrained. As she starts out on the road, she finds that the job is not what she expected, and there is danger coming into the territory that she alone can stop.
I like this and hope that it does indeed have a sequel or two. I appreciated that although the two main characters are a man and a young woman thrown together, there was no romance, and I am happy about that primarily because Isobel is only 16, something that is a prominent point.
I like this and hope that it does indeed have a sequel or two. I appreciated that although the two main characters are a man and a young woman thrown together, there was no romance, and I am happy about that primarily because Isobel is only 16, something that is a prominent point.
I wanted to love this one, and I did- right up to the part where nothing happened. For pages.
Definitely a slow-moving, dark western fantasy. Not my speed, but very well-written.
_X_ Try it! You’ll probably like it (wasn’t for me, but it’s well-written).
__ Meh. If you have nothing else to read, try it.
__ Don’t waste your time with this one!
Definitely a slow-moving, dark western fantasy. Not my speed, but very well-written.
_X_ Try it! You’ll probably like it (wasn’t for me, but it’s well-written).
__ Meh. If you have nothing else to read, try it.
__ Don’t waste your time with this one!
I bought this on a whim when I needed to add more to an online order to earn free shipping
I really enjoyed this book. The author did a really good job creating an eerie feeling to the books. I really enjoy the way she portrays relationships in a very realistic way. I just wish that the main characters powers had lived up to the build up to the big boss fight. I will still be continuing the series and just hoping that Isobel's powers develop more and more.
A paranormal western featuring ghosts, demons, magicians and the devil himself? Silver on the road is an impressively imaginative read. It was the slower-than-molasses plot that left me underwhelmed. By the midway point, I was hanging on for the characters more than the story.
*Spoilers*
This is going to sound more snarky than I intend, but: This would have been a really good book if there had been a plot.
The worldbuilding in Silver on the Road was just amazing. I loved everything about it. Every single little detail and trait. It was set in an alternate version of the old west, one where the supernatural exists. The devil (lower case) controls everything west of the Mississippi. But for most folks, that the devil owns everything means little -- they still live out their lives, have families, nothing much different than anyone else. However, if one chooses, they can visit the devil and make a deal -- ask for something and offer something.
The main character worked the tavern that the devil worked out of (where his office was, but he was also a gambler, so its where he always played his cardgames). When she came of age, she decided to go to the devil and make a deal for a job she wanted. He agreed to her terms, thus the story began.
The whole book was about her being on the road with an older rider. What did they do? Rode the territory and looked at things. That's the whole story, him just teaching her how to live on the road in the territory. It was interesting only because the world they lived in was interesting, but for the first 90% of the book, there was zero plot other than them riding together and him teaching her about the land.
90% in, what seemed like plot was picking up: Something Evil was loose in the land, and main character decided it was her job to take care of it.
You talk to it.
Seriously. So after the last 10% of the book builds up to this BIG PROBLEM, BIG EVIL THING, how did the main character deal with it? She talked to it. Explained the devil's rules to it and how it could live in the territory. While that made sense, it was seriously unsatisfying as an ending.
All that being said, I didn't hate the book. The writing was good. I liked all the characters a lot (a whole lot!). I loved the world. It's just that, with so little plot, I had no drive to read it.
Apparently this is the first book in a series, but I suspect I won't bother picking up the second. It's really too bad, this could have been a great book if more happened in it.
This is going to sound more snarky than I intend, but: This would have been a really good book if there had been a plot.
The worldbuilding in Silver on the Road was just amazing. I loved everything about it. Every single little detail and trait. It was set in an alternate version of the old west, one where the supernatural exists. The devil (lower case) controls everything west of the Mississippi. But for most folks, that the devil owns everything means little -- they still live out their lives, have families, nothing much different than anyone else. However, if one chooses, they can visit the devil and make a deal -- ask for something and offer something.
The main character worked the tavern that the devil worked out of (where his office was, but he was also a gambler, so its where he always played his cardgames). When she came of age, she decided to go to the devil and make a deal for a job she wanted. He agreed to her terms, thus the story began.
The whole book was about her being on the road with an older rider. What did they do? Rode the territory and looked at things. That's the whole story, him just teaching her how to live on the road in the territory. It was interesting only because the world they lived in was interesting, but for the first 90% of the book, there was zero plot other than them riding together and him teaching her about the land.
90% in, what seemed like plot was picking up: Something Evil was loose in the land, and main character decided it was her job to take care of it.
You talk to it.
Seriously. So after the last 10% of the book builds up to this BIG PROBLEM, BIG EVIL THING, how did the main character deal with it? She talked to it. Explained the devil's rules to it and how it could live in the territory. While that made sense, it was seriously unsatisfying as an ending.
All that being said, I didn't hate the book. The writing was good. I liked all the characters a lot (a whole lot!). I loved the world. It's just that, with so little plot, I had no drive to read it.
Apparently this is the first book in a series, but I suspect I won't bother picking up the second. It's really too bad, this could have been a great book if more happened in it.
Did not make it far, but I shelved it as a book I might return to someday. I love the author's way of writing, the descriptions are beautiful, but it is WAYYYYY to slow for me right now, especially for a book that is suppose to take place in the Devil's West. I might re-visit Western Fantasy someday, right now it is not really my thing.