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A review by p0laris
Silence by Michelle Sagara
2.0
I was excited to read Silence, mainly because it is refreshing to find necromancy in YA; a subject I love, but don't come across very often. I was excited to read Michelle Sagara's take on it, and began this book shortly after receiving it.
The story in these pages is full of thrilling moments that kept me reading on. It contains mystery, action, and a little romance. Oh, and a touch of that slightly darker stuff that is *necromancy goodness*. I was enticed by some of the characters, and I wanted to know what their part in the story would be. This is especially true for Michael, who is a character with autism; his character is so realistic and well-written. He is definitely my favorite of them all. I was also drawn to Emma, and I wanted to know how she would handle her new-found ability.
Yet in all honesty, it's been a while since I finished reading it, and it has taken me forever to actually type this review up. I waited so long because I had planned to read it again before reviewing it. The truth is that I really didn't understand a lot of the book. I was pretty lost while reading, and I don't think I got the full effect. There were many times when thoughts and conversation subjects changed mid-sentence, and I then had no idea what was being discussed, or where the turning point in the conversation had happened. This was very frustrating, and left me utterly confused most of the time. (It's not just me!)
Keep in mind that I'm a heavy reader; I devour books (as I'm sure most book bloggers and avid readers do), and I know how to read and comprehend a conversation between characters. This is not my first ballgame, y'all! I have felt confused in a book a couple times before, but it was always just a sentence or two that threw me off. This was....something different. This was the entire book. Anyway, I had meant to read it again just to give it a fair shot, but I couldn't get into it a second time. I had already read the story, and I found myself reaching for other books each time I tried to pick it up again.
Despite the things I liked about it, I wasn't that impressed with the story. Not only was I confused, but the secondary characters seemed very contrived, and present only when they were useful. Emma herself blindly trusts people without having any reason to do so. She falls in love with a character very quickly, and he falls for her too. Very quickly.So quickly that he spared her life instead of killing her like he was sent to do.
On top of all of that, there really isn't much necromancy beyond the basics. Yeah, Emma can see and talk to dead people. She helps a few spirits in trouble (don't let me get started on some of the powers she is conveniently capable of). But it is all very tame, compared to some of the amazing necromancy books out there. It's really more of a supernatural/ghost story, than it is about necromancy. And maybe that's the problem: there are better necromancy books out there, and I've read them. I think I just expected more. *shrug*
This review was originally published on my blog: The Reading Fever.
*I was provided with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
The story in these pages is full of thrilling moments that kept me reading on. It contains mystery, action, and a little romance. Oh, and a touch of that slightly darker stuff that is *necromancy goodness*. I was enticed by some of the characters, and I wanted to know what their part in the story would be. This is especially true for Michael, who is a character with autism; his character is so realistic and well-written. He is definitely my favorite of them all. I was also drawn to Emma, and I wanted to know how she would handle her new-found ability.
Yet in all honesty, it's been a while since I finished reading it, and it has taken me forever to actually type this review up. I waited so long because I had planned to read it again before reviewing it. The truth is that I really didn't understand a lot of the book. I was pretty lost while reading, and I don't think I got the full effect. There were many times when thoughts and conversation subjects changed mid-sentence, and I then had no idea what was being discussed, or where the turning point in the conversation had happened. This was very frustrating, and left me utterly confused most of the time. (It's not just me!)
Keep in mind that I'm a heavy reader; I devour books (as I'm sure most book bloggers and avid readers do), and I know how to read and comprehend a conversation between characters. This is not my first ballgame, y'all! I have felt confused in a book a couple times before, but it was always just a sentence or two that threw me off. This was....something different. This was the entire book. Anyway, I had meant to read it again just to give it a fair shot, but I couldn't get into it a second time. I had already read the story, and I found myself reaching for other books each time I tried to pick it up again.
Despite the things I liked about it, I wasn't that impressed with the story. Not only was I confused, but the secondary characters seemed very contrived, and present only when they were useful. Emma herself blindly trusts people without having any reason to do so. She falls in love with a character very quickly, and he falls for her too. Very quickly.
On top of all of that, there really isn't much necromancy beyond the basics. Yeah, Emma can see and talk to dead people. She helps a few spirits in trouble (don't let me get started on some of the powers she is conveniently capable of). But it is all very tame, compared to some of the amazing necromancy books out there. It's really more of a supernatural/ghost story, than it is about necromancy. And maybe that's the problem: there are better necromancy books out there, and I've read them. I think I just expected more. *shrug*
This review was originally published on my blog: The Reading Fever.
*I was provided with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.