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A review by emilythesmelly
Silent Hall by N.S. Dolkart
4.0
I felt like it was time that I checked out this novel by a fellow Hampshire alum. I think I really liked this book. There's a part of me that's still not quite sure how to feel, and there's a part of me that's remembering things I didn't like about it, but for the most part, I think that there was enough good in it and that I spent enough time thinking about it while not reading that I must have liked it.
So, the story has five protagonists: Narky, Phaedra, Hunter, Bandu, and Criton. One of the things I really didn't like about the book was Narky, and the novel begins by introducing him, and that kinda set me in a bad mood for a while. Also, while I don't like Narky on the whole, the handful of times this book made me laugh were all because of him, so *shrug emoji*. Criton started out as my favorite. I mean, dragon boy? Sign me up. However, though it's Criton's quest around which the plot revolves, really, he as a character grows remarkably little. I liked him less and less as the story went on, and that's a shame. I'm hoping that he takes some significant steps in the other two books. I also really liked Phaedra at the beginning of the novel, and while I don't dislike her now, her flaws became more and more apparent as the story progressed. As far as storytelling/craft goes, that's great and it was well done, but as I reader I like to like characters, so again *shrug emoji*. I found Bandu very grating at the beginning, but the more time you spend with her the clearer it is that, despite her honestly feral upbringing and lack of any sort of study/learning, she's incredibly clever. I've come to really appreciate Bandu, and I also really appreciated that Bandu and Phaedra, the only girls in the bunch, were close friends instead of rivals. Female friendship is in, female rivalry is out. Hunter was just fine to me at the start of the story, but he grew on me a whole lot. Like Narky, I expected much more alpha male behavior from him based on how he's characterized at the start, but he's not that at all. He's a follower, and he's shy, and he's unsure, and none of this makes him less badass it just makes him not the leader of the group, and I think that was a really cool and thoughtful choice.
So, character thoughts aside, I was also interested in the plot and worldbuilding. I think there are a lot of interesting things being said about the fantasy quest, about religion, about academia, about prophecy. There were so many ideas and concepts that I was really drawn to, so many things I highlighted because they made me go hmm or YES, and that was awesome.
However, I think that, for one novel, it was maybe too much. There were so many gods and so many places (I would have killed for a map!) that I quickly gave up trying to situate myself on the continent and trying to remember godly family ties/allegiances/rivalries. I also found that the plot did not have a satisfying narrative arc. It was back and forth and roaming and meandering, and while the individual narrative beats were all pretty satisfying in their own rights, the way that they were put together wasn't ideal.
All that being said, I'm definitely coming back for the next book (after I get through some more books that I actually already own lol), and I'm excited to find out how these dragons do.
So, the story has five protagonists: Narky, Phaedra, Hunter, Bandu, and Criton. One of the things I really didn't like about the book was Narky, and the novel begins by introducing him, and that kinda set me in a bad mood for a while. Also, while I don't like Narky on the whole, the handful of times this book made me laugh were all because of him, so *shrug emoji*. Criton started out as my favorite. I mean, dragon boy? Sign me up. However, though it's Criton's quest around which the plot revolves, really, he as a character grows remarkably little. I liked him less and less as the story went on, and that's a shame. I'm hoping that he takes some significant steps in the other two books. I also really liked Phaedra at the beginning of the novel, and while I don't dislike her now, her flaws became more and more apparent as the story progressed. As far as storytelling/craft goes, that's great and it was well done, but as I reader I like to like characters, so again *shrug emoji*. I found Bandu very grating at the beginning, but the more time you spend with her the clearer it is that, despite her honestly feral upbringing and lack of any sort of study/learning, she's incredibly clever. I've come to really appreciate Bandu, and I also really appreciated that Bandu and Phaedra, the only girls in the bunch, were close friends instead of rivals. Female friendship is in, female rivalry is out. Hunter was just fine to me at the start of the story, but he grew on me a whole lot. Like Narky, I expected much more alpha male behavior from him based on how he's characterized at the start, but he's not that at all. He's a follower, and he's shy, and he's unsure, and none of this makes him less badass it just makes him not the leader of the group, and I think that was a really cool and thoughtful choice.
So, character thoughts aside, I was also interested in the plot and worldbuilding. I think there are a lot of interesting things being said about the fantasy quest, about religion, about academia, about prophecy. There were so many ideas and concepts that I was really drawn to, so many things I highlighted because they made me go hmm or YES, and that was awesome.
However, I think that, for one novel, it was maybe too much. There were so many gods and so many places (I would have killed for a map!) that I quickly gave up trying to situate myself on the continent and trying to remember godly family ties/allegiances/rivalries. I also found that the plot did not have a satisfying narrative arc. It was back and forth and roaming and meandering, and while the individual narrative beats were all pretty satisfying in their own rights, the way that they were put together wasn't ideal.
All that being said, I'm definitely coming back for the next book (after I get through some more books that I actually already own lol), and I'm excited to find out how these dragons do.