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A review by wisecraic
Hush by Dylan Farrow
3.0
**I was provided an electronic ARC from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for honest review.**
Actual rating: 3.5
Dylan Farrow's debut YA fantasy, Hush, delves into a world wracked with plague, famine, and destruction. Writing and reading are strictly forbidden, as are specific words, phrases, and stories. Words have power, and Bards are those who can harness the power of words and perform Tellings, shaping the world to their will. Shae, a teenaged girl who lives in a small village, finds that something is wrong with her, after already having lost her brother to the Blot. When her mother is murdered, Shae seeks out the Bards for aid, and winds up training to become one. The story has many twists, turns, secrets, and lies that Shae will have to figure out.
I found the concept of word-based magic to be really exciting, if not particularly novel. I was eager to see what Farrow would do with this sort of magic system. I wound up a little underwhelmed with that aspect of the story in general as the power system was never firmly defined or established. The magic and the ability to do magic was available when the plot called for it, but failed as the plot called for it also. Even power levels of specific characters tended to fluctuate as needed, and generally be inconsistent.
The characters themselves seemed to be very surface level characters where back story seemed to be limited for everyone except perhaps Shae and Ravod as needed. Mads, Fiona, and Kennan all fell into supporting character positions, and I use that term specifically because a side character would have additional purpose other than to support the main character, their growth, and the main plotline. I don't believe they did.
That all being said, this was a quick read, and was enjoyable to read. I don't think this story will strike as particularly memorable, but I'm happy to have spent the time with it that I did. If I had access to the sequel right now, I would certainly continue, particularly with how the book ended.
I look forward to seeing what else Dylan Farrow comes out with in the future, in this or other worlds.
Actual rating: 3.5
Dylan Farrow's debut YA fantasy, Hush, delves into a world wracked with plague, famine, and destruction. Writing and reading are strictly forbidden, as are specific words, phrases, and stories. Words have power, and Bards are those who can harness the power of words and perform Tellings, shaping the world to their will. Shae, a teenaged girl who lives in a small village, finds that something is wrong with her, after already having lost her brother to the Blot. When her mother is murdered, Shae seeks out the Bards for aid, and winds up training to become one. The story has many twists, turns, secrets, and lies that Shae will have to figure out.
I found the concept of word-based magic to be really exciting, if not particularly novel. I was eager to see what Farrow would do with this sort of magic system. I wound up a little underwhelmed with that aspect of the story in general as the power system was never firmly defined or established. The magic and the ability to do magic was available when the plot called for it, but failed as the plot called for it also. Even power levels of specific characters tended to fluctuate as needed, and generally be inconsistent.
The characters themselves seemed to be very surface level characters where back story seemed to be limited for everyone except perhaps Shae and Ravod as needed. Mads, Fiona, and Kennan all fell into supporting character positions, and I use that term specifically because a side character would have additional purpose other than to support the main character, their growth, and the main plotline. I don't believe they did.
That all being said, this was a quick read, and was enjoyable to read. I don't think this story will strike as particularly memorable, but I'm happy to have spent the time with it that I did. If I had access to the sequel right now, I would certainly continue, particularly with how the book ended.
I look forward to seeing what else Dylan Farrow comes out with in the future, in this or other worlds.