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dnlrbchd's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual harassment, Violence, and War
Moderate: Animal death, Blood, Bullying, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Classism, Death, Death of parent, and Sexual content
Minor: Pregnancy
miles's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Outing, Transphobia, Violence, Sexual harassment, and Dysphoria
Moderate: Blood, Death, and Death of parent
ninegladiolus's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
“We are not one thing. We are multitudes.”
The Story of Silence by Alex Myers is a standalone historical fantasy novel that re-imagines a 13th century French poem called “Silence”. In both texts, a child named Silence is born as a girl and then raised as a boy in order to inherit their father’s lands. Though this novel’s pacing can be described as slow and quiet, it’s a tale that draws you in as it unfolds and lingers with you after it concludes.
By and large, The Story of Silence reads like a character study/chivalric romance mashup. There’s a great deal of introspection and reflection mixed in with the plot points of the novel. Even though Silence undergoes so many trials and tribulations, they are a character you really want to root for through it all, and what kept me turning the pages was their spirit and heart. While there are sections that flag a bit and drag down the pacing, they are few and far between.
It’s important to note this novel remains faithful in spirit to the work that inspired it in several ways. First, there’s a great deal of misogyny in particular, which checks out for Arthurian myth; it’s challenged in the text to some degree, but not as much as I’d have hoped. Second, for my fellow trans and/or nonbinary readers who may be interested in checking this out, there are a lot of frank discussions of gender dysphoria, particularly in relation to being AFAB; if this isn’t something you’re in the mental space to handle, I’d recommend giving it a pass.
What I love most about this book, in addition to the prose and story itself, is the reminder that gender outside the binary has existed for far longer than most people give it credit for today. The questions of Nature and Nurture, the ideas of gender presentation/expression versus gender identity, and the idea of many folks falling somewhere between/outside the binary—all of this was contained and expanded on from the original poem. Myers depicted Silence’s struggle with their identity with love and care, and I hope trans and cis readers alike take knowledge or resonance away from this novel if they choose to read it.
I recommend this book wholeheartedly to anyone who would enjoy a low-magic Arthurian retelling and is interested in a main character in that setting who is transgender and falls outside the notion of the gender binary. If you’re an audiobook person, I doubly recommend listening to it if you can—while reading the novel, I couldn’t help but think the prose would shine even more if it were spoken aloud.
Thank you to Harper Voyager and Edelweiss for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
The Story of Silence by Alex Myers is a standalone historical fantasy novel that re-imagines a 13th century French poem called “Silence”. In both texts, a child named Silence is born as a girl and then raised as a boy in order to inherit their father’s lands. Though this novel’s pacing can be described as slow and quiet, it’s a tale that draws you in as it unfolds and lingers with you after it concludes.
By and large, The Story of Silence reads like a character study/chivalric romance mashup. There’s a great deal of introspection and reflection mixed in with the plot points of the novel. Even though Silence undergoes so many trials and tribulations, they are a character you really want to root for through it all, and what kept me turning the pages was their spirit and heart. While there are sections that flag a bit and drag down the pacing, they are few and far between.
It’s important to note this novel remains faithful in spirit to the work that inspired it in several ways. First, there’s a great deal of misogyny in particular, which checks out for Arthurian myth; it’s challenged in the text to some degree, but not as much as I’d have hoped. Second, for my fellow trans and/or nonbinary readers who may be interested in checking this out, there are a lot of frank discussions of gender dysphoria, particularly in relation to being AFAB; if this isn’t something you’re in the mental space to handle, I’d recommend giving it a pass.
What I love most about this book, in addition to the prose and story itself, is the reminder that gender outside the binary has existed for far longer than most people give it credit for today. The questions of Nature and Nurture, the ideas of gender presentation/expression versus gender identity, and the idea of many folks falling somewhere between/outside the binary—all of this was contained and expanded on from the original poem. Myers depicted Silence’s struggle with their identity with love and care, and I hope trans and cis readers alike take knowledge or resonance away from this novel if they choose to read it.
I recommend this book wholeheartedly to anyone who would enjoy a low-magic Arthurian retelling and is interested in a main character in that setting who is transgender and falls outside the notion of the gender binary. If you’re an audiobook person, I doubly recommend listening to it if you can—while reading the novel, I couldn’t help but think the prose would shine even more if it were spoken aloud.
Thank you to Harper Voyager and Edelweiss for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Misogyny, Violence, Death, and Sexism
Moderate: Transphobia and Blood
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