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batbaby's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
inspiring
mysterious
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
3.5
This actually took me a while to read, I wish it had more about silence’s nonbinary/gender queerness because really he read as a trans man for the majority of the book. And their gender non comformity/discussion only came about by Merlin going yeah but you’re not a man are you. This isn’t to invalidate silence’s gender experience I just wish they came to the development of their own volition. I wish we explored more romance towards the end like maybe going back to Ame or Alfred. I enjoyed the magical elements of the book especially hearing about the selkie or the nymph I just wish it had more of the fantasy element. I enjoyed this book but it definitely had its faults and the cover “a tale of a non-binary knight” feels misleading for the majority of the book Silence is a trans masculine minstrel but hey-ho
Also the man-in-a dress trope was annoying and harmful at the end and I was just expecting it to be sapphic.
Also the man-in-a dress trope was annoying and harmful at the end and I was just expecting it to be sapphic.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, and Gore
Moderate: Deadnaming
Minor: Animal cruelty, Dysphoria, and Animal death
attolis's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Violence, and Transphobia
Moderate: Animal death
Minor: Sexual assault, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
mal_eficent's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Myers is a very clever writer, and his grand, non-linear writing style really suits the mythic, story within a story narrative he builds. It absolutely fits the theme and events of his books and compliments the messages he's working to get across...But it's not my favourite thing to read.
Does it feel chivalric and Romantic? Yes. Does it also make me feel like I'm reading short poems from Tumblr? Yes. Thankfully, for me, in The Story of Silence that style slowly gives way to a more straight forward narrative after about 100 pages. The cleverness of reading stories woven into each other, from different perspectives and giving different messages, was just losing its lustre when we started seeing things entirely from Silence's past perspective.
I enjoy character focussed books that work to show you how the setting functions, and this delivered all of that more. There's knight training, medieval courts, dragon slaying, tournaments, and a child just trying to find their place in it all. Importantly for people who don't like detail driven settings there's no getting bogged down in details. You won't find yourself rereading descriptions of characters doing the same activities over and over, no training montages that repeat teaching the same motion or anything like that. There's also a nice balance to Silence's story being driven by just having to exist in the setting and specific plot events.
Other reviews talk about the gender representation better than I can, but I will say that it was reminiscent of classic fantasy 'grow into who you are' story arcs that are absolutely my wheel house.
If you've read Myers' newer book, Symmetry of Stars, and wanted something with the same clever plot and pacing but in a less literary style, try this one instead. I loved this way more than I was expecting to upon starting and it's managed to work its way off my unhaul pile back into my shelves.
Does it feel chivalric and Romantic? Yes. Does it also make me feel like I'm reading short poems from Tumblr? Yes. Thankfully, for me, in The Story of Silence that style slowly gives way to a more straight forward narrative after about 100 pages. The cleverness of reading stories woven into each other, from different perspectives and giving different messages, was just losing its lustre when we started seeing things entirely from Silence's past perspective.
I enjoy character focussed books that work to show you how the setting functions, and this delivered all of that more. There's knight training, medieval courts, dragon slaying, tournaments, and a child just trying to find their place in it all. Importantly for people who don't like detail driven settings there's no getting bogged down in details. You won't find yourself rereading descriptions of characters doing the same activities over and over, no training montages that repeat teaching the same motion or anything like that. There's also a nice balance to Silence's story being driven by just having to exist in the setting and specific plot events.
Other reviews talk about the gender representation better than I can, but I will say that it was reminiscent of classic fantasy 'grow into who you are' story arcs that are absolutely my wheel house.
If you've read Myers' newer book, Symmetry of Stars, and wanted something with the same clever plot and pacing but in a less literary style, try this one instead. I loved this way more than I was expecting to upon starting and it's managed to work its way off my unhaul pile back into my shelves.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Transphobia, War, Violence, and Outing
Moderate: Sexism, Injury/Injury detail, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Sexual assault
noodletheriddle's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Death of parent
Moderate: Misogyny and Animal death
Minor: Sexual assault and Rape
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
ceallaighsbooks's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
“‘Will you tell me of your birth?’ They tilted their head and looked at me as a bird might, with one bright eye.
‘Have you the whole night?’
‘I have nothing in the world but this night.’”
TITLE—The Story of Silence
AUTHOR—Alex Myers
PUBLISHED—2020
GENRE—literary/fantasy retelling
SETTING—a mythological, medieval England / Europe
MAIN THEMES/SUBJECTS—gender; trans identity; Nature vs Nurture; animacy of Nature; Arthurian lore; English folk and faery customs and beliefs
WRITING STYLE—⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
CHARACTERS—⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
PLOT—⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
BONUS ELEMENT/S—The clear reverence shown the natural world and the belief in the personhood and sanctity of the entire natural world (animals, plants, rivers etc.)
PHILOSOPHY—⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️—“You can speak your mind with courage only if you are an honest man.”
“A woman and a man. A man as much a woman. Proof that we are all a little both, a little neither. Proof that rules hold us less tightly than we imagine! Nature speaks to us all in our own individual riddles. Haw!’”
This was an awesome retelling of a medieval French poem featuring Arthurian tropes and characters. It was a thoughtful and emotional look at not just the trans experience but the exploration of gender and identity in general. By using the dialogue between Nature and Nurture, present in the original poem, but greatly fleshed out in Myers retelling, Myers recreates not only the courtly, “morality” feel of a traditional medieval tale, but a story whose relevance is particularly apt for our current time.
Last thought: ALL I wanted though was for [redacted] to not [redacted] after [redacted]. 😭 I NEVER get what I want. 😭😭😭
“If I tell it right, it will be a story that sings on, speaking to self after self, telling the tale of what it means to be and become.”
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.75
TW // bullying, violence, sexism, misogyny, misgendering
Further Reading—
- Silence, trans. by Sarah Roche-Mahdi
- The Last Unicorn, by Peter Beagle
- The Wolf in the Whale, by Jordanna Max Brodsky
- The Last Kingdom, by Bernard Cornwell
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Misogyny, Sexism, and Violence
Moderate: Animal death and Death of parent
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