A review by keandrews95
The Silver Serpent: A tale that Kills by Jeremy Pesch

4.0

Into the Twisted Woods

I was drawn to this story by the cover. It's just so pretty and holds some cool symbolism for the book. I loved the concept of a story within a story. There were so many good lines in this story, and I highlighted so many of the ones that just left behind cerebral punch. Fans of Annihilation, Stranger Things, and Apocalypse Now will like this novella. There were a lot of twists and turns and deep themes that take a while to reprocess.
I would have liked to know more about the society that the Silver Serpents loved in and more about the Casters (what makes them rogue versus a verified one, the different powers, how it all works together, and the organization that sends men like the Silver Serpents to kill Voidlings). There were also some things at the end that I didn't think were clarified fully and a few revelations that might have needed to be tied up a bit more. I did the like ending and how not everything gets a happy, rectified ending, but I think there could have been a bit more to Quinn's story at the end, especially since it's a story being told about his life. Still, overall I really liked this story. It challenges a lot of typical monster hunter story themes and a hero's journey.