Briggs, Patricia: Silver Borne
Silver Borne (2010)
Written by: Patricia Briggs
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Pages: 342 (UK Mass Market)
Series: Book Five (ongoing)
So if you've followed this blog for any length of time, you know I'm bitter about the transition from mass markets to hardcovers for the Mercy Thompson series, and that I refuse to buy the hardcovers, no matter how pretty or cheap I can find them. If you didn't know that, you do now: I'm a sucker for aesthetic, and I want the formats of my books to match! I was lucky enough to have Bone Crossed paid forward to me, and I paid it forward to another read when I was done, fully intending to pick up the mass market when it was released this year (which I haven't done yet, oops). For Silver Borne, I entered the contests I could find, lost, and resigned myself to waiting until next year. However, the lovely and wonderful janicu just couldn't stand the fact I wouldn't be reading this in a timely manner (and I suspect she grew tired of my grumping over the formatting change *grin*), so she ordered the UK version from Book Depository and had it sent my way. janciu, I know I've already thanked you profusely, but again, THANK YOU. Your kindness knows no bounds, and I will get back at you! :)
The premise: ganked from BN.com: When mechanic and shapeshifter Mercy Thompson attempts to return a powerful Fae book she'd previously borrowed in an act of desperation, she finds the bookstore locked up and closed down. It seems the book contains secret knowledge-and the Fae will do just about anything to keep it out of the wrong hands. And if that doesn't take enough of Mercy's attention, her friend Samuel is struggling with his wolf side-leaving Mercy to cover for him, lest his own father declare Sam's life forfeit. All in all, Mercy has had better days. And if she isn't careful, she might not have many more to live. . .
Review style: this book is a unique structure for the series so far, and I want to examine why it works instead of why it's distracting; I also want to talk about whether or not the series is getting weaker due to the shifting focus from story to romance, and what I want to see more of out of this series. Spoilers? Yep. So skip to "My Rating" if spoilers freak you out, and you'll be fine. :)
One of the biggest problems I had with the second Alpha and Omega book, Hunting Ground, was that the premise was only substantial enough for a short story, but it was stretched into novel-length, and as a result, the novel felt lacking. So when I read criticisms of Silver Borne complaining of the braided storylines and the demand that this book should've been split in half, I want to throw my hands in the air, scream "NONONO!!!" at the top of my lungs, and run around like a crazy person. I've already SEEN what happens when Briggs takes a short story premise and makes it a novel. It's not really pretty, so I am freaking THRILLED that instead of repeating that mistake (yeah, I said mistake!), she braided these three short story ideas into one book, and frankly, I find it quite seamless. Not everyone agrees with me, but let's be honest: the three storylines more than give us enough pages for a novel, and none of them truly needed to be fleshed out. Sam's story resolved with him finding an excuse to keep living, which in turn sets up for a bigger story for him in later books or a spin-off (to readers who think that we're supposed to believe that he and Ariana are meant to be happily-ever-after with this single ending, you're kidding, right?); the pack issues have been building for a while, as has been Adam's and Mercy's relationship in terms of finding its footing. The bid for Alpha was actually my favorite part of the book, and the fight scene had me on edge. I was SO CERTAIN someone was going to die, and I dreaded it, even if that person helped cause the problems to begin with. Then there's the deal with the fae and the book, which resolves itself just fine for my taste.
Why this works is that while all the plots are seemingly unrelated, Briggs finds ways to let the plots resolve each other. Mercy's understanding of the pack bonds and what they mean and how they function enabled her to contact Adam and allowed Adam to find her. The maker of the Silver Borne ended up being a woman of significance from Samuel's past, and Samuel, still racked with guilt over what happened to her, latched onto her as a focus for living: if he can make things up to her, maybe he's got something to live for.
A lot of people had trouble with Samuel's resolution: they say it came out of nowhere (yeah, it kind of did); they say it's a disservice to the relationship Mercy thought she'd had with him and she should be more upset with the definite proof that he only wanted her for breeding (if she were upset, it'd imply jealousy, and why should she be jealous if she's happy with her choice in Adam?); they say that they don't believe that this woman we've never heard of before just so happens to be the first love of Samuel's life. This latter one, I'm not so sure about. I don't remember details, but I do remember Bran explaining to Anna in Cry Wolf his history with witches, and because I don't remember those details, I can't say with any certainty that the witch Bran discussed then was the witch used in Ariana's backstory, let alone if perhaps Ariana was mentioned in Bran's tale in some form or fashion. I have trouble believing there's TWO witches, but maybe there is. At any rate, if Briggs has been subtly lying the foundation for this introduction, it's kind of sneaky: it assumes you're reading the spin-off series, and that's not wholly a fair assumption. Why should readers be forced to read the spin-off in order to have all the necessary info to understand the main storyline? They shouldn't, but on the other hand, Briggs MIGHT have done some work there, and if you're a fan of Briggs's work, why aren't you reading the spin-off?
There's no right answer, mind you. Both sides have valid points is all.
I want to say that I was relieved with this book. Bone Crossed was easily the worst book in the series for me (if you want to know why, read my review), but the second Alpha and Omega book, Hunting Ground, had me really concerned. I still maintain that Briggs was overwhelmed with projects, and she's since pulled back the whole "two books per year" bit for at least this calendar year, and I think it shows with this title (though I have no way of knowing when she wrote this in relation to the books that I just mentioned were weak). Briggs had more focus, albeit divided between three storylines, but I've already talked about why they work, so I'm not going to defend them again.
But there is the question of whether or not the series's focus is changing: the first few books gave us solid stories with a splash of romance/angst thrown in, but lately, the romance seems to be taking the forefront, and I'm a bit ambivalent about that. I like the tension between Adam and Mercy, but for me, there's no real satisfaction in seeing them in that sex scene at the end. I've not been waiting for it and I didn't need to read it, even though it was necessary for the characters. That said, if this is establishing the pattern for the future books, I worry about how well I'm going to stay invested in the series. Because while this book was GOOD, it wasn't as strong as, say, the first three. But hey, I could be crazy, and I'm more than happy to pick up the next book (in mass market) to see what's coming next.
I do want to see more focus on ghosts and Mercy's walker talents. We got a bit of that in Bone Crossed that I've completely forgotten, but I want more of it. I hope Briggs has a book in mind that really focuses on that.
My Rating
Find a Cheaper Copy: I'm not saying wait for the paperback, because unless you're just ticked like me about your collection changing format, then you'll be happy having the hardcover. Just don't pay full price for it, because while it's a good story, it's not worth the full hardcover price. If I'd caved and bought the hardcover on Amazon for $9.99, I would've been pleased with my purchase. At any rate, I found this book to be a marked improvement from Bone Crossed and Hunting Ground, and for that I'm grateful. Briggs, while wrapping up the main stories, introduces some interesting elements here, and I'm curious to see where those elements go. It's a fun read, and it's a book that can easily be read in a day. But, naturally, with this being book five in a series, I don't recommend starting get. Get Moon Called first.
Cover Commentary: I think the covers for this series have really gotten more and more beautiful since the hardcovers were introduced. I loved the art for Bone Crossed (in fact, I think it's my favorite of them all), but Silver Borne is quite gorgeous (even though the overage of tattoos drive me batty!). Click on the high-res image here. The coloring is lovely, and while the tattoos drive me batty, I love the detail and it's their coloring that makes it stand out. But what's funny is that if you look closely, Mercy has a plumber's butt! Her pants are just a WEE bit too low on her hips, if you know what I'm saying. I still don't believe she'd ever dress like this, but oh well.
Now, because I read the UK edition, I do want to talk about the UK art, which is featured behind the cut: this is a rather interesting design scheme for the series: silhouetted images against a single, though graduated color. Now, I think they probably should've aimed for a color that's a bit more grey, to go along with the title (unfortunately, they used that color scheme for Iron Kissed), but this design kind of appeals to me. It allows you to imagine Mercy as the author describes (though if you look closely, you can make out the features of this model and she doesn't look like she has a drop of Native American blood in her, which is what the model for the US cover art has going for it, and the model also looks a wee bit young), and she's dressed in reasonable, mechanic apparel. Yay! She's also carrying a wrench, which is a nice reminder of who she is. The gargoyle in the background distracts me though, as I don't recall any setting description that included gargoyles. :)
Next up: Natural History by Justina Robson and/or The Price of Spring by Daniel Abraham