Review: Soundless by Richelle Mead
Soundless
by Richelle Mead
Once upon a time, a small village became isolated at the top of a mountain. The residents lost their hearing, and the frequent avalanches and blocked roads prevented them from leaving. In exchange for the precious metals the villagers mine from the heart of the mountain, food and supplies are sent up a cable from the kingdom of Beiguo, far below. But now blindness spreads through the village, and the miners can no longer meet the quota set by the linekeeper. As the deliveries shrink, a young woman named Fei fears for her village. One night, she is awakened from a nightmare and realizes that her hearing has been restored. Though she struggles to cope with the strange new sensations of sound, Fei knows that this gift may help her achieve what no one has attempted in living memory: descending the mountain to find help for her people.
Fei won’t make this journey alone; she’ll be accompanied by Li Wei. Once, they were sweethearts; but when Fei was offered the chance to work as an artist, recording the history of the village instead of toiling in the mines, she took it. Her choice meant a marriage between herself and Li Wei would be forbidden, but long-buried feelings are awakened during the arduous journey down the mountain.
A grand adventure and two hearts sharing an unbreakable bond - this is the stuff great tales are made of, and Fei’s story lives up to expectations. From the first page, as she helps her sister chronicle the history of the village, Fei’s compassionate and protective nature is revealed. It’s clear her life is privileged, as the village goes; artists don’t suffer the brutal labor of working the mines, and as the most talented painter in her generation she’s guaranteed the best of everything the village can offer. It would be so easy for her to turn a blind eye to problems, but she doesn’t. Instead, Fei takes on the burden of the village, and by drawing strength from her loved ones she finds courage and strength to do the impossible. It’s impossible not to admire and believe in her.
Fei couldn’t even begin her journey without Li Wei. He is passionate and strong, a young revolutionary in the making. The strength of his conviction that change must come to the village breaks through Fei’s reluctance to move against the status quo. His physical strength combined with her new hearing is the only reason they survive the struggle down the mountain’s cliffs. It’s a great partnership. Their sacrifice becomes all the more admirable because it would be so easy for the two heroes to abandon the village and stay in Beiguo, where they are free to marry and be together.
My favorite moments weren’t the romance, though. Instead, I appreciated the little moments as Fei experiences sound for the first time. I can’t imagine what it would be like to suddenly gain a new sense, a foreign new way of interacting with the world around me. With Fei, I think Mead does a good job of describing what that process would be like. Fei’s initial shock at sound, her inability to articulate the experience to others, and the way the new stimuli overwhelm her all felt extremely realistic. I also found the idea of an entire village of deaf people intriguing, and enjoyed how they communicated without speaking.
Throughout the book, the existence of a race of magical creatures called pixius is mentioned as an old folktale. In a classic deus ex machine, they appear at the end of the book to help save the day. There were short descriptions of the legendary creatures but there’s was no other indication of otherworldliness in the story. No magic, no other mythical beasts. I guess that’s not entirely true - Fei’s experienced unusual, possibly prophetic dreams throughout the book - but the pixius presence is still so sudden and strange that it’s jarring.
But no matter. I still loved this book. Soundless has just the right balance of adventure and romance, realism and fantasy. Once I started the book, I just couldn’t put it down.
4.5 out of 5 stars
To read more about Soundless, buy it or add it to your wishlist click here.
Peeking into the archives...today in:
2014:
2013: My Extreme Nerd-On for Reading Rainbow and LeVar Burton
2012: Iago by David Snodin
2011: Uzumaki: Spiral into Horror Vol. 1 by Junji Ito
2010: Writer’s Block: A Real Eye Opener
2009: Giveaway: Sorrow Wood by Raymond L. Atkins - WINNERS
2008: News: Twilight Fans Turn Into Violent Mob
by Richelle Mead
Once upon a time, a small village became isolated at the top of a mountain. The residents lost their hearing, and the frequent avalanches and blocked roads prevented them from leaving. In exchange for the precious metals the villagers mine from the heart of the mountain, food and supplies are sent up a cable from the kingdom of Beiguo, far below. But now blindness spreads through the village, and the miners can no longer meet the quota set by the linekeeper. As the deliveries shrink, a young woman named Fei fears for her village. One night, she is awakened from a nightmare and realizes that her hearing has been restored. Though she struggles to cope with the strange new sensations of sound, Fei knows that this gift may help her achieve what no one has attempted in living memory: descending the mountain to find help for her people.
Fei won’t make this journey alone; she’ll be accompanied by Li Wei. Once, they were sweethearts; but when Fei was offered the chance to work as an artist, recording the history of the village instead of toiling in the mines, she took it. Her choice meant a marriage between herself and Li Wei would be forbidden, but long-buried feelings are awakened during the arduous journey down the mountain.
A grand adventure and two hearts sharing an unbreakable bond - this is the stuff great tales are made of, and Fei’s story lives up to expectations. From the first page, as she helps her sister chronicle the history of the village, Fei’s compassionate and protective nature is revealed. It’s clear her life is privileged, as the village goes; artists don’t suffer the brutal labor of working the mines, and as the most talented painter in her generation she’s guaranteed the best of everything the village can offer. It would be so easy for her to turn a blind eye to problems, but she doesn’t. Instead, Fei takes on the burden of the village, and by drawing strength from her loved ones she finds courage and strength to do the impossible. It’s impossible not to admire and believe in her.
Fei couldn’t even begin her journey without Li Wei. He is passionate and strong, a young revolutionary in the making. The strength of his conviction that change must come to the village breaks through Fei’s reluctance to move against the status quo. His physical strength combined with her new hearing is the only reason they survive the struggle down the mountain’s cliffs. It’s a great partnership. Their sacrifice becomes all the more admirable because it would be so easy for the two heroes to abandon the village and stay in Beiguo, where they are free to marry and be together.
My favorite moments weren’t the romance, though. Instead, I appreciated the little moments as Fei experiences sound for the first time. I can’t imagine what it would be like to suddenly gain a new sense, a foreign new way of interacting with the world around me. With Fei, I think Mead does a good job of describing what that process would be like. Fei’s initial shock at sound, her inability to articulate the experience to others, and the way the new stimuli overwhelm her all felt extremely realistic. I also found the idea of an entire village of deaf people intriguing, and enjoyed how they communicated without speaking.
Throughout the book, the existence of a race of magical creatures called pixius is mentioned as an old folktale. In a classic deus ex machine, they appear at the end of the book to help save the day. There were short descriptions of the legendary creatures but there’s was no other indication of otherworldliness in the story. No magic, no other mythical beasts. I guess that’s not entirely true - Fei’s experienced unusual, possibly prophetic dreams throughout the book - but the pixius presence is still so sudden and strange that it’s jarring.
But no matter. I still loved this book. Soundless has just the right balance of adventure and romance, realism and fantasy. Once I started the book, I just couldn’t put it down.
4.5 out of 5 stars
To read more about Soundless, buy it or add it to your wishlist click here.
Peeking into the archives...today in:
2014:
2013: My Extreme Nerd-On for Reading Rainbow and LeVar Burton
2012: Iago by David Snodin
2011: Uzumaki: Spiral into Horror Vol. 1 by Junji Ito
2010: Writer’s Block: A Real Eye Opener
2009: Giveaway: Sorrow Wood by Raymond L. Atkins - WINNERS
2008: News: Twilight Fans Turn Into Violent Mob