Silver in the Wood: 1 (The Greenhollow Duology)

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Silver laughed abruptly, a splendid peal of sound. Maidens, they told me. Yellow-haired for preference.

Silver in the Wood by Emily Tesh - Publishers Weekly Silver in the Wood by Emily Tesh - Publishers Weekly

The feel overall was reminiscent of Susan Cooper’s Dark is Rising books, I thought. This isn’t a magic of words and spells, but one of nature and strangeness, and it is definitely not a human sort of magic. And natural is of course not the same as light – the villain, when we meet him, is quite terrifying, both a part of the woods and an unnatural thing, bright and beautiful and horrifying. Nature and unnature, all at once, and entirely chilling. He felt almost as though he could have planted his feet and become a tree himself, a strong oak reaching up to the sky, brother of the old oak who ruled the wood.”You’re another folklorist,” said Tobias, trying to keep up. “A practical folklorist,” said Mrs Silver. “Vampires eliminated, ghouls laid to rest, fairies discouraged, and so on.” Reread 2023. Overflowing with earthy woods and the scent of rotten leaves, the writing is just as beautifully descriptive the second time round. Tobias’ quiet life mingling with forest sprites threatens to upend when he receives a visit from Greenhollow Hall’s new owner—a curious folklorist named Henry Silver. For the first time in a very long time, Tobias discovers a human who is unafraid to love him. Eventually, though, Silver’s frequent visits lead to the unearthing of old secrets that Tobias hoped would remain permanently forgotten. While I did enjoy the plot and the mythology, overall Silver in the Wood fell somewhat flat for me. I liked Tobias and his quiet methodicalness. But, I also didn’t feel particularly connected with him. I felt especially disconnected from Henry. I had not even noticed the romance developing between them. The book has a romance, I knew that, I mean, that was the point of reading it. But, I just felt like Tesh never delivered enough depth from the characters to make the romance feel believable. However, I also didn’t really enjoy Henry as a character, inquisitiveness aside. He’s clever and curious, but I felt like we only saw the surface of his character. Tobias and Silver search for Maud, finding that she has already killed the vampire in question. Maud is also a scholar of folklore; she is interested in finding Fairyland. Silver uses his powers to open a door to Fairyland, which is empty. Most of the fairies have died out in the preceding centuries; only a servant and the Fairy Queen remain. The Queen attempts to possess Maud, but she is defeated by Silver's magic. Silver, Tobias, and Maud return to their world. Maud begins to work for Mrs. Silver. The fairy servant becomes the new Lord of Greenhollow Wood, allowing Silver to become mortal once again and to rekindle his relationship with Tobias.

Review: “Silver in the Wood” by Emily Tesh – Punk-Ass Book Jockey Review: “Silver in the Wood” by Emily Tesh – Punk-Ass Book Jockey

In England (and some other places) there's an old lore about a figure known as The Green Man, who is a forest spirit or wood deity of some form. Silver in the Wood takes this lore and puts its own lovely little spin on it. Tesh has a fluid, engaging writing style, and the woods setting was rich and evocative. Equally, so was the way reality was woven in to coexist besides the magical setting of the wood - I'm not sure when this was set (later Victorian era, perhaps?) but the wider world was so excellent. I also haven't seen any English folklore retelling for ages, and this is just a reminder of how much potential there is. The world was far bigger than Tobias remembered from four centuries ago. It was bigger than he had ever known, and he was living in it. He had thought himself a thing uprooted, like the great oak, ready to begin his death.” It doesn’t look very comfortable,” said Silver. “The bed’s big enough to share, surely.” He gave Tobias a smile. He’s a rather stolid, hulking main character, a wild recluse with a painful past and a gentle heart. As I discovered with Grim in Dreamer’s Pool earlier this year, this is one of my favorite types of character and consequently I loved spending time with his ponderous thoughts and fierce protectiveness for the woods. Silver is also a lovely character with his earnestness and eager curiosity and they make a very sweet couple although I would have liked it if their relationship had had more time to develop. I also loved Silver’s tough monster-hunting mother and Tobias’ dryad friend Bramble. But, at the plot’s climax, there is a point where Tobias realizes that he loves Henry. I felt like his feelings came out of nowhere. It didn’t feel like it had really built to that point. I’ve read plenty of queer books where the romance is nearly undetectable, and they hit harder than Silver in the Wood. I can’t really pinpoint exactly why I felt like this. But, I felt like we missed out on any real build up of feelings between the two characters. It just sort of happened.an incredibly cute and wholesome folklore tale!! <3 also silver is a literal cinnamon roll and i love them very much!! Read more This is also one of the best plant magic stories I've ever read. Not only it's about a vaguely creepy wood, it actually talks about which trees there are in detail - elms, oaks, and even a mention of gorse (I love gorse) - and there are scenes in which roots and vines are weapons. Adored the story and the telling of it kept me captive and wanting more. More of Mrs silvers life as well as future challenges for Tobias and Henry. EMILY TESH, winner of the Astounding Award and a Crawford Award finalist, is the author of the World Fantasy Award-winning Greenhollow Duology, which begins with the novella Silver in the... Read more