Title: Of Silver and Beasts
Author: Trisha Wolfe
Genre: YA/NA fantasy
Pub. Date: April 19,2013
In the sand-covered queendom of Cavan, the goddess once saved a young Kaliope’s life, preventing the mercury her father attempted to hide in her blood from reaching her heart. Now, a cybernetic clamp filters it, but the silver streaks swirling faintly beneath her skin are a constant reminder that she’s different.
When nineteen-year-old Kaliope is chosen as head of the Nactue Guard, she becomes the sworn protector to her empress. In the midst of an invasion on a neighboring land, Kaliope is placed in charge of guarding Prince Caben, the last heir to his kingdom. But when they’re attacked by the feared Otherworlders, Caben and Kaliope are abducted and taken below to a realm where they must fight for their life in a caged arena.
Kaliope struggles to protect her princely charge, keeping him and herself alive while battling inhumanly opponents, and trying to save the stolen, sacred relic that will restore her empress’s life force and all of Cavan. And if she can somehow awaken the goddess within her, she may save what’s most important.
Of Silver and Beasts is a story of loyalty, love, and faith. A story that was perfectly executed, complete with a complex plotline and excellent world building. The mythology aspect was the best component of OSAB, and is for sure one of the best mythology books I have read thus far.
The story follows a protector named Kaliope, whose unwavering loyalty gives her the job of protecting her empress. She is a total badass, while at the same time relatable due to her human tendencies. She did not make stupid or naïve decisions. She was actually a very smart girl, something not so common in YA/NA protagonists. *fist bumps*
And don’t even get me started on Caben. *giggles*
OSAB has many different aspects to the plot. Sometimes, books attempt to make their storylines seem complex and intricate, but they sadly fail. All the book succeeds in doing is in giving me a headache from the lack of explanations and overall sloppiness of how the plot was handled. What really made this book stand out was that not once was I confused about the plot. It was explained perfectly, and I personally believe that Trisha Wolfe did an outstanding job at the beginning of the novel in setting up the story and basic framework for the rest of the series.
At times I feel like I have no right to critique authors for their writing skills, as mine aren’t that great, but this is a problem I noticed from the reader’s standpoint. I am in no way implying that I can write better than the author; but, I felt compelled to point this out as it was noticeable. What I am referring to was that sometimes, the writing felt kind of choppy, although most of the time it was pretty good. This did not happen very often, but it occurred enough for me to take notice.
I became somewhat worried that based on how the book started out, that I would be bombarded with feminist ideals. Not that I don’t believe in gender equality, (am a strong supporter of it, actually) but I predicted that the author would weave not-so-subtle hints of feminism in this book, trying to force the reader to believe that men are stupid, selfish cowards who are much weaker than women. However, the author did NOT do this, thankfully. Instead of trying to prove that women are better than men the whole time and trying to shove this belief into our minds –which I would have thought she would have done, from how the story began- she used this belief to demonstrate Kaliope’s growth and change of beliefs throughout the story. Over time, Kaliope began to realize that it’s not women against men competing for the “better gender”, it’s actually that both genders are equal. (LOL, that’s a big ‘ol paragraph…)
I have come to the conclusion that anyone who is awesome enjoys mythology, so if you are awesome, read this book. Don’t expect a light read; OSAB is a book that has different elements to the plot that make the overall novel intriguing and captivating. The action scenes are intense and gripping. Frankly, I wonder if Trisha Wolfe holds some kind of magical abilities, her story is just that great, it is hard to comprehend the amount of effort she put into this beautifully-woven book.
4 stars!
Trisha Wolfe is the author of the YA Steampunk DESTINY'S FIRE
(Omnific Publishing), the NA Historical/Supernatural ASTARTE'S WRATH, and the upcoming YA Utopian FIREBLOOD from
Spencer Hill Press, October 2013. Her NA Dark Fantasy OF SILVER AND BEASTS available May 2013.
