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Silverwood #1
Silverwood
“A time-traveling, portal-jumping sci-fi… the multiple points of view keep the pace moving.”
–Kirkus Reviews
The Silverwoods are a clan with a messy history and an uncertain future, responsible to protect humanity from the shape-shifting Tromindox. Helen Silverwood, fourteen, is beginning to realize that she will never lead a normal life. There have been clues: Her mother's unusual work habits, her father's absence, her brother's strange abilities with a pencil and paper, and her own recurring dreams and hacker tendencies. And, the family's constant moves from place to place.
Things are about to get much more complicated, and it all leads to the remote town of Brokeneck, California. Can the Silverwoods keep from losing each other in space and time, while unraveling a dangerous mystery?
"Streeter delivers plenty of action and excitement in this sci-fi story filled with heart, family, and creatures on the hunt. Silverwood is entertainment gold!"
–Brad A. LaMar, Author of the Best-Selling Celtic Mythos series
–Kirkus Reviews
The Silverwoods are a clan with a messy history and an uncertain future, responsible to protect humanity from the shape-shifting Tromindox. Helen Silverwood, fourteen, is beginning to realize that she will never lead a normal life. There have been clues: Her mother's unusual work habits, her father's absence, her brother's strange abilities with a pencil and paper, and her own recurring dreams and hacker tendencies. And, the family's constant moves from place to place.
Things are about to get much more complicated, and it all leads to the remote town of Brokeneck, California. Can the Silverwoods keep from losing each other in space and time, while unraveling a dangerous mystery?
"Streeter delivers plenty of action and excitement in this sci-fi story filled with heart, family, and creatures on the hunt. Silverwood is entertainment gold!"
–Brad A. LaMar, Author of the Best-Selling Celtic Mythos series
320 pages, Paperback
First published March 11, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
January 23, 2015
Time for a little bit of truth: I was unsure whether to give this book four stars or whether I should give it three. Sometimes I’m a little bit too nice when handing out my stars, and in this case what won me over was the originality of the story.
It was nice to see something other than the clichés used in this story. We were not dealing with vampires. We were not dealing with werewolves. We were not dealing with magic. In fact, we were dealing with an entirely new creature. Okay, so they’re shape-shifters of a sort. But that doesn’t matter, because they’re the creepy original kind which instantly makes the story so much more interesting. Whilst I have no quarrels with the ordinary creatures I like something new. As you can guess from my almost rambling this aspect was my favourite part of the book. I could tell you all about the creatures however I will now leave them alone so that you can enjoy them without any spoilers of what to expect.
Now onto why I contemplated giving the book three stars. Whilst the story was certainly interesting, at times I found it quite difficult to keep up with. We were constantly flicking between people and events leaving me, occasionally, a little bit perplexed. Once you’re further into the story this is perfectly fine, yet for almost half of the book I felt as though I hadn’t learnt enough about certain characters for this device to be used to the extreme that it was. It was a case of ‘hang on a minute, we are with this people, let me refresh my memory on what has happened… oh yeah, I really do not know much about this person, I guess I will keep on reading in the hope that I find out’. Sadly, for some, answers did not come.
Furthermore, as much as I loved the characters some things seemed a little bit too farfetched. I very much doubt that everyone would take things as smoothly as they seemed to. Surely someone would have had a little bit of a freak out at receiving information pertaining to monsters walking the earth. No spoilers here, but one character later in the book who found out seemed like the easiest choice to have a character refuse to accept the world but we never had that. Everyone seemed to nod their head and accept that they were suddenly dealing with something out of a horror novel, jumping into action mode as though they were in a James Bond movie or Jack Reacher book. In truth, I was disappointed by the responses of characters due to that.
Overall, it was an interesting read. The ending seemed to move a bit too quickly for my liking, but it brought most things together. As it is the first in the series we still have some unanswered questions. Whether I will go out of my way to receive these answers, however, is another matter. If given a chance to find out what comes next I will take it, but it will be pretty low down on my list of series to complete. Nevertheless, I’m glad I read something different.
Finally, I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me a chance to advance read this book.
It was nice to see something other than the clichés used in this story. We were not dealing with vampires. We were not dealing with werewolves. We were not dealing with magic. In fact, we were dealing with an entirely new creature. Okay, so they’re shape-shifters of a sort. But that doesn’t matter, because they’re the creepy original kind which instantly makes the story so much more interesting. Whilst I have no quarrels with the ordinary creatures I like something new. As you can guess from my almost rambling this aspect was my favourite part of the book. I could tell you all about the creatures however I will now leave them alone so that you can enjoy them without any spoilers of what to expect.
Now onto why I contemplated giving the book three stars. Whilst the story was certainly interesting, at times I found it quite difficult to keep up with. We were constantly flicking between people and events leaving me, occasionally, a little bit perplexed. Once you’re further into the story this is perfectly fine, yet for almost half of the book I felt as though I hadn’t learnt enough about certain characters for this device to be used to the extreme that it was. It was a case of ‘hang on a minute, we are with this people, let me refresh my memory on what has happened… oh yeah, I really do not know much about this person, I guess I will keep on reading in the hope that I find out’. Sadly, for some, answers did not come.
Furthermore, as much as I loved the characters some things seemed a little bit too farfetched. I very much doubt that everyone would take things as smoothly as they seemed to. Surely someone would have had a little bit of a freak out at receiving information pertaining to monsters walking the earth. No spoilers here, but one character later in the book who found out seemed like the easiest choice to have a character refuse to accept the world but we never had that. Everyone seemed to nod their head and accept that they were suddenly dealing with something out of a horror novel, jumping into action mode as though they were in a James Bond movie or Jack Reacher book. In truth, I was disappointed by the responses of characters due to that.
Overall, it was an interesting read. The ending seemed to move a bit too quickly for my liking, but it brought most things together. As it is the first in the series we still have some unanswered questions. Whether I will go out of my way to receive these answers, however, is another matter. If given a chance to find out what comes next I will take it, but it will be pretty low down on my list of series to complete. Nevertheless, I’m glad I read something different.
Finally, I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me a chance to advance read this book.
June 2, 2018
2.5 Stars
Read all my reviews on http://urlphantomhive.booklikes.com
Silverwood had me at time-travel. As is most often the case. I don't even think I went to stop at this point to wonder how all these things together could make a great novel.
It's overcrowded. There's time-travel, portals and all in the context of an alien race that is living off humans and the family that is supposed to hunt them. It already feels crowded, no? Add to that a bunch of characters, very few we actually get to know a bit, and it felt mostly crowded to me. To the point I had trouble knowing what was going on.
Also the writing was in present tense, which for me also takes some getting used to, and I know some people are put off by it.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
Read all my reviews on http://urlphantomhive.booklikes.com
Silverwood had me at time-travel. As is most often the case. I don't even think I went to stop at this point to wonder how all these things together could make a great novel.
It's overcrowded. There's time-travel, portals and all in the context of an alien race that is living off humans and the family that is supposed to hunt them. It already feels crowded, no? Add to that a bunch of characters, very few we actually get to know a bit, and it felt mostly crowded to me. To the point I had trouble knowing what was going on.
Also the writing was in present tense, which for me also takes some getting used to, and I know some people are put off by it.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
February 18, 2015
(I got a copy from NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.)
As of now, I am not sure yet whether I should give this book 1 star or 2. I can't say that I didn't like it at all, because several ideas and themes were definitely interesting, and made me want to know more. But... This is one of those "good ideas, but..." novels, too.
Mostly I was constantly annoyed with the feeling that I was reading a first draft, instead of an edited copy. (Of course, as an Advanced Reader Copy, it was still liable to change; however, I still think an ARC is meant to be as close as possible to a ready-to-be-published version, not to a draft.) Sometimes the story dragged in places, sometimes it went much too fast, leaving gaps in the narrative that were difficult to fill. In the end, too many elements still remained shrouded in mystery—and not the kind of mystery that is justified, since it stemmed, in my opinion, from aforementioned gaps. Keeping revelations for a second installment is nice, but not when it makes a jumble of the first.
As a result, I had a hard time caring for the characters and for their predicament, as well as for the antagonists. The former's decisions often didn't seem to make a lot of sense, and too many secondary characters didn't have enough screen time for their role to be understandable (Chris, Rosie, Eleanor...). The latter's motives were unclear, their moves too sudden to know where they came from (puzzling the heroes is good; puzzling the reader, not so much). Adding time travel, portals, a jail, a Council, alien-like creatures, and a strange little town whose importance wasn't properly stressed... Well, let's just say the mix was too confusing.
The third person present tense style was the second thing that alienated me, so to speak. It is a tricky style to deal with, and while it works in some stories, here it didn't do anything for me, and made me cringe more than once.
This is really too bad, because I did want to like this story, and it did seem like the kind of time travel-filled plot I would normally enjoy...
As of now, I am not sure yet whether I should give this book 1 star or 2. I can't say that I didn't like it at all, because several ideas and themes were definitely interesting, and made me want to know more. But... This is one of those "good ideas, but..." novels, too.
Mostly I was constantly annoyed with the feeling that I was reading a first draft, instead of an edited copy. (Of course, as an Advanced Reader Copy, it was still liable to change; however, I still think an ARC is meant to be as close as possible to a ready-to-be-published version, not to a draft.) Sometimes the story dragged in places, sometimes it went much too fast, leaving gaps in the narrative that were difficult to fill. In the end, too many elements still remained shrouded in mystery—and not the kind of mystery that is justified, since it stemmed, in my opinion, from aforementioned gaps. Keeping revelations for a second installment is nice, but not when it makes a jumble of the first.
As a result, I had a hard time caring for the characters and for their predicament, as well as for the antagonists. The former's decisions often didn't seem to make a lot of sense, and too many secondary characters didn't have enough screen time for their role to be understandable (Chris, Rosie, Eleanor...). The latter's motives were unclear, their moves too sudden to know where they came from (puzzling the heroes is good; puzzling the reader, not so much). Adding time travel, portals, a jail, a Council, alien-like creatures, and a strange little town whose importance wasn't properly stressed... Well, let's just say the mix was too confusing.
The third person present tense style was the second thing that alienated me, so to speak. It is a tricky style to deal with, and while it works in some stories, here it didn't do anything for me, and made me cringe more than once.
This is really too bad, because I did want to like this story, and it did seem like the kind of time travel-filled plot I would normally enjoy...
March 19, 2015
This is one of those books I could not put down. I love the complicated story, the characters, the ever thickening plot, and the wild imaginative creatures and alternate "realities"! This is sci fi at its best! It was like watching a very good movie unfold in my brain although due to the very nature of some of the space/time/mind traveling and intergalactic creatures, I am sure my interpretation of them may be different than what other readers "see" in their heads, but that is the beauty of it. It longs for discussion! I keep thinking about the story and the fate of the characters and yes, I am hoping for book 2, because I want more.
Beyond just loving the story, there are some solid literary elements that appeal to my educator brain. I appreciated the main character, Helen, a role model for young women, due to her independent voice that is still questioning and reaching, yet very grounded in the love of her family. I think young women who read this will find her very realistic despite her very unreal situations. (I don't want to give anything away, so suffice it to say a vivid dream will never be the same for me!) I also found the relationship between Helen and her brother to be very realistic in its combination of sheer annoyance and devotion. Which brings me to another admirable quality of the book- the message that family is one's foundation and strength. So often YA novels are all about the friends and it is refreshing to focus on family (even when the family contains bounty hunters and has an odd assortment of unique skills.)
Overall, this novel is a rare combination of intense action and thoughtful plot story mixed with an important message. It will definitely appeal to a wide audience-dystopian, fantasy, sci-fiction, and anyone who just wants a GOOD read!
Beyond just loving the story, there are some solid literary elements that appeal to my educator brain. I appreciated the main character, Helen, a role model for young women, due to her independent voice that is still questioning and reaching, yet very grounded in the love of her family. I think young women who read this will find her very realistic despite her very unreal situations. (I don't want to give anything away, so suffice it to say a vivid dream will never be the same for me!) I also found the relationship between Helen and her brother to be very realistic in its combination of sheer annoyance and devotion. Which brings me to another admirable quality of the book- the message that family is one's foundation and strength. So often YA novels are all about the friends and it is refreshing to focus on family (even when the family contains bounty hunters and has an odd assortment of unique skills.)
Overall, this novel is a rare combination of intense action and thoughtful plot story mixed with an important message. It will definitely appeal to a wide audience-dystopian, fantasy, sci-fiction, and anyone who just wants a GOOD read!
January 24, 2015
Halfway through Silverwood, I stopped trying to decide which of the many awesome works it brought to my mind. Was it Potteresque? Gaimanesque? Sci-fi noir like Richard Morgan’s Altered Carbon? Reminiscent of X-Men? Then I figured it out: this is one original book!
Silverwood tells the intriguing story of the Silverwood Family, four talented misfits who each play a role—knowingly or unknowingly—in the protection of humanity from a shape-shifting predator called the Tromindox. Tromindox eat human brainwaves—one part Dementor, one part vampire, and one part human themselves.
This blend of science fiction, fairy tale, and comic book has it all: time-travel, multiple dimensions, a magical tree, a dilapidated western town full of characters, digital people, powerful blood, portals, and a grandiose villain.
The narrative style deviated from a typical YA book—we didn’t see this wide, weird world only through a teen character’s point of view. In fact, more often we saw it through her mom or dad’s. This unusual approach made the Silverwood Family the true heart of the story.
Streeter juggles compelling characters, poignant emotions, plot twists, and structure with aplomb. This is a solid story that I’d recommend for readers who enjoy epic action. Apparently Book 2 is coming in 2016!
Silverwood tells the intriguing story of the Silverwood Family, four talented misfits who each play a role—knowingly or unknowingly—in the protection of humanity from a shape-shifting predator called the Tromindox. Tromindox eat human brainwaves—one part Dementor, one part vampire, and one part human themselves.
This blend of science fiction, fairy tale, and comic book has it all: time-travel, multiple dimensions, a magical tree, a dilapidated western town full of characters, digital people, powerful blood, portals, and a grandiose villain.
The narrative style deviated from a typical YA book—we didn’t see this wide, weird world only through a teen character’s point of view. In fact, more often we saw it through her mom or dad’s. This unusual approach made the Silverwood Family the true heart of the story.
Streeter juggles compelling characters, poignant emotions, plot twists, and structure with aplomb. This is a solid story that I’d recommend for readers who enjoy epic action. Apparently Book 2 is coming in 2016!
February 18, 2015
English review down below!!
Original-Rezension: The emotional life of books
Meine Meinung:
Ich war mir nicht ganz sicher, was ich von Silverwood zu erwarten hatte. Als ich es gelesen habe, war es noch nicht veröffentlicht (und auch jetzt ist es immer noch nicht veröffentlicht, es erscheint erst Anfang März 2015). Auch hatte ich zuvor keine Rezension darüber gelesen. So blieb mir nur zu hoffen, dass das Buch so großartig werden würde, wie es der Klappentext verspricht. Das ist es allerdings nicht, um das schon mal vorweg zu nehmen. Es ist aber auch nicht schlecht. Es ist – ich würde sagen - okay.
Der Anfang ist erst einmal ziemlich verwirrend. Man versteht nicht recht, was gerade vor sich geht. Das liegt jedoch nicht an der Handlung selbst, denn die ist an sich ganz logisch und einfach zu verstehen. Nein, es ist viel mehr die Art und Weise, wie die Geschichte erzählt wird, die das Ganze kompliziert macht. Es gibt viel zu viele Erzählperspektiven, was es unglaublich schwer macht, der Handlung zu folgen. Man braucht erst einmal ein wenig Zeit, um sich daran zu gewöhnen, bis man dann endlich damit zurecht kommt und es sogar dadurch spannender und interessanter wird.
Denn die eigentliche Idee, auf der das Buch aufgebaut ist, gefällt mir ziemlich gut. Sie ist spannend und einzigartig – oder habt ihr schon mal etwas über Tromindox gelesen? Also ich nicht. Ich kann euch leider nicht wirklich viel mehr verraten, ohne zu viel zu verraten und zu spoilern, ihr müsst mir jetzt wohl einfach mal glauben, dass die Idee wirklich gut ist!
Was mich jedoch wieder gestört hat, ist die fehlende Einteilung in Kapitel. Das Buch ist in drei große Teile eingeteilt, aber irgendwie fehlen die Kapitel ansonsten vollständig. Das ist für mich besonders störend, da ich normalerweise immer von Kapitel zu Kapitel lese und auch, wenn ich aufhören muss zu lesen, immer noch das Kapitel zu Ende lese, damit ich nicht irgendwo mitten drin in der Handlung aufhören muss. Das hat sich hier jedoch etwas schwer gestaltete, denn die drei Teile, in die das Buch unterteilt sind, sind definitiv viel zu lang, um sie noch bis zum Ende zu lesen. Das hat dann öfters dazu geführt, dass ich das Buch mittendrin abbrechen musste, weil ich einfach keine passende Stelle gefunden habe, wo die Handlung gerade etwas ruhiger geworden wäre.
Ein weiteres Problem, das ich hatte, ist die Protagonistin. Sie ist wirklich nett und ich mag sie sehr gerne – also nicht diese Art von Problem. Vielmehr kann ich ihr ihr Alter einfach nicht abnehmen. Sie ist 14, benimmt sich aber vielmehr wie eine Erwachsene. Bei ihrem Bruder verhält es sich übrigens genauso. Der kleine Kerl ist neun, ich hatte aber oft das Gefühl, es mit einem Erwachsenen zu tun zu haben, was echt irritierend ist. An dieser Stelle wäre es viel einfacher gewesen, die Protagonisten gleich etwas älter zu machen, dann hätte man die ganze Verwirrung erst gar nicht.
Mein größtes Problem ist jedoch ein anderes. Auch wenn die Geschichte an sich wirklich interessant ist, konnte sie mich nie wirklich fesseln. Ich schleppte mich förmlich durch die Seiten und musste mich manchmal zwingen weiter zu lesen, was ja eigentlich nicht Sinn der Sache ist. Und ich weiß nicht genau, woran es lag, denn langweilig war es, wie gesagt, nicht, nur konnte mich die Geschichte einfach nicht recht packen.
Mein Fazit:
Um das Ganze jetzt noch mal auf den Punk zu bringen: Silverwood ist ein Buch mit einer ziemlich interessanten Handlung und einer seltsamen Art und Weise, diese zu erzählen. Das Buch ist irgendwie unstrukturiert und verwirrend mit Protagonisten, die dem Leser viel älter erscheinen als sie wirklich sind.
Werde ich die Reihe weiter verfolgen? Ja, wahrscheinlich schon. Kann ich das Buch empfehlen? Ich weiß nicht recht. Es ist nicht schlecht, nur eben auch nichts Besonderes. Und ich würde auch nicht so weit gehen, es als wirklich gut zu bezeichnen. Wenn du kein Problem mit einer etwas unstrukturierten Erzählweise hast und stattdessen eher nach einer interessanten und einzigartigen Idee suchst, dann ist das Buch vielleicht etwas für dich! Eine allgemeine Empfehlung kann ich aber ohne lügen zu müssen nicht aussprechen.
English review:
first published here: On our way to Wonderland
I wasn't sure what to expect from Silverwood. It wasn't published yet (and when I publish my review it's still not out yet) and I hadn't read any reviews about it before. So I hoped the book would be as amazing as the summary. It isn't, even though it isn't bad ether. I'd say it's okay.
The beginning is pretty confusing. You do not really understand what is happening. Although the story itself isn't that complicated, the way it's told makes it hard to understand. There are way too many narrative perspectives, which is the reason why it's so difficult to follow the story line. You need some time to adjust to this way of telling a story but later on it's somehow compelling. The book gets better and better with every single page. As I've already told you, you need some time to understand what is going on. But when you've finally understand it, you'll enjoy reading it, because then you'll finally be able to concentrate on other things than understanding what you've just read.
The general idea which the story is based on, is quite amazing and unique. Or have you ever heard about Tromindox before? At least I haven't. I can't give away more information without spoiling but let me just tell you that the idea is definitely worth discovering it!
Somehow irritating is another fact again: the missing chapters. The book is divided in three big parts but not a single chapter. Normally, when I want to stop reading, I finish the chapter but in this case this wasn't possible. So I always had to stop during the story even though I tried to pick moments where the action slowed down a bit this was not always possible.
Another problem I've got is the protagonist. She is really nice and I like her a lot – so not that kind of problem. I just think she is a bit to grown-up for her fourteen years. By the way, it's the same with her brother. He is only nine years old but behaves like a grown-up. That's not only unrealistic but also annoying. It would have been easier to just create older protagonists.
The biggest problem is another, though. The story is really interesting. However, the book is no page turner. There is no pressure while reading to continue on with the next couple of pages. Sometimes I had to force myself to read even tough the story itself isn't boring. Silverwood is just not compelling enough.
To sum it up: Silverwood is a book with a quite interesting idea and a strange way of telling it. It's somehow unstructured and confusing with protagonists who seem much older than they really are. Will I continue on with this series? Yes, I think so. Do I recommend the book? I'm not quite sure. It's not bad, but it's also nothing special. When you are okay with a not so structured story telling and when you're searching for an interesting idea, than this book might be yours!
Original-Rezension: The emotional life of books
Meine Meinung:
Ich war mir nicht ganz sicher, was ich von Silverwood zu erwarten hatte. Als ich es gelesen habe, war es noch nicht veröffentlicht (und auch jetzt ist es immer noch nicht veröffentlicht, es erscheint erst Anfang März 2015). Auch hatte ich zuvor keine Rezension darüber gelesen. So blieb mir nur zu hoffen, dass das Buch so großartig werden würde, wie es der Klappentext verspricht. Das ist es allerdings nicht, um das schon mal vorweg zu nehmen. Es ist aber auch nicht schlecht. Es ist – ich würde sagen - okay.
Der Anfang ist erst einmal ziemlich verwirrend. Man versteht nicht recht, was gerade vor sich geht. Das liegt jedoch nicht an der Handlung selbst, denn die ist an sich ganz logisch und einfach zu verstehen. Nein, es ist viel mehr die Art und Weise, wie die Geschichte erzählt wird, die das Ganze kompliziert macht. Es gibt viel zu viele Erzählperspektiven, was es unglaublich schwer macht, der Handlung zu folgen. Man braucht erst einmal ein wenig Zeit, um sich daran zu gewöhnen, bis man dann endlich damit zurecht kommt und es sogar dadurch spannender und interessanter wird.
Denn die eigentliche Idee, auf der das Buch aufgebaut ist, gefällt mir ziemlich gut. Sie ist spannend und einzigartig – oder habt ihr schon mal etwas über Tromindox gelesen? Also ich nicht. Ich kann euch leider nicht wirklich viel mehr verraten, ohne zu viel zu verraten und zu spoilern, ihr müsst mir jetzt wohl einfach mal glauben, dass die Idee wirklich gut ist!
Was mich jedoch wieder gestört hat, ist die fehlende Einteilung in Kapitel. Das Buch ist in drei große Teile eingeteilt, aber irgendwie fehlen die Kapitel ansonsten vollständig. Das ist für mich besonders störend, da ich normalerweise immer von Kapitel zu Kapitel lese und auch, wenn ich aufhören muss zu lesen, immer noch das Kapitel zu Ende lese, damit ich nicht irgendwo mitten drin in der Handlung aufhören muss. Das hat sich hier jedoch etwas schwer gestaltete, denn die drei Teile, in die das Buch unterteilt sind, sind definitiv viel zu lang, um sie noch bis zum Ende zu lesen. Das hat dann öfters dazu geführt, dass ich das Buch mittendrin abbrechen musste, weil ich einfach keine passende Stelle gefunden habe, wo die Handlung gerade etwas ruhiger geworden wäre.
Ein weiteres Problem, das ich hatte, ist die Protagonistin. Sie ist wirklich nett und ich mag sie sehr gerne – also nicht diese Art von Problem. Vielmehr kann ich ihr ihr Alter einfach nicht abnehmen. Sie ist 14, benimmt sich aber vielmehr wie eine Erwachsene. Bei ihrem Bruder verhält es sich übrigens genauso. Der kleine Kerl ist neun, ich hatte aber oft das Gefühl, es mit einem Erwachsenen zu tun zu haben, was echt irritierend ist. An dieser Stelle wäre es viel einfacher gewesen, die Protagonisten gleich etwas älter zu machen, dann hätte man die ganze Verwirrung erst gar nicht.
Mein größtes Problem ist jedoch ein anderes. Auch wenn die Geschichte an sich wirklich interessant ist, konnte sie mich nie wirklich fesseln. Ich schleppte mich förmlich durch die Seiten und musste mich manchmal zwingen weiter zu lesen, was ja eigentlich nicht Sinn der Sache ist. Und ich weiß nicht genau, woran es lag, denn langweilig war es, wie gesagt, nicht, nur konnte mich die Geschichte einfach nicht recht packen.
Mein Fazit:
Um das Ganze jetzt noch mal auf den Punk zu bringen: Silverwood ist ein Buch mit einer ziemlich interessanten Handlung und einer seltsamen Art und Weise, diese zu erzählen. Das Buch ist irgendwie unstrukturiert und verwirrend mit Protagonisten, die dem Leser viel älter erscheinen als sie wirklich sind.
Werde ich die Reihe weiter verfolgen? Ja, wahrscheinlich schon. Kann ich das Buch empfehlen? Ich weiß nicht recht. Es ist nicht schlecht, nur eben auch nichts Besonderes. Und ich würde auch nicht so weit gehen, es als wirklich gut zu bezeichnen. Wenn du kein Problem mit einer etwas unstrukturierten Erzählweise hast und stattdessen eher nach einer interessanten und einzigartigen Idee suchst, dann ist das Buch vielleicht etwas für dich! Eine allgemeine Empfehlung kann ich aber ohne lügen zu müssen nicht aussprechen.
English review:
first published here: On our way to Wonderland
I wasn't sure what to expect from Silverwood. It wasn't published yet (and when I publish my review it's still not out yet) and I hadn't read any reviews about it before. So I hoped the book would be as amazing as the summary. It isn't, even though it isn't bad ether. I'd say it's okay.
The beginning is pretty confusing. You do not really understand what is happening. Although the story itself isn't that complicated, the way it's told makes it hard to understand. There are way too many narrative perspectives, which is the reason why it's so difficult to follow the story line. You need some time to adjust to this way of telling a story but later on it's somehow compelling. The book gets better and better with every single page. As I've already told you, you need some time to understand what is going on. But when you've finally understand it, you'll enjoy reading it, because then you'll finally be able to concentrate on other things than understanding what you've just read.
The general idea which the story is based on, is quite amazing and unique. Or have you ever heard about Tromindox before? At least I haven't. I can't give away more information without spoiling but let me just tell you that the idea is definitely worth discovering it!
Somehow irritating is another fact again: the missing chapters. The book is divided in three big parts but not a single chapter. Normally, when I want to stop reading, I finish the chapter but in this case this wasn't possible. So I always had to stop during the story even though I tried to pick moments where the action slowed down a bit this was not always possible.
Another problem I've got is the protagonist. She is really nice and I like her a lot – so not that kind of problem. I just think she is a bit to grown-up for her fourteen years. By the way, it's the same with her brother. He is only nine years old but behaves like a grown-up. That's not only unrealistic but also annoying. It would have been easier to just create older protagonists.
The biggest problem is another, though. The story is really interesting. However, the book is no page turner. There is no pressure while reading to continue on with the next couple of pages. Sometimes I had to force myself to read even tough the story itself isn't boring. Silverwood is just not compelling enough.
To sum it up: Silverwood is a book with a quite interesting idea and a strange way of telling it. It's somehow unstructured and confusing with protagonists who seem much older than they really are. Will I continue on with this series? Yes, I think so. Do I recommend the book? I'm not quite sure. It's not bad, but it's also nothing special. When you are okay with a not so structured story telling and when you're searching for an interesting idea, than this book might be yours!
February 9, 2015
Silverwood by Betsy Streeter is a very different sort of paranormal novel. It is very unique with its characters and monsters. When I first started reading it, I was very confused. So much weird information but no background to explain it. If you get past the first part of the book, it all starts to make sense.
Clan Silverwood started out as people living on a high mountain. Every year they had a festival. They drew beautiful pictures on the walkways. One was of a gnarled silver tree. They would send one person to the tree each year as a "sacrifice". They were kept safe from invaders. One year an old woman came to the village. When she was a little girl, she was one of the "sacrifices". She tells them what the tree and its beautiful "leaves" (small round circles with holes in the center) really are and why the village has to protect the tree.
Kate Silverwood is married to Gabriel (who is currently in prison--or supposed to be) and they have two children. Kate is a bounty hunter. She chases Tromindox (more on them a little later). For every Tromindox that she kills, she gets money.
Helen Silverwood is fourteen and a very unusual girl. She is a hacker (do not think computers). She can take apart items and make them into something else. She takes apart toasters, phones, waffle irons, etc. She can look at an item and see all the insides. Helen also has very special blood! Her brother, Henry is nine years old and can draw the future. He is a smart little boy and wise beyond his years.
Unfortunately, they have to keep moving. Because of Helen's unique blood, she is wanted by the Council (Council of Portals). One day they receive a visit and are sent on a new path. They have to go to Brokeneck, California. They will face many difficulties on the way to their destination, but the family will face a bigger battle when they arrive.
Tromindox are unusual creatures. They can look like nasty squid like creatures or like a human. They are shape shifters and mimics. They can also get digital faces (complicated). Tromindox feed on human brain waves or activity. They use their venom to immobilize their prey (humans), dissolve the body, and consume the person's energy. It can take a while before the human is completely absorbed by the Tromindox. Before the person is completely absorbed, they can be rescued by Helen's (or Garbriel's) blood.
I give Silverwood 4 out of 5 stars. It is very interesting, but also a very complicated book. Once you get into the story, you do not want to put it down. Silverwood will be released on March 15, 2015. The sequel will not be out until 2016. I have tried to give you enough details of the book to give you the general gist, but not too much to give away spoilers.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Clan Silverwood started out as people living on a high mountain. Every year they had a festival. They drew beautiful pictures on the walkways. One was of a gnarled silver tree. They would send one person to the tree each year as a "sacrifice". They were kept safe from invaders. One year an old woman came to the village. When she was a little girl, she was one of the "sacrifices". She tells them what the tree and its beautiful "leaves" (small round circles with holes in the center) really are and why the village has to protect the tree.
Kate Silverwood is married to Gabriel (who is currently in prison--or supposed to be) and they have two children. Kate is a bounty hunter. She chases Tromindox (more on them a little later). For every Tromindox that she kills, she gets money.
Helen Silverwood is fourteen and a very unusual girl. She is a hacker (do not think computers). She can take apart items and make them into something else. She takes apart toasters, phones, waffle irons, etc. She can look at an item and see all the insides. Helen also has very special blood! Her brother, Henry is nine years old and can draw the future. He is a smart little boy and wise beyond his years.
Unfortunately, they have to keep moving. Because of Helen's unique blood, she is wanted by the Council (Council of Portals). One day they receive a visit and are sent on a new path. They have to go to Brokeneck, California. They will face many difficulties on the way to their destination, but the family will face a bigger battle when they arrive.
Tromindox are unusual creatures. They can look like nasty squid like creatures or like a human. They are shape shifters and mimics. They can also get digital faces (complicated). Tromindox feed on human brain waves or activity. They use their venom to immobilize their prey (humans), dissolve the body, and consume the person's energy. It can take a while before the human is completely absorbed by the Tromindox. Before the person is completely absorbed, they can be rescued by Helen's (or Garbriel's) blood.
I give Silverwood 4 out of 5 stars. It is very interesting, but also a very complicated book. Once you get into the story, you do not want to put it down. Silverwood will be released on March 15, 2015. The sequel will not be out until 2016. I have tried to give you enough details of the book to give you the general gist, but not too much to give away spoilers.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
February 18, 2016
I received an e-ARC of Silverwood through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
It took me a while to get into this book. It is a bit dialogue heavy, and the plot feels super rushed. Most of the book there is so much explanation but very little reaction to all the revelations that are being fired at all the characters (and you). Also the heavy dialogue, though witty at times, tended to not flow in a way that was believable. Around 30% though, I managed to just accept the writing and got really into into the story because of the world. The world has so many incredible details, fun gadgets, crazy places, and odd elements that it sucked me in because I wanted to know what made this world tick.
Silverwood has gold-star amazing characters. The Silverwood family has their own certain interesting quirks, special abilities, and personalities, but the side characters really stole the show for me. While the characters aren't necessarily the most realistic, they are just so funny and odd.The entire population of Brokeneck was hilarious, especially the woman who compulsively knits to keep her dead husband happy, and the Silverwood brothers should have their own Hardy Boys style adventure show. I also found the Chairman sort of hilarious when he wasn't being a bureaucratic pain for the Silverwoods. Just thinking about some of these characters made me laugh while writing this.
Let's talk about the Tromindox, shall we? The Tromindox are these species of time-jumpin', shape-shifting, super tall squid creatures who feed off people's energy. When explained in basic terms, they sound really weird and grotesque, but I couldn't get enough of them. The Tromindox are one of the most original species that I have read about in a while. Probably my favorite section of the book was the Tromindox history told from a Tromindox's perspective because their history was so interesting. (Though it did bother me that that section was repeated in dialogue later on. I thought maybe it was sort of common Tromindox lore that they all knew, but it was written with almost exact wording...) What the main issue in the world boils down two is just these two civilizations trying to survive but at odds with each other. And while they are completely different species, they are so similar in there actions. Well, except that one essentially wants to eats the other.
Rating: 3 out of 5. The rushed and dialogue heavy writing made it a bit difficult to completely love, but the plot and world details were fantastic! Debating on whether I want to read the sequel.
This review is also found on my blog, Scarlet Nerded.
It took me a while to get into this book. It is a bit dialogue heavy, and the plot feels super rushed. Most of the book there is so much explanation but very little reaction to all the revelations that are being fired at all the characters (and you). Also the heavy dialogue, though witty at times, tended to not flow in a way that was believable. Around 30% though, I managed to just accept the writing and got really into into the story because of the world. The world has so many incredible details, fun gadgets, crazy places, and odd elements that it sucked me in because I wanted to know what made this world tick.
Silverwood has gold-star amazing characters. The Silverwood family has their own certain interesting quirks, special abilities, and personalities, but the side characters really stole the show for me. While the characters aren't necessarily the most realistic, they are just so funny and odd.The entire population of Brokeneck was hilarious, especially the woman who compulsively knits to keep her dead husband happy, and the Silverwood brothers should have their own Hardy Boys style adventure show. I also found the Chairman sort of hilarious when he wasn't being a bureaucratic pain for the Silverwoods. Just thinking about some of these characters made me laugh while writing this.
Let's talk about the Tromindox, shall we? The Tromindox are these species of time-jumpin', shape-shifting, super tall squid creatures who feed off people's energy. When explained in basic terms, they sound really weird and grotesque, but I couldn't get enough of them. The Tromindox are one of the most original species that I have read about in a while. Probably my favorite section of the book was the Tromindox history told from a Tromindox's perspective because their history was so interesting. (Though it did bother me that that section was repeated in dialogue later on. I thought maybe it was sort of common Tromindox lore that they all knew, but it was written with almost exact wording...) What the main issue in the world boils down two is just these two civilizations trying to survive but at odds with each other. And while they are completely different species, they are so similar in there actions. Well, except that one essentially wants to eats the other.
Rating: 3 out of 5. The rushed and dialogue heavy writing made it a bit difficult to completely love, but the plot and world details were fantastic! Debating on whether I want to read the sequel.
This review is also found on my blog, Scarlet Nerded.
February 6, 2015
Fourteen-year-old Helen realizes that she is not normal. For one, she's moved so many times since she was a baby she can't keep track anymore. Secondly, she can hack literally anything and turn it into something useful. Also her mother is definitely lying about her real job and her little brother Henry can predict the future in drawings. Oh yeah, and there is her father who has been missing since she was four but they occasionally hear from with vague garbled phone calls. She is about to figure out the truth really quickly though, through a series of events out of her control. Her family, the Silverwoods have been protecting the earth forever from the Tromindox, a shape-shifting race of creatures that consume humans and subsist on their brain waves. Suddenly they are moving again, to the small town of Brokeneck, California and things are about to come to a head. Will the entire Silverwood clan be able to find each other and figure out just what the Tromindox are really planning? To find out, read the great first book of this series. Recommended for ages 13+, 4 stars.
The author has obviously had this story brewing for a long time, as evidence by her storyline comics on Slideshare and the collection of images on her Pinterest board. I was a little lost in the beginning of the book with all the jumping back and forth between characters (Helen, her father Gabriel, her mother Kate, the Chairman, and the Tromindox) and timelines (past and future), but eventually got the hang of it. In my head, the Tromindox reminded me of a rage demon from the video game "Dragon Age", but that looked more inky black with tentacles. The author gave you tantilizing glimpses into the Silverwood family's past without telling you the whole story, so you had to keep reading to find out. And the ending, wow it was good! Now I am very curious to read the second book in the series, which is supposed to come out next year.
Disclaimer: I received this advanced reader’s copy from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.
The author has obviously had this story brewing for a long time, as evidence by her storyline comics on Slideshare and the collection of images on her Pinterest board. I was a little lost in the beginning of the book with all the jumping back and forth between characters (Helen, her father Gabriel, her mother Kate, the Chairman, and the Tromindox) and timelines (past and future), but eventually got the hang of it. In my head, the Tromindox reminded me of a rage demon from the video game "Dragon Age", but that looked more inky black with tentacles. The author gave you tantilizing glimpses into the Silverwood family's past without telling you the whole story, so you had to keep reading to find out. And the ending, wow it was good! Now I am very curious to read the second book in the series, which is supposed to come out next year.
Disclaimer: I received this advanced reader’s copy from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.
April 14, 2016
First off I need to say a huge thank you to Light Messages Publishing for accepting my request to review 'Silverwood' on NetGalley, and to NetGalley for the service that they provide.
'Silverwood' is not your typical YA science fiction/paranormal novel; you will find no werewolves, vampires or witches within these pages, but instead a terrifying new creature called the Tromindox. The Tromindox are a species of shape shifter who feed off of brain energy, and the most plentiful source of brain waves are their human prey. Understandably, the humans aren't too happy about this, leading the Tromindox to be nearly driven to extinction - hunted down by agents and bounty hunters.
Which brings us to the Silverwood family. Comprised of Helen, a fourteen year old girl, Henry, her nine year old brother, and Kate and Gabriel, their parents, we follow their family throughout the novel. When we join them, Gabriel is an absent father, Kate is working long shifts late into the night, and Helen and Henry are struggling to settle in to the house they've just moved into. Helen is struggling with terrifying nightmares, where she sees monsters turning into people, and Henry is a nine year old boy with an overactive imagination who claims he can see, and subsequently draw, the events in the future. However, as events unfold we learn that they are not who they seem, and sometimes the monsters under the bed are very, very real.
This novel was a very conflicting one for deciding how I felt. The story was very intriguing: I loved the idea of the Tromindox, because too often in YA the monsters are recycled and it's nothing ground-breaking or utterly creative. Betsy Streeter has done an amazing job at constructing the monsters, giving them back story and describing them in such a terrifying way that they sent shivers down my spine.
However, it does seem to be quite obvious that this is a debut novel.
Read the rest of my review here!
'Silverwood' is not your typical YA science fiction/paranormal novel; you will find no werewolves, vampires or witches within these pages, but instead a terrifying new creature called the Tromindox. The Tromindox are a species of shape shifter who feed off of brain energy, and the most plentiful source of brain waves are their human prey. Understandably, the humans aren't too happy about this, leading the Tromindox to be nearly driven to extinction - hunted down by agents and bounty hunters.
Which brings us to the Silverwood family. Comprised of Helen, a fourteen year old girl, Henry, her nine year old brother, and Kate and Gabriel, their parents, we follow their family throughout the novel. When we join them, Gabriel is an absent father, Kate is working long shifts late into the night, and Helen and Henry are struggling to settle in to the house they've just moved into. Helen is struggling with terrifying nightmares, where she sees monsters turning into people, and Henry is a nine year old boy with an overactive imagination who claims he can see, and subsequently draw, the events in the future. However, as events unfold we learn that they are not who they seem, and sometimes the monsters under the bed are very, very real.
This novel was a very conflicting one for deciding how I felt. The story was very intriguing: I loved the idea of the Tromindox, because too often in YA the monsters are recycled and it's nothing ground-breaking or utterly creative. Betsy Streeter has done an amazing job at constructing the monsters, giving them back story and describing them in such a terrifying way that they sent shivers down my spine.
However, it does seem to be quite obvious that this is a debut novel.
Read the rest of my review here!
March 26, 2015
3.5 stars
Helen has never known what her mother truly does for a career, and it's time she finds out. Saving humanity from horrifying Tromindox's that can shape-shift while trying to lead a normal life. It's Helen's turn to take a stab at it, and as things get into a forward motion it only becomes more and more complicated.
While I loved the story I wasn't quite fond of the writing style. I'm not completely sure what unnerved me by it, I also might have been effected because I was mainly reading on my phone so it didn't seem quite right. I think what might've thrown me off was that I wanted to follow Kate's story, but then felt like I was meant to follow Helen's. I like when I can clearly know who's story and character arc I'm supposed to be paying attention to. The story is one that at first I was unsure what was happening, but a little ways in I was hooked and wanting to know what was going to happen next. I also wasn't fully aware of the supernatural/shape-shifting aspect until I met the Tromindox. Which honestly, the first tromindox is when I decided that I absolutely loved this book! That brought me into a world that I love-supernatural/fantasy. - Bri
Helen has never known what her mother truly does for a career, and it's time she finds out. Saving humanity from horrifying Tromindox's that can shape-shift while trying to lead a normal life. It's Helen's turn to take a stab at it, and as things get into a forward motion it only becomes more and more complicated.
While I loved the story I wasn't quite fond of the writing style. I'm not completely sure what unnerved me by it, I also might have been effected because I was mainly reading on my phone so it didn't seem quite right. I think what might've thrown me off was that I wanted to follow Kate's story, but then felt like I was meant to follow Helen's. I like when I can clearly know who's story and character arc I'm supposed to be paying attention to. The story is one that at first I was unsure what was happening, but a little ways in I was hooked and wanting to know what was going to happen next. I also wasn't fully aware of the supernatural/shape-shifting aspect until I met the Tromindox. Which honestly, the first tromindox is when I decided that I absolutely loved this book! That brought me into a world that I love-supernatural/fantasy. - Bri
November 14, 2014
I can't describe how amazing I think this book is. The characters develop so beautifully and the description makes everything so much clearer. Everything in this story happened for a reason. Nothing was just a filler scene. Streeter really made both sides of the story come to life. She described the brutal, cruel lives of the Tromindox and the difficult, always working lives of the Silverwood family. There were twists and turns that I never expected and the story developed in ways that I never saw coming. I am so proud of my mother for simply saying, I'm going to write a novel, and actually doing it. I don't think she has any idea how incredibly amazing it actually is.
February 6, 2015
I thoroughly enjoyed this. It did drag in parts, but it could have been worse. There were moments that tugged at your heart, like Gabriel not being able to get to his family or when he lost his brother... but there were also moments when you felt proud, like defeating Dr. Dinkle and the Tromindox or saving Gabriel's brother, Christopher. There were also times when I wanted to throttle Helen for not listening to her parents, but she's 14... how often did we listen to our parents. Well done Betsy!
(Received a copy from NetGalley for opinion)
(Received a copy from NetGalley for opinion)
February 1, 2015
Beautifully developed characters and very original story line. Well written everything in this story happened for a reason, no fluff and filler, it kept me entranced the whole way through. This is a solid story that I’d recommend for readers who enjoy epic action that keeps you on your toes. Lots of twists and turns, thank you for letting me read it in advance and I look forward to reading the next in 2016!
February 3, 2015
Set in a world of alternate realities and strange human-eating creatures, Silverwood is packed with action and adventure. Helen and Henry, brother and sister of a separated family, must learn to use their developing abilities to save themselves, their family, and possibly the whole human race.
I found myself a little leery at first, but was quickly drawn into the story. It was so completely different from anything I've read recently.
I found myself a little leery at first, but was quickly drawn into the story. It was so completely different from anything I've read recently.
February 23, 2015
This book was written so well, I was honestly surprised. The author creates a crazy universe and brings in background information at the same time as keeping the story going. :)
facebook.com/amazingreads
facebook.com/amazingreads
February 26, 2015
This was a fun read! Really took me by surprise and would recommend it, even for the younger adult crowd. 4/5 stars
**free arc review, honest opinion provided***
**free arc review, honest opinion provided***
October 23, 2021
This review was originally posted on Bedtime Bookworm
My First DNF!
I’ll start by saying I didn’t finish this book. This is my first DNF since starting the blog. At first, I was really hesitant to give up on it - I really wanted to give it a chance. However, as I progressed through the book, I only became more sure this book wasn’t for me. I got to 28%, which is the end of Part 1. Yes, I am giving a book I didn’t finish a rating of one star/heart (see my review policy and my explanation post for more information). This book was actually one of the first books I was approved to read for review through NetGalley - another reason I didn't want to DNF! After this not-so-positive experience with a review book, I'm thinking about focusing more on backlist books that have had a lot of good reviews, instead of reading books that are so new - it's less risky for me that way! My first DNF was kinda traumatic (LOL) and I hope I don't have very many in the future. But then again, I know that as someone who reads a lot and writes book reviews, chances are this is going to be my new normal!
The Writing
My biggest issue with this book was that I had trouble connecting with the writing. I can be picky when it comes to the writing in a book, and I’m often turned off by the writing if I don’t think it is done well. And that is what happened here. The sentences were choppy and didn’t flow very well. There was a lot of dialogue, more dialogue than descriptions of what was going on. I didn’t like that - it’s hard to visualize the scenes when I can only read what people are saying to each other. I will say that maybe the writing would have worked better for someone younger than me, and this book is likely geared towards a younger crowd (however, I also strongly believe that just because a book is geared towards younger people, the writing doesn’t have to suffer because of it!).
The Characters
Another problem I had was that there were too many characters and point of views going on. By the time I got about a third of the way through and I had been introduced to so many characters that I was having trouble keeping them straight. Also, after getting that far into the book I only had a vague understanding of where the storyline was going. I had trouble putting together everyone’s POVs into a coherent storyline. I also had a hard time wrapping my head around the shapeshifting monsters in this book. I usually enjoy reading about new and creative creatures - but this one didn’t work for me.
Overall
I really wanted to like this book because of the parallel universe storyline - you guys know I love alternate universes! But over all, the hard to follow storyline, the patchy writing, and the overload of character POVs got the better of me and I had to put it away. It was painful for me to read, so I moved on to greener pastures. As always, if the premise of the story intrigues you, as it originally did me, I encourage you to give it a shot! There were a handful of reviews I've seen that mention the first part of the book is a little confusing but the story gets much more interesting after that. Everyone experiences books differently, and I hope you enjoy this one more than I did.
I’ll start by saying I didn’t finish this book. This is my first DNF since starting the blog. At first, I was really hesitant to give up on it - I really wanted to give it a chance. However, as I progressed through the book, I only became more sure this book wasn’t for me. I got to 28%, which is the end of Part 1. Yes, I am giving a book I didn’t finish a rating of one star/heart (see my review policy and my explanation post for more information). This book was actually one of the first books I was approved to read for review through NetGalley - another reason I didn't want to DNF! After this not-so-positive experience with a review book, I'm thinking about focusing more on backlist books that have had a lot of good reviews, instead of reading books that are so new - it's less risky for me that way! My first DNF was kinda traumatic (LOL) and I hope I don't have very many in the future. But then again, I know that as someone who reads a lot and writes book reviews, chances are this is going to be my new normal!
The Writing
My biggest issue with this book was that I had trouble connecting with the writing. I can be picky when it comes to the writing in a book, and I’m often turned off by the writing if I don’t think it is done well. And that is what happened here. The sentences were choppy and didn’t flow very well. There was a lot of dialogue, more dialogue than descriptions of what was going on. I didn’t like that - it’s hard to visualize the scenes when I can only read what people are saying to each other. I will say that maybe the writing would have worked better for someone younger than me, and this book is likely geared towards a younger crowd (however, I also strongly believe that just because a book is geared towards younger people, the writing doesn’t have to suffer because of it!).
The Characters
Another problem I had was that there were too many characters and point of views going on. By the time I got about a third of the way through and I had been introduced to so many characters that I was having trouble keeping them straight. Also, after getting that far into the book I only had a vague understanding of where the storyline was going. I had trouble putting together everyone’s POVs into a coherent storyline. I also had a hard time wrapping my head around the shapeshifting monsters in this book. I usually enjoy reading about new and creative creatures - but this one didn’t work for me.
Overall
I really wanted to like this book because of the parallel universe storyline - you guys know I love alternate universes! But over all, the hard to follow storyline, the patchy writing, and the overload of character POVs got the better of me and I had to put it away. It was painful for me to read, so I moved on to greener pastures. As always, if the premise of the story intrigues you, as it originally did me, I encourage you to give it a shot! There were a handful of reviews I've seen that mention the first part of the book is a little confusing but the story gets much more interesting after that. Everyone experiences books differently, and I hope you enjoy this one more than I did.
March 19, 2015
I remember when I first read the summary, I was very intrigued because I thought it was a rather different book. Once I started reading, I found the Tromindox pretty fascinated and the things they do in order to stay alive. However, as the story progressed, I lost a lot of interest. One of those things being the change in perspective every four to five pages. I can see the stylistic choice of it; it gives you a more rounded perspective of the overall plot.
However, that takes away from learning from the characters and being able to form an attachment with them. It is such shame since the overall concept of the book seemed very promising. I could not relate with the characters because there was not time for me to be able to feel something for them. The story progressed too slow and too fast at the same time. There were some scenes that were rushed and others that were dragged out. But I feel this also has to do with the abrupt change in perspective.
Also another stylistic choice that the author chooses to write in the third person present tense. I felt weird reading the book in this manner and adds to the feeling of being detached from the characters.
Although this book also gets some good points because it does not include romance whatsoever. It is more of a badass family working together to defeat the Tromindox. And not having romance also is a rarity in young adult novels nowadays.
Overall, this is an okay read but not really want one I will be eager to recommend.
However, that takes away from learning from the characters and being able to form an attachment with them. It is such shame since the overall concept of the book seemed very promising. I could not relate with the characters because there was not time for me to be able to feel something for them. The story progressed too slow and too fast at the same time. There were some scenes that were rushed and others that were dragged out. But I feel this also has to do with the abrupt change in perspective.
Also another stylistic choice that the author chooses to write in the third person present tense. I felt weird reading the book in this manner and adds to the feeling of being detached from the characters.
Although this book also gets some good points because it does not include romance whatsoever. It is more of a badass family working together to defeat the Tromindox. And not having romance also is a rarity in young adult novels nowadays.
Overall, this is an okay read but not really want one I will be eager to recommend.
February 16, 2015
I got to 30% and I'm still only roughly certain of what this book is about. It's about a race of shapeshifting creatures called Tromindox who eat human brainwaves. It's about a shady council of humans who direct the hunting and removal of this species. It's about a family called the Silverwoods, who have special powers, who hunt the Tromindox. It's about time travel, as well.
The acknowledgements were placed at the beginning of the text, and so before I even reached chapter one, I read the author's thanks to her son for coming up with the word, "Tromindox." This was an inauspicious beginning for me. For the duration of my reading, I couldn't read the word "Tromindox" without thinking of that acknowledgment. For that matter, I couldn't read any word of Silverwood without wishing I were reading something else.
If I cared more about Silverwood, I would've liked to read an interview with Streeter so I could understand her motivations for and inspirations behind her decision to write such a book. Perhaps then I would find Silverwood more understandable in context.
The acknowledgements were placed at the beginning of the text, and so before I even reached chapter one, I read the author's thanks to her son for coming up with the word, "Tromindox." This was an inauspicious beginning for me. For the duration of my reading, I couldn't read the word "Tromindox" without thinking of that acknowledgment. For that matter, I couldn't read any word of Silverwood without wishing I were reading something else.
If I cared more about Silverwood, I would've liked to read an interview with Streeter so I could understand her motivations for and inspirations behind her decision to write such a book. Perhaps then I would find Silverwood more understandable in context.
June 1, 2015
Silverwood is a well written book consisting of many unexpected turns of events. Basically, it is about a time traveling family who's goal is to eliminate these the of monsters that can be found anywhere in time. The book is written in perspective of the daughter and how she figures out many unknown secrets about her family and her past. Her smaller brother has many problems at school including bullying along with not wanting to leave his friends behind every time they move (they move a lot for reasons that are found out later in the book), her mom goes out every night and comes back with bruises and cuts for again, unknown reasons and the beginning of the book and she has no idea who are where her dad is. While trying to figure out these secrets that are being kept from her, she writes in a notebook that she is hoping to one day give to her dad if she ever gets to meet. Overall, this book is well written and I recommend to anyone who enjoys action, adventure, sci-fi and time travel.
May 4, 2015
This book was interesting. It took me a while to get into it. My biggest complaint about this book, and what put me off so much in Part I, is there are way too many characters being developed individually. It jumps around too much from one character to another. The result, the Silverwood family doesn't have the focus I think they should have. I didn't get to know them as well as I would have liked to. Instead, I got to know way more about minor, even insignificant, players than I cared to. I prefer stories that focus on one to two characters and let the other contenders develop through their eyes/perspective. Once the story picked up a little, I was less bothered by all the jumping around, but I would have preferred to have jumped around less. It turned out to be a bit of fun. I can see the set up for a series that can follow the clan on all sorts of adventures. I'm not sure it hooked me enough to continue on though.
July 27, 2016
The Reality Of Monsters
This series must be read in order. This is the first book. The second book is Silver Shard.
Helen and Henry Silverwood have grown up on the run... Not that they know as much. All they know is that they only live somewhere for a short period of time before picking up and moving again. Their mother works odd hours and they are almost always on their own. Where is their dad really? What is their mother afraid of? Should they be afraid? What isn't she telling them? Will they ever be a real family again?
***This series is suitable for middle grade to adult readers who enjoy SciFi time travel action adventures with plenty of mystery, intrigue, suspense and monsters bent on eating the humans all gone :)
This series must be read in order. This is the first book. The second book is Silver Shard.
Helen and Henry Silverwood have grown up on the run... Not that they know as much. All they know is that they only live somewhere for a short period of time before picking up and moving again. Their mother works odd hours and they are almost always on their own. Where is their dad really? What is their mother afraid of? Should they be afraid? What isn't she telling them? Will they ever be a real family again?
***This series is suitable for middle grade to adult readers who enjoy SciFi time travel action adventures with plenty of mystery, intrigue, suspense and monsters bent on eating the humans all gone :)
March 9, 2019
Mix time travel with ancient monsters who feed on soul energy (in reality absorbing entire creatures) and found humans not only tasty, but a lot more nutritious than rodents, etc., dump in two siblings who keep getting moved by their secretive mom without any satisfactory explanation, coupled with a father who has been away, also without explanation. Garnish with the kids' curiosity and ability to figure things out pretty fast, then sprinkle a healthy dash of devious bureaucrats and plenty of action and you have part one of a dandy YA fantasy. I ordered the sequel as soon as I finished this one.
February 11, 2022
I guess all books can’t be great books, I pushed through to the second part of this book before DNFing it. I really wanted to enjoy the story but there was so many POV shifts in the first 70 pages of this novel it had me wondering what the heck it was about. It’s like the author had ADHD and couldn’t decide who the story was about or when the story should take place. I stopped trying to figure if I was in the past, the past but future, the present or the future. I really dislike not finishing a book but I dislike more not being able to follow the storyline or being able to form a attachment to the main characters, which I even questioned at time who they were.
February 20, 2015
ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I'm not going to prelude this review with a synopsis because I sort of had a hard time figuring out what this book was about. There was time travel. And some monsters. And some other sci-fi-ish stuff. Basically, this novel had an interesting idea going, but the clunky writing and inauthentic characters made it simply unpleasant.
I wanted to stop reading this book almost as soon as I began it. It did not pull me in in the least; it was not engaging. Awkward descriptions kept pulling me out of the narrative so I could pause and go, huh? The author kept falling back on the same words and would use them to describe the same things multiple times. There are a few instances of info-dumping where a character would go into a long explanation or backstory so that the reader could get caught up, but these instances were boring and felt rather pointless. The characters just didn't feel real, and I could not connect with them on any level because I was too busy critiquing their lack of believability. The dialogue between them tended to feel stilted. Perhaps the worst issue I had with this novel was that the author repeatedly told me how to feel instead of showing me. For instance, the book features these creatures called the Tromindox that are supposed to be terrifying and evil and disgusting. However, I found no real reason for me to hate the Tromindox, and I couldn't understand why everyone in the book was so up in arms about them. That said, I had no real reason to love them, either. Whenever they appeared in the book, the author didn't convincingly portray them as scary. As far as I could tell, they talked and moved and acted like humans, even though they were supposed to have tentacles and whatnot. Also, the author would go and describe a character and outrightly say what their insecurities and feelings were without showing that the characters were feeling that way. This is basic Writing 101 stuff and I was surprised by how many levels the author failed on in that regard.
All in all, I got basically no enjoyment out of this book. I feel like the portal-jumping time travel stuff has potential, but it needs to be executed in a better way.
Read this review on Tumblr: http://inkishly.tumblr.com/post/11153...
I'm not going to prelude this review with a synopsis because I sort of had a hard time figuring out what this book was about. There was time travel. And some monsters. And some other sci-fi-ish stuff. Basically, this novel had an interesting idea going, but the clunky writing and inauthentic characters made it simply unpleasant.
I wanted to stop reading this book almost as soon as I began it. It did not pull me in in the least; it was not engaging. Awkward descriptions kept pulling me out of the narrative so I could pause and go, huh? The author kept falling back on the same words and would use them to describe the same things multiple times. There are a few instances of info-dumping where a character would go into a long explanation or backstory so that the reader could get caught up, but these instances were boring and felt rather pointless. The characters just didn't feel real, and I could not connect with them on any level because I was too busy critiquing their lack of believability. The dialogue between them tended to feel stilted. Perhaps the worst issue I had with this novel was that the author repeatedly told me how to feel instead of showing me. For instance, the book features these creatures called the Tromindox that are supposed to be terrifying and evil and disgusting. However, I found no real reason for me to hate the Tromindox, and I couldn't understand why everyone in the book was so up in arms about them. That said, I had no real reason to love them, either. Whenever they appeared in the book, the author didn't convincingly portray them as scary. As far as I could tell, they talked and moved and acted like humans, even though they were supposed to have tentacles and whatnot. Also, the author would go and describe a character and outrightly say what their insecurities and feelings were without showing that the characters were feeling that way. This is basic Writing 101 stuff and I was surprised by how many levels the author failed on in that regard.
All in all, I got basically no enjoyment out of this book. I feel like the portal-jumping time travel stuff has potential, but it needs to be executed in a better way.
Read this review on Tumblr: http://inkishly.tumblr.com/post/11153...
May 22, 2015
Since the entire story was told in present tense, it was a bit annoying. It took a while to get into. After it went soothingly. The writing was very good. Level of description, dialogue and action was well split. The only annoying thing about the writing is that it was in the present. Oh, and there was alot of telling not much showing. There were moments when they went into the past. Very little, this resulted in just a little bit of depth. Depth is useful in a story. Without depth to the story there isn't depth in the characters.
The characters had little depth to them, they had developed through the story, but not well. It was as if once the kids knew the truth, they could suddenly fish the Tromidox. Helen, she was a bad-ass kind of girl all throughout, toughened by the constant moving. Henry, a pretty smart kid being part of the Guild. The characters were simple with little to none depth.
The sci-fi aspect of the novel had a very interesting concept, but it wasn't well explained. The world created was creative and i loved it. Just we didn't learn all that portals could do, and what exactly is the Guild. The book of future. The book of Regrets, I am clueless about all the fuss and what these two books are and where they are from. There were other innovative inventions which interested me plenty. I would love to learn more.
The time travel part, we didst know
There were plenty of POV's, Within the first 30% they were mixing around and i have no clue what was really coming on. Towards the end they dimmed out to just the Silverwoods. But for the start, it wasn't a good start. If you have multiply POV's it would have been good to state what POV (like the name) and writing it in first person. But the third person didn't annoy me as much. Winners Crime and Winners Curse was in two POV in third person and it went well... and both those books are in my favorites.
I really hope that in the printed copy there will be real chapters. There were only the three parts for the whole book and the three little dots between each POV.
The ending was a closed one. Ill still read the next book if it comes up on NetGalley due to curiosity.
I recommend this book for fans of the Sci-fi/fantasy genre with capabilities of 3rd-person multi-POV's.
July 7, 2015
3.5 stars.
I honestly had no idea what this book was about at all, and to be honest, I wasn't expecting much, as I hadn't heard anything about this book, so I was pleasantly surprised. When I got into the book a little bit, I still wasn't sure if it was going to be my thing as I'm not the biggest fan of all Fantasy, but this one I really enjoyed.
The concept of this book was very original, and I liked that about it. I've never heard of anything like the Tromindox or the kind of job that Helen's mum had. There were also no real big clichés, which can sometimes happen in a book with an original concept but luckily this book had none.
At times I did get confused as to what was going on because the book switches between different POVs, and they were set in different places, and as the book is quite complex it was sometimes hard to keep up.
One other issue I had with the book was the fact that they encountered lots of problems, which is fine, but they miraculously managed to escape them smoothly each time, which I thought was unrealistic. Also, everyone seemed to deal with the issues as though they were nothing, when it would've seemed better to be even a little bit freaked out. Furthermore, the Silverwoods all dealt with things so professionally and well, and although the mum and dad may have encountered something similar in the past, the children certainly wouldn't have.
Overall, it was a very interesting read and I'm glad that I did read it. I'm not sure if I will continue with the series next year, however.
If you enjoy sci-fi and cool families battling even cooler creatures, then you should check this out.
I honestly had no idea what this book was about at all, and to be honest, I wasn't expecting much, as I hadn't heard anything about this book, so I was pleasantly surprised. When I got into the book a little bit, I still wasn't sure if it was going to be my thing as I'm not the biggest fan of all Fantasy, but this one I really enjoyed.
The concept of this book was very original, and I liked that about it. I've never heard of anything like the Tromindox or the kind of job that Helen's mum had. There were also no real big clichés, which can sometimes happen in a book with an original concept but luckily this book had none.
At times I did get confused as to what was going on because the book switches between different POVs, and they were set in different places, and as the book is quite complex it was sometimes hard to keep up.
One other issue I had with the book was the fact that they encountered lots of problems, which is fine, but they miraculously managed to escape them smoothly each time, which I thought was unrealistic. Also, everyone seemed to deal with the issues as though they were nothing, when it would've seemed better to be even a little bit freaked out. Furthermore, the Silverwoods all dealt with things so professionally and well, and although the mum and dad may have encountered something similar in the past, the children certainly wouldn't have.
Overall, it was a very interesting read and I'm glad that I did read it. I'm not sure if I will continue with the series next year, however.
If you enjoy sci-fi and cool families battling even cooler creatures, then you should check this out.
April 4, 2015
I received a free ARC of this book through Goodreads First Reads.
I'm going to start this off by saying that this book had a lot of potential. The overall plot was interesting and could have been a huge success. However, the story quickly turned into a confusing mess.
Written in present tense and from multiple points of view, I was unable to form a connection with any of the characters. Many of the characters frequently made choices that seemed unbelievable at best.
As with any time travel book, there is bound to be some debate. Unfortunately, there was so much technology and time travel information that was left unexplained.
Overall, I felt as though this book was rushed, but had an intriguing plot.
I'm going to start this off by saying that this book had a lot of potential. The overall plot was interesting and could have been a huge success. However, the story quickly turned into a confusing mess.
Written in present tense and from multiple points of view, I was unable to form a connection with any of the characters. Many of the characters frequently made choices that seemed unbelievable at best.
As with any time travel book, there is bound to be some debate. Unfortunately, there was so much technology and time travel information that was left unexplained.
Overall, I felt as though this book was rushed, but had an intriguing plot.
September 20, 2015
Silverwood by Betsy Streeter is the story of scary transforming squid monsters and having super special snowflake abilities that allow you to be super special and save the world. It is also the story of how it took me a week to finish a book that would usually take me a day because I was so damn bored.
Read the rest of the review at SpEx Reviews
Read the rest of the review at SpEx Reviews
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