REVIEW: Silence Fallen by Patricia Briggs
C+ ReviewsMercy-Thompson / Prague / Shifters / Urban-Fantasy / werewolves10 Comments
Dear Patricia Briggs,
First off, I’m so very sorry about the sudden, devastating loss of your husband, Mike, earlier this year. My heart goes out to you and to your children. I can’t even imagine how you must be feeling. And knowing that your grief must be incredibly deep and wide right now, I feel even worse about not loving Silence Fallen as much as I wanted to. So maybe, don’t read this review? I didn’t hate the book by any stretch but I didn’t love it either. I wrote the review which follows the first week in January before your world imploded. You’ve got enough on your plate now, and this is just a book review.
I wish you all the love and support in this difficult time.
Best,
Kaetrin
Dear Patricia Briggs,
Every year I look forward to the new Mercy Thompson book. It’s one of my favourite series’. While I adore Mercy in all the ways, I admit, as a hero-centric reader, Adam is a big draw for me.
When I saw that Silence Fallen had quite a few chapters from Adam’s POV I was super excited. More Adam can’t be a bad thing, right?
Except, I was underwhelmed by the book. I’m having a little trouble putting my finger on what exactly about it made it so. It was eminently readable and I was entertained enough. It certainly wasn’t a wall-banger. But equally, apart from at the very beginning, I wasn’t engrossed. The stakes weren’t high enough or something. I don’t think it was the Adam POV that was the problem. I enjoyed those. I even didn’t mind the way the timeline jumped around a bit or the “notes” from Mercy at the beginning of each chapter to assist the reader orient herself in the timeline. (I didn’t love it. I just didn’t mind it.)
The book had a great start though. Mercy is kidnapped after being seriously injured while on a late night run to the local convenience store/gas station for eggs and chocolate chips (she’s making cookies). And Adam, of course, is beside himself. I love a bit of high stakes angst. I love a rescue trope (and I have always loved that Mercy often rescues herself and is generally not a damsel in distress). So in the beginning, I was all in.
I think I held my breath when Adam first found the damaged truck Mercy had been driving.
There was a moment of time that was forever blank after he smelled her blood.
I think what made the story less than completely satisfying, was that the motivation for the kidnapping seemed a bit thin. I couldn’t quite pin down the reasoning or why Bonarata (he is identified early so I don’t think it’s a spoiler) would bother himself with the Tri-Cities. I mean, I understood what was in the book but it just didn’t hang together for me. He is not a good guy. He is a monster. But there was quite a deal of ambiguity in the way the plot played out. I’m not generally a fan of ambiguity. In other Mercy books, the bad guys have always been clearly bad. And the way forward has been, pretty much, to destroy the bad guy/s.
I don’t want to give too much away but that’s not really what happens here. There are some bad guys destroyed but there is far more diplomacy and compromise than I’m used to seeing.
The other thing (and this might be as big a reason as any other) is that Mercy and Adam are separated for most of the book. I get that separating them creates tension and forces Mercy to act on her own (even though I think when they are together you have absolutely nailed the execution of both Mercy and Adam being alpha and neither being diminished by the other). But it was almost like two books: Mercy’s book and Adam’s book.
There is a little twist near the end which will probably make me want to revisit certain sections of the book nevertheless. I’m not sure if I think it was too cute. I’m leaning that way (ETA: definitely too cute). I can’t really say more without giving the twist away but I think it was a risky move and I don’t quite understand the motivation for it. Perhaps that’s just me not getting subtlety again however.
I enjoyed the different location well enough – the story is mostly set in Prague and Milan – but Silence Fallen is my least favourite of the series so far. I went with you in Frost Burned. I defended Adam when Christy was messing with Mercy and he was taken in by the ex. And last year, I was blown away by Fire Touched. It was a game-changer for the series and I was amazed at how you’d refreshed it (even though I hadn’t thought it was tired) and where things might go from there. But Silence Fallen doesn’t really advance the world. It’s more of a tangent in terms of the series arc. I’m not sure I learned anything new about Mercy or Adam or the Mercyverse. In Fire Touched (spoiler alert) Mercy and Adam claimed the Tri-Cities as their territory. But Silence Fallen was set almost entirely outside of their territory and didn’t really progress that aspect of the story at all. I guess I’m still a bit puzzled by it all.
I didn’t hate it. But I didn’t love it. It saddens me but I have to give this one a C+. That’s not a bad grade of course. But for a Mercy book? Well, it’s not good either.
Regards,
Kaetrin
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Thanks for the review. I recently reread the whole series, and love it just as much as ever. I look forward to reading this addition to the series, even if it might not be the best. I think this series is head and shoulders above some others I’ve read recently (but I’m not talking about Ilona Andrews!), so even a weak entry, if such it is, will be a pleasure.
I finished listening to Fire Touched a week or so ago in preparation for the new book. (I both read and listen to this series. Repeatedly.) I started reading this one before leaving for work this morning, but wasn’t able to finish it; however, I am one of those people who frequently reads the ending in advance so I know what you mean about the twist. (I think it *is* a bit too twee.)
I’m also so far not sold on the need for the European road trip either in this book or in the overall arc. I was hoping that would be more clear by the end, but it doesn’t sound so. Maybe this is one of those books that will grow on me more with a second or third reading. That was definitely the case with River Marked, which I pretty much disliked the first time around, but grew to enjoy it more with subsequent readings. I still don’t love it, but don’t hate it, either.
I thought I read that the next Mercy book is already written, which is a good thing. But I am concerned about the fate of the series, tbh. Mike Briggs was not only an anchor and support in Patty Briggs’s life, but also played a huge role in her writing. That’s a void that obviously can’t be filled. I really do wish her and her family all the best in this difficult time.
*Raises hand*. Me too. I was feeling a little bit alone with the other reviews that nearly all really loved it. There were many points that you covered that i agree with and more. The last three Mercy books for me i felt nervous about. I feel that Mercy has too many powerful people backing her,every time something goes wrong. This has made the last couple of books predicable and repetitive.
I love the world that Ms Briggs has built and will continue reading them but just not for the main protagonist.
+1 on the too cute bit.
SPOILERISH
The whole trip to Europe felt painfully contrived. Readers were repeatedly told Bonarata was a powerful, smart vampire who manipulated circumstances…and then suddenly the brains and power evaporated into a repetitive plot point.
Also, the Everybody Loves Mercy Show is getting old, as is her habit of finding new “powers” or angles to her powers in each book as a convenient way to dig her out of whatever the current disaster is.
I’m glad this was borrowed from the library, because I definitely don’t think it was worth hardback price or ebook price.
@JessP: I hope it works for you Jess. Will you come back and let us know what you think?
@Susan: I feel so terrible for Patty that she’s lost her beloved husband. I can only begin to imagine what she must be going through. I hope, in time, that writing will be some solace for her.
As for the book, you may be right – River Marked was a book I enjoyed but I did like it better on a re-read. In that case, I missed all the secondary characters that were largely absent because it was an “Adam and Mercy mostly alone” story (which appealed to me also because I like to be contrary). I don’t think Silence Fallen contributes much to the overall story arc though. I’d be happily wrong about that but I’m not seeing it as things stand.
@Bankai18: we can sit in the corner in our own little club :P
@jmc: I thought when I read the book that I’d have been bothered if I’d paid hardback prices for it. I’ll still buy the audiobook because of course but… yeah.
@jmc: I agree with your assessment also . I also felt that Mercy’s charecter was morphing into a mary-sue.
I appreciate this review, and I agree with it completely – you said a lot of what I had trouble articulating in my own dislike of the book, which I likewise understand is hard to do when you *love* a series as much as we do this one.
P.S. – I also appreciate your letter at the beginning. I read the book (and wrote my review) in November 2016, before announcement of the tragic and sudden death of Mike Briggs … it did give me a pang of guilt and further disappointment that I didn’t love ‘Silence Fallen’ more. I hope she knows that I’ll always be a fan, regardless of a bump in the bookish road, and that also as a fan I’ll be patient and understanding of whatever decision she makes regarding the series, going forward.
@Danielle Binks: Thank you Danielle. I think we might be in the minority from other reviews I’ve read – but it’s always nice to have company! :)
And yes, re your other comment – totally agree. +1
This series is one of the few I’ve manged to stick with. I’m constantly reading series but I usually give up on them if they don’t have an overall story arc. For example, I have no problems reading 11 or 12 Kate Daniels books because I know there’s an end game. It helps to move the story forward. That’s what this series is lacking for me. There seems to be no point to it all outside of continuing because we’re still buying it.
There were times when I was reading and thought the structure was a little lazy. It also felt slightly disjointed. Someone else commented on the convenience of Mercy’s powers this time around. While I understand what they meant I think that’s the one area this series can, and should, expand. Ever since River Marked I’m always hoping for a Coyote appearance. I also think it’s high time she learned more about her powers and how to use them. Vampires were afraid of her kind for a reason. People in this book, and in others, have remarked on this and it’s as if she doesn’t care. This is especially annoying because she never wants to be seen as helpless. It seems to me that if you really wanted to be an asset to your pack you’d figure out how to use your abilities. If this series continues that’s where I think it should go.
@Leelee: Yes, I think it would be good for Mercy to know about her powers outside of just discovering what they are just when she needs them.
I’d also love more about the claiming of territory she and Adam did in Fire Touched – for me, that was what was missing in Silence Fallen.