A Demon In Silver by R S Ford
| A Demon In Silver by R S Ford | |
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| Category: Fantasy | |
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Reviewer: Ruth Wilson
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| Summary: A Demon In Silver is a brilliant book, and happily the first in a trilogy so there is more excitement to come. The plot creeps forwards slowly, with teasing hints and reveals about the mortals, their world, and the gods that covet it. As the plot slowly unravels, and the characters are manoeuvred into battle, we get a sense of the danger and battles to come in the subsequent books. This is fantastic first novel in what is sure to be a fantastic trilogy. | |
| Buy? Yes | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 464 | Date: June 2018 |
| Publisher: Titan Books | |
| ISBN: 978-1785653063 | |
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A Demon In Silver is set in a fantasy world where gods once walked the land and magic influenced everything for millennia, where magic was power and the entire world was shaped around its influence. Then, overnight, that power was ripped away, sorcerers died instantly and magic is never heard of again. Until now. A farm girl from the middle of nowhere has unleashed raw magic and the tribal leaders will stop at nothing to control her, using whatever means necessary. Can anyone save her, or will they need saving from her?
A Demon in Silver is the first book of the trilogy, and is written as such. The plot starts slowly and takes its time, darting here and there, teasing and ensnaring the reader. Whilst there is an ending to this part of the story it is more a climax of the action rather than a conclusion; the plot and characters from this book will simply pick up and continue in the subsequent books. Ford takes his time in the unravelling of the plot, with two more books to follow he slowly teases the reader, with hints and suggestions, then just as you feel ready for a big reveal, he changes tack and you are swept away by another storyline.
The story is told through the point of view of several unrelated characters who seemingly have nothing to do with each other. The characters are introduced at some point within a ten year time period and the view point jumps from one character to the next without any sort of chronology or geography so it takes a little time to put things into a bigger picture. In addition to this, there are also parts of the plot that take place in the world of the gods, kept separate to prevent interference in the world of mortals. At first glance, this seems like it should be a confusing muddle but because of the detail and quality of the writing it is not. Each specific character storyline is written beautifully and hooks the reader's attention; there are no disappointing or weak characters, and whilst the characters all seem totally unconnected, both in time and geography, there is the sense that fate will make them all come together somehow.
The story takes place around 100 years after The Fall, the moment when the gods broke the Heartstone and ended the sorcerers' power, removing magic from the land. Ford gives us brief snippets of history through the writings of religious leaders, just enough to be able to form an idea how the ancient world worked and who held the power. I hope in the next two novels this is built on even more, these small pieces of history are particularly enticing and suggest at more gods that may play a part. Around these snapshots of history, we meet the main characters. Firstly, we meet Josten, a soldier with truly terrible luck; then Silver, who knows nothing of herself or the world around her but is fierce, and determined to survive. Next, we meet Livia, the farm girl who will change everything. These three plots jump to one another, the characters have nothing in common and are set in different years, but slowly they are pulled together. Livia is a wonderful character, she is physically weak and knows that she cannot save herself when the guards come to capture her but she refuses to give up and is prepared to capitalise on any chance she gets. Ford strikes just the right balance with the character of Livia, as the story progresses we see that her greatest power is not her latent magic but rather her kindness and determination. It is the force of her personality that influences Josten so much, and proves most powerful later on when she meets Kaleb.
Without a doubt Kaleb is my favourite part of the story. Earlier in the book the story jumps from character to character however, when Kaleb is introduced that stops and the plot becomes focused on him. The reader sees him taken as a child and sold to dark masters, we see him grow up and begin to do well, we get to know him and feel invested in him and his life. This is a really rich part of the plot, even though he is so far away from Livia, in both time and location, this is where the main plot really digs in and starts to shape to the greater narrative. Kaleb is not a character we should like, he is bloodthirsty, and cold, and a determined killer but it is testament to Ford's skill that the reader cannot help rooting for Kaleb despite him being such a vicious killer.
I thoroughly enjoyed A Demon in Silver, and would most definitely recommend it. There is some bad language so it is not suitable for younger readers but I will definitely read the next two books in the series. I hope to see more of these particular characters but also look forwards to the new characters hinted at towards the end of this book. In particular I hope to see more of the gods, I would like to find out if more gods pass through the Heartstone and what the mortals will do, will they bow down and serve or will they join together and fight back. This is going to be a fantastic series and I cannot wait for The Hangman's Gate to be released. For something similar, you could also try The Smoke Thieves by Sally Green.
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You can read more book reviews or buy A Demon In Silver by R S Ford at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
You can read more book reviews or buy A Demon In Silver by R S Ford at Amazon.com.
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