Silence

Queen of the Dead, Book 1

By: Michelle Sagara

Narrated by: Alexandra Bailey

Length: 9 hrs and 22 mins

Publisher's summary

It began in the graveyard.... Ever since her boyfriend Nathan had died in a tragic accident, Emma had been coming to the graveyard at night. During the day she went through the motions at her prep school, in class, with her friends, but that’s all it was. For Emma, life had stopped with Nathan’s death. But tonight was different. Tonight Emma and her dog were not alone in the cemetery. There were two others there - Eric, who had just started at her school, and an ancient woman who looked as though she were made of rags. And when they saw Emma there, the old woman reached out to her with a grip as chilling as death....

Emma was not quite like others teenagers. It was true that other girls had experienced grief. Other girls had also lost their fathers, or had their boyfriends die in a senseless accident. But though she hadn’t known it till that night in the graveyard, unlike those other girls, she could see, touch, and speak with the dead. In fact, Emma could draw upon the essence of the dead to work magic. That was what Necromancers did. But Emma had no desire to be a Necromancer. She just wanted to help the ghosts who walked the streets of Toronto, unable to escape from the land of the living. And that was just as well, because had she chosen the path of the Necromancer, Eric would have had to kill her.

Instead, Eric and his fellow Necromancer hunter Chase found themselves violating every rule they were sworn to follow, becoming part of Emma’s group, helping her to stand against those who preyed upon the dead. But whether Emma and her friends could survive such a battle was anyone’s guess. And whether Emma could learn to use the magic of the dead against her enemies without herself falling victim to the lure of such power remained to be seen. Eric seemed to think she could, and her living friends would never abandon her. But only time would tell what Emma’s true destiny was....

©2012 Michelle Sagara (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

slow starter

if you can power through the slow start the story itself is pretty good. performance isn't BAD but not great.

I Ended Up Liking This Quite a Bit

I wasn't sure if I was going to like this book. I have read a few books by the author published under the name Michelle West but I did not particularly like the books in her "Cast in" series. I also realized after I bought this one that was a YA book which increased my feelings that maybe I had made a mistake. I'm not keen on a lot of the current crop of YA fiction because I'm not keen on books that end up with cliffhangers or instant love. Thankfully this book while clearly part of series does not rely on lust between any two of the characters as part of the plot and does have a satisfying ending.

Do not expect to have all questions you might have about the characters, particularly the enigmatic Eric, answered in this volume. There are threads left hanging, but the second book is already available so there's no need to fear that there will not be a follow up.

I particularly liked the relationship between the teens in the book. They seemed like teenagers who might be the children of friends, but they also are more interesting and have bigger adventures. They also are presented as teenagers who have friendships, disagreements and real differences.

Sagara in the meantime is dealing with serious concerns about life and death while coming up with some creepy imagery.

I'd recommend this even if you aren't a teenager and haven't been for decades.

Narrated by Alexandra Bailey who does a good job.

Narrator killed it

Interesting story that was KILLED by a droning, dead-pan reader. A.Bailey missed all the nuances, excitement and drama that made the story interesting. Might as well have been a computer voice. It's a somewhat typical supernatural teen drama, but an interesting take. I recommend this book only after a re-recording.

Solidly Written YA Paranormal

Silence is a YA urban fantasy in the hands of a mature and talented author. Solidly written with good pacing, realistic and logical characters, and an interesting (if perhaps not wholly original) plot dealing with necromancers and ghosts.

Emma is lost in the grief of the recent loss of her boyfriend, Nathan. While visiting his grave, a young man appears with an old woman, who promptly hands her a lantern and lays a ghostly kiss upon her. Emma learns from the old woman's kiss that she is a necromancer - and is slated to die by the young man to prevent her from bringing more evil upon the afterworld. But Erik does not kill her and now commits to discovering what makes her different before her powers put her friends and her world at risk.

Silence has a great cast of characters (think Buffy and you get the idea of the diversity) but in Sagara's hands the characters are very grounded. There is no manufactured melodrama, sappy love or romance, or over the top scenes. Instead, we have a well-paced story of trust, friendship, love, and the paranormal thrown in.

I greatly enjoyed Silence. It is an easy and quick read but with enough action to keep me interested throughout. Sagara gives her characters a flawed and humane perspective as they struggle with events far beyond their control. There are no superheroes and each character's weaknesses as well as strengths become the driving plot points.

In all, I greatly enjoyed this book. The narration was a bit flat and it was very difficult to tell who was talking at times.

Good, soild book

Would you consider the audio edition of Silence to be better than the print version?

Yes

Who was your favorite character and why?

Eric and Michael, they added grounding to the book. It gives you that, 'I could almost see this happen' feeling.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes

Any additional comments?

Good charaters and story development. Worth having a listen.

A love letter to austism

An interesting mythos burdened by insufficient explanations and bogged down by continuous gushing about how wonderful autistic people are. Narrator lacks delivery but improves as the recording moves ahead. Worth a listen.

F Words??? Where??

This book is a good story and I truly don't know what the other reviewer is talking about as the only F words in the entire story are Fun, From, Function, Frivolous etc you get the picture?

Typical Sagara in writing, much like Elantra in content (as in, I would let my 13yrold read it). but still a good read for an adult as well.

After listening to over 500 books in the last couple of years I think I am well able to judge a good book. I gave this one 3 stars which to me means it's a good book, worth the credit but no prize winner. The narration is OK which is a bonus since bad narration can totally crush a book of any class.

I am looking forward to seeing where Michelle is planning to take this story line and I will buy the next book in the series.

EXCELLENT YOUNG ADULT AND ADULT STORY

I really enjoyed this book, it's a rare occasion for me to even try a young adult book any more, too much angst and not enough story. In this story we meet Emma a young woman who has had her fair share of tragedy in her life. She has recently lost the love of her life, Nathan. Emma spends a lot of time in the graveyard @ Nathan's grave because she finds peace there. One night she finds one of her classmates there and her entire life starts to change.
I won't give away any spoilers here, but know it's worth the time, credit or cash to listen to this book. I rarely give 5 stars for any book but this one earned it. The narration is excellent also.

Kept me interested...

What made the experience of listening to Silence the most enjoyable?

Alexandra Bailey was able to read the story without being too slow and used inflection well.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Silence?

Drew burning an enemy using Emma as a conduit.

What does Alexandra Bailey bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I have noticed that quite a few narrators seem to read slowly... (no don't have my settings on "slowed down") Alexandra read the book more slowly than I would have but her inflection and pitch and increases and decreases in volume made me more patient with the tempo of the narrator.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Emma's interaction with Maria and Drew made me a bit emotional... but I'm a mother so that might explain why I "felt" more during those moments in the book.

Any additional comments?

I enjoyed the story and it kept me listening long after I should have turned off my iPod. I will read the next book one way or another... ebook, audio, or from the library.

interesting story. Narration will cure insomnia.

It took a long time to get to the point, but that can be forgiven since it's an introduction to the characters and the story. At least it gave time to get to know all the characters who I enjoyed. I look forward to book 2 now that the introductions are out of the way.

The narrator has two voices, semi-energetic and flat. Scenes that were supposed to be filled with danger and urgency were read exactly the same as scenes which were calm. Walking through a burning building was read with the exact same inflection as waking up and making breakfast. Whispers of sadness were said the same way a dangerous warning was given. I can't say enough about how much the narration didn't do the writing justice. I might just ready book 2 instead of listen to it. Now if you are having a hard time sleeping, the narration should help anyone get over bouts of insomnia. At least her voice was pleasant.