Silver on the Road

Ever since I read Devil's Tower by Mark Sumner, I've been hooked on western-fantasies. They seem to be a unique sub-genre and when they are done well, they are fascinating and different than most other fantasy. Silver on the Road is done well. It takes it's time and builds the story and characters as you go along, and the magic is subtle but almost more powerful because it is used sparingly. I really cared about Izzy and Gabriel and even Farron. They are complex and they grow throughout the story, both in terms of their relationship with each other, and within themselves. They both have things they are just beginning to understand and accept about themselves, especially Izzy, who is only sixteen, but this is far from a young adult read. show more She is a strong character without losing the naivety and wonder at the world around her. It's not a fast read, but it's deep and interesting and makes you think. I am really looking forward to the next adventure in the Devil's West and seeing how Izzy builds on everything she has learned about being the Devil's Left Hand. show less

I have seen this labeled as a Weird Western, and I understand why: it's definitely not a historical old west tale. It's alternate history that endows the middle of America with a sort of mystical sentience. The feel is folkloric. There is action, but it's not a thriller. It steadily moves in a way that is fascinating and soothing.

Silver on the Road is a coming of age story of sorts for Isobel. She's a good heroine; a good person, period, who asked for a job and had no idea what she was granted. At times, her whining on that subject gets a little old, but I think that's my biggest gripe. Also, I really appreciated that this wasn't a romance at all. Mind you, I enjoy a good romance subplot, but it is something of a trope.

Gilman's show more worldbuilding is phenomenal. I loved exploring the road with Isobel and learning about crossroads, owls, snakes, and the feel of the land. It's a very... loving take on the very meaning of land and home. show less

I'm not a fan of the Wild West so I was not expecting to love this book but I did. It was so original and immediate. You really felt like you were in this young girl's head as she stumbled through her initiation into life "on the road" and in her new role.
I liked all the characters because they felt like real people, flawed but all with some good in them.
The way magic works was intriguing as were the monstrous creatures she encounters.
It was gritty but not so much that it was painful to read.

This is an excellent start to a new series. Izzy, sixteen years old today, must choose what she is going to do with the rest of her life: is she going to leave the town where she has lived for most of her life, and if she does, where will she go? If she stays, what will she do?

Izzy's boss is the devil, famous for making bargains which are utterly, completely, fair... You get what you bargain for, but not necessarily what you expect. Izzy makes her bargain, and becomes the Devil's Left Hand - but what does that mean?

Izzy is a well-drawn protagonist; she's a mature sixteen, but not unbelievably so. Gilman writes a bright but inexperienced girl well. Likewise, Gabriel, with whom the Devil bargains that he will mentor Izzy on the road, to show more teach her how to go on. He's quiet, intelligent, and obviously has a back-story that we get hints of but no real details.

The portrayal of the Devil as not evil but very, very reliable, has been done before, but Gilman does it well, and gives it her own spin. But her portrayal of the weird West was really what made this book for me. Don't get me wrong, I loved the characters (including the secondary characters like Farron Easterly), but the West itself is what sets this book apart. In Silver on the Road magic isn't so much part of the people as part of the land; crossroads have dangers of their own, and a person can feel the road, and the crossing of boundaries.

This is a coming-of-age story, and a weird-west story, but it can also be a story of the nature of good and evil, and right and wrong.

There is obviously more to be told, and I look forward to reading it. show less

(Originally reviewed at thelibraryladies.com.)

You know you read a lot of a specific genre when you begin to recognize cover art artists! So, while I would like to say that I first looked at this book based on its amazing premise, the truth is that the cover artist has also done covers for some of my other favorite fantasy reads, so those books just immediately leap out at me whenever I’m browsing through lists. But, books are not their covers and all of that, so the unique premise was ultimately what landed this one for me as worth checking out. And, while there were a few frustrations here and there, all told, I very much enjoyed this book as a refreshing change of pace for fantasy fiction.

Honestly, with so much of urban fantasy and show more historical fantasy starting to feel tired and weighed down by too many tropes, it’s shocking that the concept of alternative Western fantasy hasn’t struck home more fully. What an untapped setting and part of history! And this alternative American Wild West was really the major strength of the book.

In this version of history, the West (essentially anything that would have been gained in the Louisiana Purchase in true history) is literally wild, kept in check only by the mysterious and half-fabled Devil who rules the Territory. The true essence and character of the Devil is never fully explored, whether he is the actual Devil from a Biblical sense, or whether this is a name he has acquired from magic-fearing folk who don’t know what else to call him. At a certain point, I simply began associating him with the type of Devil character you hear/read about in folk tales (like the Devil in the song “The Devil Went Down to Georgia.”)

But this is a good example of the type of “go with it” mentality that is necessary for this book. There are many questions raised and very few answers given. This could be frustrating at times, particularly when I got to the end and realized some of them would be left unanswered completely. But with the world-building itself, it was easier to simply stop trying to over-analyze and simply enjoy immersing oneself in it instead.

Izzy, a young woman who has worked at a tavern alongside the Devil her whole life, is recruited by him to travel the Territory as his Left Hand. Here, too, there was not a lot of clarification. Izzy is simply set out into the world alongside Gabriel, a travel-worn companion who knows the hidden paths and pitfalls of the Territory and who has stuck his own mysterious bargain with the Devil (more unanswered questions!). What she can do, how she can do it, and even when she should do it are all unknowns to her and us.

I very much enjoyed these two characters and their expedition, however. This is a very slow burn novel, and much of the page time is spent with these two on the road, basically wandering from one place to another. Only towards the very end of the book do the small plot points that have been stumbled upon really begin to come together to form any type of unified conflict and arc. For those looking for a more tight story with a more natural progression of learned information, this book may be a struggle. I was able to attach myself strongly enough to the character development of Izzy and Gabriel that most of this was ok by me. I also, personally, very much enjoy hiking and discovering new parts of the world around bends in roads. So, for me, the meandering approach to storytelling that was largely just a roadtrip on a horse was appealing.

I very much enjoyed this book. However, for some it may read as slow and the unanswered questions could be frustrating. I had a fairly laid back approach to this, knowing there was a sequel that was just published, but even I found myself frustrated at times. Izzy’s powers are so undefined, even at the end, that while I know that progress was made in this book (a conflict was resolved and all), it still felt like Izzy herself had very far to go. And Gabriel’s past is still very much a large question mark. But I’m on board enough to want to read the next one where hopefully some of this will be answered! show less

I really enjoyed this fantasy set in an alternate American West. This one still has the United States east of the muddy river, the Spanish to the west and south. and the French in the north. But it also has the devil in control of the Territory. Isobel has been raised in the devil's town and the devil's saloon. When she was two, her parents indentured her to him in their own deal with him and then left without a backward glance. Now, she is sixteen and free and able to cut her own deal with the devil.

Isobel knows more what she doesn't want than what she does. She makes a deal with the devil to be his Left Hand on the road patrolling his territory. The devil finds her a mentor in Gabriel Kasun who has his own reason to agree and his own show more deal with the devil. The two of them take off on the road for Isobel to learn the land.

The land is a fascinating place with almost sentient dust devils, demons, and magicians. It is a land filled with magic and Isobel needs to learn the way of it. And she needs to learn fast because something has come to the territory which is a threat to all the living. Isobel feels its presence and sees the evidence of its passage in empty towns, polluted waterways, and disappearing people. As she learns more about this presence she also learns more about what her bargain with the devil really has let her in for.

This is a combination fantasy and coming of age story. I thought the world was fascinating. I also thought Isobel's struggles to find her place in it made the story interesting and engaging. I can't wait to read the next book in the Devil's West to find out what Isobel and Gabriel are up to next. show less

This book hits a dozen high notes for me. I enjoy the writing, the world building, the characters, and of course the horses and mule. If you like Westerns thick with magic, or just good epic storytelling on a local, familiar level this is for you. Delighted to have a new series to enjoy.