Book Review: "Silvertongue" by Charlie Fletcher

SPOIL-FREE SUMMARY

George has brought something back with him from when he went to rescue Edie. Something evil. So it's up to him and his friends to stop it. Meanwhile Edie unravels the mysterious past of her mother.

PACING

The pacing is not really slow, I just felt that parts pertaining to side characters that were just introduced were kind of boring. Even if many of them were short parts, I felt they dragged the story down slightly. George still has plenty of action while Edie's story pulls us along by its suspense.

EDIE'S MOM-SPOILERS

We learn about how Edie's stepfather died finally. While Edie learns some surprising things about her mom. This does help her gain closure. She forgives her mom and realizes she only wanted to protect her daughter. It was tragic event to witness but it was nice that Gunner was there for her.

THE QUEEN'S WARNING

In the beginning of the book, the Queen confides in George. Turns out she is worried about Edie. She says dying has changed her. And yet I don't think Edie actually changes at all. She is the same stubborn girl, going off on her own and doing whatever she wants.

I almost felt like this was a plot point that was forgotten. Everything that comes from her mouth seems vague. Like how George and Edie are connected and something about ancient magic...or something. And she also mentions having lost girls before who were glints. But we never learn of them. So it felt empty.

VAGUE HISTORY

We get to learn a history lesson about where the ice devil came from. It's evil, and it was put away long ago, and now it's free. That's the gist.

BALANCE IN THE UNIVERSE

There is a running theme of balance having once existed in the universe. George is told he ruined the balance when he destroyed the dragon statue. And later on, he is told for every George there is a dragon. It sounded great when it was yelled by George later on but I didn't understand any of it.

Why did there need to be balance? Balance between good and evil I assume, but good and evil have been interpreted differently since humans have existed. Do we decide if things are balanced because of our idea of good and evil? And if its not us (since there are hints that there are goddesses and other forces at work) who decides what's good and evil?

And most of the explanation is given directly to the reader, and not even to George. Who doesn't seem to care to know why and how this so called “balance” exists.

GEORGE'S MOTHER

George randomly reveals that he has forgiven his mother for neglecting him and basically leaving him all alone after his father's death. He doesn't give any real reasons. He just says after the WWI experience, where he inexplicably felt better about his dad's death, he felt better about his mom.

I found this a lame attempt at wrapping up his problems. It just doesn't make any sense. He babbles about that's just how she is, maybe because she is an actress? In comparison to Edie, it was as if the author wasn't even trying. Like he decided Edie would get a long mystery full of suspense and George would get action scenes. So he better just throw that thing in there about his mom.

If there had been a few flashbacks where he realized the bad relationship wasn't all his mom's fault, that would have been better. Better yet, have involved her in the story somehow. She is in one scene throughout the entire series, and it's just a short phone call.

MORE STATUES

There are some other statues that make an appearance and help George. There is a scene between ones called “young soldier” and “old soldier” as well as the Clocker and the Queen of America. I think there was someone named Shack. I didn't care about any of them to be honest.

SPOUT

Gunner and Edie meet Spout, and George admits he is a friend. And he named him. The Queen doesn't seem surprised, saying the naming made him a special gargoyle. And Gunner just goes with it.

He barely even bats an eye. The fact that he has been at war with taints for so long and never heard of one changing sides was rather unbelievable. He should at least showed some skepticism. I mean, wasn't this an anomaly? In the first book, when Gunner tells George about taints and spits, he draws a firm line between them.

Also, we never learn more about how naming is so important. We just assume it is because the Queen says so.

EDIE & GEORGE

Edie does learn a lot in this book and it causes her to reevaluate her mother and the negative feelings she had for her. Basically she forgives her and lets go of the anger that has been with her for so long.

The problem is...she never really gives George any of the details. She only mentions one thing she learned that has to do with him.

Once again, they are apart for most of the book, just like last time. So there isn't any development between them. I was disappointed, because I knew this was their last chance to actually further develop their relationship. Especially when Edie says she has to find her Mom, basically implying that she is alive. And yet there is no conflict between her and George. He doesn't' worry that she is wrong and is setting herself up for heartache.

WHAT IF?

I mentioned I had wished that George had regretted his choice to choose the “hard way” or at least doubted himself. He finally does it in this book. But it lasts for about a page and a half and Edie doesn't even respond.

I ONLY BELIEVE IN ME

Edie reveals how a bird saved her in her dream. And yet she tells the Queen she doesn't believe in goddesses or anything. Only herself. It just feels laughable, like she is being stubborn for no reason.

Statues can talk and move, she can see the past, travel through mirrors and George has a mutating arm. But when the Queen says the Raven that Edie freed is from Norse mythology she doesn't believe her. And to make it worse, the Raven decides to stay with Edie on her shoulder. The whole scene was funny, but in a bad way.

THE BLACK FRIAR

The friar returns and plays a crucial role involving Edie. But I was honestly disappointed in his character. When we first met him, he seemed mysterious and we didn't trust him. We were told not to. And yet we were never betrayed, or led to believe we were betrayed only to reveal it was all just a misunderstanding. I suppose we were supposed to be shocked when instead she was betrayed by someone else, but this character was a minor one and I couldn't say I was surprised. It's not as if we knew him well.

I liked how he protected Edie in the last book, but I still don't know why he did it. I almost wish they had made the Black friar go into the memories, instead of Gunner. So maybe Gunner could develop his relationship with George, and Edie with the friar. And maybe she could trust him, but George didn't and this could have added conflict to the story.

THE DRAGON

Turns out there is a statue of a dragon and he is the only one who is not evil. So he decides to help Gunner and George fight. I think the idea was an interesting one but the explanation is kind of vague. The dragon says he was the only one who wasn't corrupted.

DICTIONARY JOHNSON

Johnson is back in the story and he ends up protecting George in a fight. I know I was supposed to be shocked and sad at the outcome, but I wasn't. I just didn't feel like there was that close of a relationship between the two of them. The only statue he is close to is Gunner. The others are just minor characters.

CLIMAX

George and Edie work together to defeat the ice devil. The world starts moving again and then they head home to start their new lives together.

THE WALKER'S END

After defeating the Ice Devil, George manages to kill the Walker. I think it was supposed to comic relief after the serious fight. But I thought it was kind of lame. I get that Walker wasn't the main villain in this book, but he was seriously evil in the last two. And to make his ending the butt of a joke seemed to disrespect a character they had built up in the last story.

CONCLUSION

By far the best part of the book is Edie. Her story is a mystery full of suspense and tragedy and I was never bored.

Unfortunately, many of the same mistakes of the last book were made again, mainly Edie and George lacking any real relationship development by not having much time together. And George being neglected regarding his family problems. While I found his healing over his dad confusing (since his sacrifice would have seemed to bring him closer to Gunner) his healing over his absent mother was completely illogical.

Also, I didn't care about any of the side characters or understand their motivation (such as Dictionary when he protects George or the Queen who wants to protect Edie). Many new characters felt like they were thrown in for no reason.

I give “Silvertongue” two and a half stars.

Book Review: "Ironhand" by Charlie Fletcher

SPOIL-FREE SUMMARY

George and Edie need to rescue the Gunner but they don't know where to start. Things get complicated when they get separated. Not to mention the Walker is busy sending taints after them.

CAST OF CHARACTERS

George decided to take the hard way. But he didn't know exactly what that meant. Since he spends most of his time away from both the Gunner and Edie we don't see much in the way of relationship development. He still cares about both of them, but his attempt to sacrifice for Gunner falls flat. I kind of wish he had debated if his idea to follow the “hard way” had been a mistake. Or at least realized he had been ignorant about the consequences.

Edie shares some of her past with George, but since she spends most of the story away from him, their relationship still feels lacking. Especially in comparison to the first story. But I do feel like she is much more the focus of this story than George.

Gunner has for the most part, his own story. He doesn't reunite with George and Edie until near the climax. We do see how emotional he gets, regarding the fates of the glints. Also how resourceful he is regarding his escape.

Walker is still the main villain, but he isn't in the story much. We get little snippets of him in many short chapters. It sets up some suspense, but other times I just felt bored by it.

Queen is a statue that seems to see the importance of Edie and her gift. I didn't really like or dislike her.

THREE STORIES

The Gunner has his own story for most of the book. While Edie and George end up separating half way through. So they both get different stories which I suppose helps the pacing.

I think Edie's story is quite important, as we learn about her mother and her past. As well as some of Edie's past. But except for the discovery about how evil the Walker is, I wasn't really interested in his story.

And George's story may have been fast paced, but I don't feel like I got much crucial information to the plot. But to be fair, it was really action packed in the chase scenes. And rather original as well.

EDIE & GEORGE

Since they don't spend lots of time together, there wasn't necessarily a lot of development between their relationship. They do clearly care about each others fates in the climax.

And before that they do argue about their feelings. Edie says she feels cursed and asks if he does. George thinks of his father and the cruel words he said. He eventually reveals this, and Edie laughs at him. So there is some tension between them. But after Edie reveals the truth about her father, the tension deflates.

NAMING A SPIT

George ends up getting attacked by a spit he named “Spout”. Mistakenly, he believes that the spit wants the broken head of the statue. Turns out he just wants his spout, and he wants to be fixed. George suspects that Spout is special because he was named.

But this isn't really explained. I like the idea of him having an ally, but the fact that the spout spoke strangely was kind of annoying. I would have rather he couldn't speak, or he spoke more simplistic, but clear words.

A DUEL TO THE DEATH-SPOILERS

George accidentally agrees to take part in three tests. The first is the face the statue of a knight on horseback.

FOR THE GUNNER-SPOILERS

George's second task turns out preventing the Gunner from dying. He learns that if he heads to the plinth and stands on it before midnight, he can save his friend. But by doing so he will experience what the Gunner experiences: the memories of a WWI soldier. I liked the idea of him having to do something for the Gunner, since no one actually rescues him.

But when George experiences this, he still retains his old memories. So he knows that essentially none of this is real. I felt like that completely missed the point. If he knew he had no risk of dying, going to war for a few hours wasn't terrifying at all.

GEORGE'S FATHER-SPOILERS

George ends up meeting a soldier who has his father's face. Because of this, after the event, George explains that he feels better about his father. This made no sense to me and just felt lazy. Yes, he has matured, by deciding to risk his life for others. And that could translate to realizing the mistake he made as a child had nothing to do with his father's death.

EDIE'S PAST

Probably the most important aspect of the book, we dive into the past of her mother, as Edie learns all sorts of secrets. I found this the most interesting and most suspenseful. Edie learns to let her mother go, as well as to forgive and respect her. It was almost like all of the time was spent on Edie's mother so that George's father was ignored.

THE BLACK FRIAR-SPOILERS

When Edie ends up in trouble, the Black Friar ends up risking his own life. It was surprising to wonder what his motivation is. But I hoped that she would develop a relationship with him that was similar to the Gunner's. Either way, I was glad to see Edie surprised at his kindness.

THE ORIGINS OF THE UNIVERSE

Edie is betrayed and ends up with a strange woman who used to be a glint. She ends up spinning some story about the origin of the universe that seems kind of vague at first. As though little thought went into to it. Just the basic, darkness versus the light.

But it evolves into the idea that the pagans moved from sacrificing people (they thought killing people would make it easier to make a statue) to only asking for a spot of blood (that was nice of them) when they made their statues. Sounds logical.

But the first time a spot of blood was used the boy dies (because the dagger was flint so it was evil. I guess) and the bond between maker and statue was forever made.

It was interesting but also kind of awkward. It left me with a lot of questions that Edie doesn't bother to ask. I do felt that some thought went into it, just not much. And I didn't add “spoilers” because this seems to have no effect on the story. Edie never tells George because she doesn't seem to think it's important either.

A BETRAYAL

George ends up being saved by a statue of woman, named Ariel. She is rather strange, but seems harmless. But she ends up taking George to the knight and then not allowing him to leave. George is shocked at her behavior, because she seems so nice. But we only knew her for a few minutes. So I didn't feel anything real shock, maybe just annoyance.

GEORGE'S HAND

George learns from the knight about his ironhand. He tries to worm out some information about it, but he doesn't learn that much.

TIPS FROM DAD

While trying to escape the knight, George remembers him and his dad and how they used to play rugby. I thought it was sweet, and a nice effort to incorporate it into the story. But in the end, with the addition of his father as a soldier, it just felt half-hearted.

CLIMAX

Gunner and George are reunited. Edie tries to escape the Walker but ends up being confronted by him. When George realizes what the Walker did to Edie, he goes after and tries to kill him. But the Queen stops him.

CONCLUSION

My favorite part of the first story is the relationship between Edie and George. So what I dislike is that for a large portion of the story is that they spend time apart. But to be fair, we do learn a lot about Edie and her past.

I just feel like there is no part where Edie takes George aside in confides in him about what everything the reader has just learned. And while we learn about Edie that helps her develop her character (or at least push her to where she has to decide what she really wants) we don't resolve anything with George. He just gets over his dad's death like that and we move on.

And I wasn't that interested in Gunner's story. And We still don't learn anything about the Walker (remember the flash of history that we got from Edie last time?).

I give “Ironhand” three and a half stars.