Silence (Queen of the Dead, #1) (Daw Book Collectors)

by Michelle Sagara

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 other 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?

• ISBN10: 0756407427
• ISBN13: 9780756407421
• Publish Date: 1 May 2012
• Publish Status: Out of Stock
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Penguin Putnam Inc
• Imprint: DAW Books
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 289
• Language: English

Reviews

[Quirky Cat]

I’m a huge fan of Michelle Sagara’s other series, the Chronicles of Ellentria so I wanted to give her other series a try. While I enjoyed Silence, I don’t think it’s a strongly written and her Ellentria series, so I find myself wishing I had read them in opposite order. Oh well, what’s done is done, right?



Emma is fine, or at least that’s what she keeps telling everyone. Her father passed away years ago, and her boyfriend passed much more recently. But she’s fine, she promises. She enjoys spending time in the cemetery at night; it calms her, the silence of it all. Until that one time the graveyard wasn’t empty, and the creature she met changed everything.
It turns out that Emma is actually a necromancer, most of whom are on the whole terrible people who either end up being killed or becoming killers themselves. Emma’s one of the rare ones, with no temptation to kill everyone around her, especially because doing so would drain the helpless ghosts around her. Something that she is loathe to do.
There are about a dozen side characters in Silence, most of them being friends of Emma. They help to round out the world shown to us. They also explain Emma’s attachment to said world, and why she wouldn’t be willing to turn her back on everything, like most necromancers apparently do.
Emma’s determination to help save a young boy (well, ghost really) is very endearing, as well as a huge plot point for the book. She and her friends willingly endanger themselves to try and help a person that most would (and do) consider a lost cause. The whole thing just felt very human, which I’m sure was the point.
All in all Silence was a pretty quick read – I finished it in less than a day. So I was able to get right into it and therefore the plot. I liked Emma and the world Sagara created, I just find myself wishing there was more to it. Perhaps it’s a series that depends on build up. It is the first in a trilogy, which implies there will be more world building in the later novels as well. Or at least one can hope.
As I stated earlier, I am a huge fan of Michelle Sagara’s other works, so I do think this was worth reading. I also believe that I will continue with the series, if nothing else to see where it takes me.


For more reviews, check out Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks

[Suz @ Bookish Revelations]

Silence is a beautifully written paranormal with intriguing mystery, charming and charismatic characters, and an enticing flare for originality. The world Michelle Sagara creates is both interesting and complex, brimming with thrilling imaginative creativity, gorgeous prose, and a brilliant and cleverly written nod to the history of necromancy. The plot is dark and driven, yet has an insanely amazing way of keeping readers on the edge of their seats with the anticipation of what's to come next. Little bits and pieces of information about whom and what Emma is and her abilities are sprinkled throughout the novel that makes it even more mysteriously compelling. The characters are strong and realistically portrayed, which make them sympathetic to readers and extremely likeable.

Emma has some admirable qualities that make her delightful to get to know. She's fiercely strong, independent, and wonderfully resilient in the face of all the heartache she's had to endure. One of her most likeable qualities is that she's incredibly selfless, choosing to put other's before herself. She's just this really amazing kind and caring person, who's had to deal with a lot in her young life and she's still determined to understand herself better and accept her gift of necromancy and what she can do with it. It's easy to connect with her in an emotional and meaningful way.

Eric and Chase have their own way of making the story more exciting and invigorating, as they bring their own intrigue adding to the suspenseful mystery. They have a great deal of knowledge and experience with necromancers and it was interesting to see that instead of killing Emma like they originally had planned, they ended up helping her instead. It's a lot of fun getting to know them, as they get to know Emma and become sort of allies to her cause once she decides what she's going to do with her gift of necromancy. One thing I actually enjoyed when they entered the picture, was that there was no love triangle involved at all. I literally found myself breathing a sigh of relief, because it was so refreshing to read a young adult paranormal book that didn't involve this aspect. I think I found it to be a little more entertaining and engaging, that they could be friends on a more platonic level rather than a romantic one.

The supporting characters were also enjoyable to get to know, like Amy who wasn't afraid to say or do whatever she felt like doing. She was super fiercely protective of her friends and that made her such a fantastic character. It was adorable to see how charming and caring Michael was, when he was playing with the children and being loyal to his friends in light of everything going on around them. But, I think my personal favorite was Margaret, the ghost who ended up referring to Emma as something else other than necromancer. She doesn't exactly explain why or what she meant, which adds an extra air of mystery and intrigue. It was definitely enough of a twist to keep readers guessing and anticipating the next book in this amazing new young adult paranormal series.

Silence is brimming with so much awesome, that readers will be captivated and unable to put it down. It's an incredibly fast paced action packed novel, brimming with danger, mysterious twists and turns, and cleverly disguised intrigue. Michelle Sagara pens an amazingly evocative novel with engaging plot twists sure to take readers on a rollercoaster ride of their life. I would definitely recommend this super fantastic novel to anyone who enjoys the Darkest Powers trilogy by Kelley Armstrong or the Katerina Trilogy by Robin Bridges.