d_s_t_e's Wattpad Reviews

Ballad of Silence and Wings by eleonne [Fantasy/Fable]

Six years ago, Princess Serenity took on a vow of silence. She took this vow in service of another one: a vow of revenge. She would spend one year in silence for each one of her brothers who was slain, all the while building up her power for the day when she would hope to kill the evil queen who stole her kingdom, her childhood, and the lives of her entire family. With the help of the Caster, she sets off on her quest, and yet the question lingers: even if she overcomes odds that seem impossible, will victory be worth the price?

One of the things I liked best about this book was the way that it delivers so much while actually containing so little. This book has just seven parts, each one told very deliberately by a third person narrator who doesn't even reveal the major characters' names for most of the book, and yet every part of it felt perfectly suited to the story that was being told. Every single sentence counted, from the very first one of the story, short and clear yet immediately beginning to evoke the tone, to each and every description that drives the story forward even as it's fleshing out the world, to the few pieces of dialogue, which all ring out like something special. In a way, they truly are special, given that the main character's vow of silence severely restricts what can be spoken. We see the care she takes in selecting the final words she utters before taking the vow and the way she makes the most of every sentence when that vow is broken. I find it to be so fitting that the story of a character who gains her power through the conservation of her speech would be told in a way that actually demonstrates that every single word has power.

This is not to say that the wording was never awkward at any point, but they were few and far between, vastly outweighed by the sentences that truly impressed me. I loved the way that the descriptions set the mood simply through the words that were chosen and the flow and rhythm of the sentences. I loved the way that the princess's companion is initially characterized through just a few simple lines and the little actions that accompany them, each one saying so much more than you would ever guess they could.

I also liked how carefully the sentences controlled the unraveling of the story. It didn't start with a cheesy opening where the main character rolls out of bed while the narrator describes everything about who she is and what she looks like and what is happening right now in her life. Instead, it feels as though we've been dropped straight into a real moment in the characters' lives, an important moment, and we wait patiently for each new clue that's offered to us. The story holds things back, delivering only what's important at every step along the way. And it also doesn't hold back so much that the reader gets frustrated by the lack of information. There is a backstory revealed in chapter one, but it is told in a way that's both short and compelling. Nothing is extraneous.

I also enjoyed the way the story developed the relationship between the princess and the caster. As I mentioned before, it's initially depicted as something for the reader to develop an understanding of a little at a time through observation of their actions towards each other (and the caster's words to the princess). Later on, you see the way they fight together, and this is done so well that it improves our understanding of their relationship even more. What I found to be truly interesting, though, was the placement of the flashback scene. I don't think it could possibly have come at a better time, and that just speaks to how well the story as a whole is structured.

I will say that there was a touch of the unbelievable in the depiction of the princess as a girl, and even in little bits about her as an adult. In the end, however, I didn't see this as a problem because it seemed perfectly fitting for the genre of the story, somewhere between the world of fairy tale and fable where the characters represented something more than echoes of reality. I felt as though even the way the characters were referred to by their roles (the princess, the caster, the queen, etc.) helped to reinforce this. The characters are individuals, but they also serve as archetypes in a way. Each one plays a very particular part in the story that's being told, and, indeed, it does feel more like a story that's being told than a series of events that truly might have happened. I don't think any lesser of it for employing that style. In fact, I applaud it.

I liked the way this felt like a fairytale while also feeling fresh and new. I loved the concept of the Star Children, and the queen turned out to be a fascinating character in her own right as well. There was a lot of depth to this story, especially in the ending.

My only real complaint is that there were some places in which it was difficult for me to tell what was happening, probably as a result of the mix between the style of the narration and the nature of magic in this world. For example, I was all but certain that something had metaphorically turned to stone at one point in the story -- it is a fairly common metaphor -- until I learned that this transformation was all too literal. There were also a few comma errors scattered throughout the chapters, but those were the only errors I saw in the entire thing.

Overall, this book was very well written. It was engaging, both in terms of the plot and the character relationships. It had a unique style that really helped it to stand out, and just like any good fairytale/fable, it made me very thoughtful. I'm glad to have had the experience of reading it, and I hope you have the same.