Customer Reviews

Silverhand

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

After reading everything Morgan Llywelyn has written, this was my last stop. I was very disappointed with this book, I could tell the horror parts written with Michael Scott's influence. Cannibalism, incest, monsters, people turning into jelly, after a while the shock loses its influence, and the reader becomes inured to the violence. I agree with those who say that Morgan Llywelyn should do her own thing from now on. That, and the fact that there will be no book 3, probably means this book is not worth the time to read it.

Orphaned by an account he cannot fathom our hero strives to survive in an unforgiving and hostile world. Maimed to save his soul he is nursed back to health and schooled by the priests who have their own agenda for him. His only home/sanctuary destroyed by the evil twins he sets out on a quest to discover the powers of the Arcana and their part in destroying the Twins.His allies a half stone warrior woman, a vampire who loves him and a werewolf who is his equal in battle and brains. A totally enjoyable and exciting tale of self sacrafice, supernatural and trials of life itself. Can't wait for the third installment.

When I started reading Silverhand, I wasn't quite sure what to expect. I've read loads of Llywelyn's books previously and have enjoyed most of them very much. Any time an author teams up with someone else, though, one can't help but wonder what impact there will be, especially when the general subject matter is quite different than their previous works.

Most people will agree that near the top of the list of criteria for a quality work of fiction is it's ability to draw the reader in and keep their attention. Silverhand certainly did that in my case. I had a very hard time putting the book down - finding myself reading way more pages in a sitting than I would normally do for most books. I can't really say why that was. It was kind of a hypnotic thing, I guess. Regardless, I'm looking forward to continuing the series.

Was very disappointed by this novel because it was quite gory, although the story was intriguing. Suspect (or hope, maybe) that the disgusting parts were Michael Scott's influence and that Morgan will do her own thing from now on. Have read everything published that she has written, as a quick and easy way to learn Celtic lore and adored them all, even the historic novel 1916 about the Irish revolution.

This is the epic fantasy tale as told by two excellent Irish writers in collaboration. I am rating it at a "5" out of "5" due to what I saw as the risk taking in the writing and imagery. If fantasy is one of your favorite genres of books, this will be a very entertaining read. It is the epic style fantasy story of the young boy Caelid as he is transformed into Silverhand. His fantasy habitat is wonderful wordscape as drawn by Scott and Llywelyn. It is a world of werewolves and werebeasts, of a Duet of a twin sister and look alike twin brother creating their own Tantra Yoga type magic through incestuous love. They control the "voids" - a type of small vortex blackhole in reality.

However, I am giving this book a high rating with some criticism. It is an overlooked Fantasy title due to the third book never being published. Someone starting the Arcana Book I adventure must mentally allow for the fact that Book II will be the inconclusive end to the tale. This is a real tragedy for fantasy readers. Perhaps someone will bypass the publisher impasse by making a movie of the Arcana story. If done well, it could even approximate the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Llywelyn is one of my favorite authors. I am left wondering what the book would have been like without Scott. While I believe he lends a valuable masculine viewpoint to combat passages, there is a shift in writing styles back and forth. Llywelyn's style is that of a master Bard (story teller) with richly developed characters and settings.

If there is a way to get the third book published so this work stands as a fantasy trilogy, it would be impossible to ignore.

This is definitley not Llywelyn's best stuff. It is a passable fantasy/scifi read, but it seems written in fairly cliche form, and thus may seem suited for younger readers. However, the bits with the incest would have to be blacked out.
In conclusion: Silverhand is a fairly easy read, and, while it does have some twists on the basic storyline, once the twists are past the plot becomes fairly easy to guess, with the only random element being which of the secondary characters will die next, and in what manner. If you don't have anything better to read, go ahead, but you'd be much better off with another Llywelyn title.

This is the first book that Morgan has done in the SciFi Genre, it has enough legends behind it to almost make it historical, certainly she and Michael have not barred any hold, this is full of futuristic landscapes that throw you back into times of past heroic legends. It truly was an enjoyable read, looking forward to the next two installments of this trilogy.

This book was enjoyable from the first page. Both writer have a good sense of their characters and the plot. This book is original and engrossing. I highly recommend this to anyone who like Fantasy.

This being the first of her Sci-Fi thrillers I think she has done a marvelous job. I am sure that Michael Scott has added quite a bit to this and it is done well, As understandable in any series, trilogies, it takes a bit to develop the characters, but by the time you reach the end you are anxiously looking for the next book...

I will admit to being prejudiced in that I usually don't read books without a female heroine but Silverhand caught my interest and held it throughout the whole book. I can not wait to read Silverlight and I expect it to live up to the promise of Silverhand