Silver in the Wood: 1 (The Greenhollow Duology)

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Whatever it is, is needs *more*, just a bit more. More to complement the atmosphere and the loneliness and the longing. More to make it feel complete. More to add to the beautiful writing. EMILY TESH, winner of the Astounding Award and a Crawford Award finalist, is the author of the World Fantasy Award-winning Greenhollow Duology, which begins with the novella Silver in the... Read more

Silver in the Wood - Goodreads

The world was far bigger than Tobias remembered from four centuries ago. It was bigger than he had ever known, and he was living in it. He had thought himself a thing uprooted, like the great oak, ready to begin his death.” At once slow deep green rolled over him. He took a breath, and another, smelling old rotting leaves and healthy growth and autumn light. He felt almost as though he could have planted his feet and become a tree himself, a strong oak reaching up to the sky, brother of the old oak who ruled the wood." First off, as someone who knew nothing about the Green Man and is completely unfamiliar with any Green Man lore which I’m told this book is a retelling of, Tobias pretty much reads as Lorax. When you tell me that he speaks for the trees, my orange friend is the blueprint. He made up the bed in the other room with the clean set of winter blankets, which he hadn’t been planning to get out for another week. The old blankets were stained with moss-green markings. Tobias bundled them up in the corner to wash.The bond Tobias has with his wood is both beautiful and tragic in the way it’s described. This forest feels real, like it could be set anywhere really, seamlessly blending the real with the fantastical. It’s basically a character unto itself in the way responds to Tobias and interacts with him, and he feels a part of it. I love the way that, at first, this feels sweet, like a woodsman who loves his home, but morphs into something darker and less benign. Silver in the Wood might not be an epic novel with battles over the fate of the entire world but it's consuming, haunting and so so beautiful. If you are looking for a short read to dive into, to do away with the real world and experience a little magic then I definitely recommend Silver in the Wood. I received an eARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own*

Review: “Silver in the Wood” by Emily Tesh – Punk-Ass Book Jockey Review: “Silver in the Wood” by Emily Tesh – Punk-Ass Book Jockey

Somewhere in Greenhollow there is a cottage home to Tobias Finch, unbeknownst to the outside world as the Wild Man gracing storybooks and myths. Deep within Greenhollow lives Tobias. Thought by many to be a myth, a legend, he listens to the woods. A Wild Man, he lives an unremarkable existence. Dwelling with his cottage, his cat, and his dryads, evading his past life. I love the way the magic creeps up on you in this book. Tobias is our narrator, and he’s used to the way things change in the Wood, and doesn’t feel any need to comment on this. It’s only as the story progresses that one begins to realise, from his passing remarks, and from things that Silver says, that, for example, his house is never in the same place twice unless he remembers to make sure of it. It’s a lovely, habitual sort of magic, and it also kind of plays into the feeling you get when you are lost in a wood or bushland that you’ve seen this bit before, but somewhere else, or that the paths have moved and you have wandered in a circle. (Come to think of it, this experience may well be at the root of the many stories people tell about magical forests.)And then one day Henry Silver, the lord of the manor, turns up at his door in a rainstorm, dripping wet, charming, handsome, curious, and, oh yes, a folklorist. What could possibly go wrong? Part of me wishes it had been longer but I'm not going to hold that against it since it's a short story. So I am hoping this is not the last we'll see of Tobias, Silver and Greenhollow. And Pearl and Silver's mother of course, who are some of the best supporting characters. Get you a cat like Pearl. I would read a thousand more stories in this world. Tobias and Silver search for Maud, finding that she has already killed the vampire in question. Maud is also a scholar of folklore; she is interested in finding Fairyland. Silver uses his powers to open a door to Fairyland, which is empty. Most of the fairies have died out in the preceding centuries; only a servant and the Fairy Queen remain. The Queen attempts to possess Maud, but she is defeated by Silver's magic. Silver, Tobias, and Maud return to their world. Maud begins to work for Mrs. Silver. The fairy servant becomes the new Lord of Greenhollow Wood, allowing Silver to become mortal once again and to rekindle his relationship with Tobias. SILVER IN THE WOOD is a slow-unfurling novella about the bargains made with old gods, the darkness of the wood, and new beginnings at the end of things. This wasn't at all what I expected — I fully thought this would be darker, edgier, and instead it was more melancholy, charming, and sweet. Nonetheless I'm still rounding up, even if my expectations weren't quite met, because I still enjoyed this so much.

Silver in the Wood - Macmillan Silver in the Wood - Macmillan

I rated this down mainly due to the latter half of the plot, which starts to loose its way a little bit when Fabian is introduced. As an omnipotent threat he's menacing and malevolent, but the confrontation with him feels a little overwrought and silly. If anything, I would have forgone this section for more stories of Tobias and Mrs Winter on their travels. They're a very unlikely duo of supernatural crime fighters, and I would have devoured all of their antics.It doesn’t look very comfortable,” said Silver. “The bed’s big enough to share, surely.” He gave Tobias a smile.

Silver in the Wood by Emily Tesh Katharine Coldiron Reviews Silver in the Wood by Emily Tesh

A wildly evocative and enchanting story of old forests, forgotten gods, and new love. Just magnificent."—Jenn Lyons I utterly adored Emily Tesh’s Silver in the Wood. That’s it. That’s the whole review. What? You need more? Alright, then… The story revolves around the mysterious Tobias Finch, a giant who has lived in a cottage in the woods of Greenhallow...for several centuries. His companions are a cat named Pearl, and an overprotective dryad called Bramble. His past is a delicate and best-forgotten topic; his present is occupied with the caretaking of the woods, which become a perilous place for humans in the summer. Enter human Henry Silver, the new owner of Greenhallow and an inquisitive scholar of folklore and mythology of precisely the type lurking in the woods.

But Greenhollow Hall and the surrounding lands have a new owner: Henry Silver. Henry is curious and starts to spend more and more time with Tobias, searching for answers to local myths. Questions that would best be left unanswered lest they reveal the dark heart at the centre of the Wood. Then Henry Silver stumbles into his clearing during a downpour, and Tobias is moved to bring him inside to dry off. It is a simple act of generosity, but it triggers something long asleep inside Tobias.