Review: Soundless by Richelle Mead

Soundless by Richelle Mead
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

In a village without sound…

For as long as Fei can remember, no one in her village has been able to hear. Rocky terrain and frequent avalanches make it impossible to leave the village, so Fei and her people are at the mercy of a zipline that carries food up the treacherous cliffs from Beiguo, a mysterious faraway kingdom. 

When villagers begin to lose their sight, deliveries from the zipline shrink. Many go hungry. Fei and all the people she loves are plunged into crisis, with nothing to look forward to but darkness and starvation.

One girl hears a call to action…

Until one night, Fei is awoken by a searing noise. Sound becomes her weapon.

She sets out to uncover what’s happened to her and to fight the dangers threatening her village. A handsome miner with a revolutionary spirit accompanies Fei on her quest, bringing with him new risks and the possibility of romance. They embark on a majestic journey from the peak of their jagged mountain village to the valley of Beiguo, where a startling truth will change their lives forever…

And unlocks a power that will save her people.

REVIEW:

I was so excited when I heard that Richelle Mead had a new book coming out, and as soon as I could, I hopped down to my local bookshop (which, admittedly, isn't that local because I live in the middle of nowhere), and got myself a copy.

Now, as I'm nearing the end of my penultimate semester for the final year of my degree, I'd planned to save SOUNDLESS for the Christmas holidays. But then I made the mistake of opening this book on a Tuesday evening... and accidentally finished SOUNDLESS the following day.

This book was fantastic.

It's different to Mead's other novels--but there was something about it that reminded me of her Dark Swan novels. I'm not entirely sure what, it just had the same feel. Yet, it is SO different. This book felt 'gentler' in its exposition of its themes, but held a really magic quality.

I loved it.

Fei is a great main character. She's relatable--perhaps one of Mead's most relatable protagonists. I felt like I could identify more with her than, say, Rose Hathaway or Georgina Kincaid. I guess Fei's personality is pretty close to mine. And I loved loved loved discovering her.

One thing that I really loved about this book, was how at the start several problems are introduced (lack of food, the restrictive culture, Fei's desire to draw what she wants, etc), and how all of these things that need fixing are all tied up and resolved in the final pages of the book. Here, the closing image really is the reverse of the opening image, and I think that's what makes this novel so successful; I really felt like I'd been on the journey with Fei and Li Wei, and I could see the difference they'd made. (Yes, this book is structured beautifully!)

And the romance: it's gentle, it's sweet, it's believable.

The worldbuilding in SOUNDLESS is amazing. Mead doesn't give us everything upfront, but the details are woven into the plot right from the start. I loved how the fantasy angle gradually skipped its way into the book, and became dominant in the plot's solution.

I also loved the introduction of Chinese folklore and mythology. Compared to other mythology-based fantasies I've read, this was a breath of fresh air.

In many ways, this book felt like a fairytale. It's just so warm, and 'glowing', yet at the heart of the plot, it covered some pretty serious issues.

If you're looking for a new YA read and you want a strong but relatable protagonist, I highly recommend Richelle Mead's SOUNDLESS.