Soundless
Author: Richelle Mead
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.
You'd think that a story about a town without sound would be interesting, right? It's not the case with this book. For me, a lot of things fell flat. The characters weren't interesting. The plot was boring. And the romance was really pushing my limits. While the basic premise was cool, the actual story was not.
Likes:
- The descriptions were pretty cool. The way Fei described sound was different. She didn't understand the concept of sound, but she was adapting to it. Labeling something as a clang or a bang is really something we take for granted. She had to figure all this out. I think we take sound for granted sometimes. It helps us figure out a lot. A scream could be someone in danger. A bang could be something that fell. Things we know because of sound.
Dislikes:
- The concept was interesting but lacking. I started to see holes in the idea. First, why would everyone be deaf? Sure, deafness is genetic, but it isn't always that way. Circumstance can lead you to be deaf. Also, how, after all this time being deaf, can Fei hear? I know there are actual scientific answers to this. (It could have been a self imposed symptom and stuff like that.) But it just doesn't make sense to me. Second, why are there only a few roles in society? Also...why do people need the news via colorful pictures? They can read perfectly fine. Okay...some of them can. Why are there artists and not just reporters? That doesn't make sense to me.
- I didn't like the characters. Li Wei was like the stereotypical All American Boy. Which is not good since he's supposed to be Asian. Really, to me (a Chinese American, born in America), the only 'Asian' thing about them was their names. Back to Li Wei, though. He was nice (in the uber-nice way) and way too strong. Mining is one thing. But being Buffy McBuff-Buff is another. Remember, these people are a lack of nutrients. Muscles need food. Because you can't grow muscles if you're starving. Then...Fei. Agh, she drove me insane. She was so bland. I could barely stand her. To me, she basically had no personality. Her life revolved around her lovely sister and Li Wei. Sounds interesting? Not to me. She was supposed to be brave, but that honestly didn't seem to be the case.
- The plot was flat. There wasn't a lot of interesting happenings until the end. You can't force me to read through flirting and mindless chatter to get to the action. Thrust me into the action or don't give it to me at the end. I wanted something more than the 'precarious situation of climbing down the mountain'. That isn't as interesting as it sounds. And the scene where they 'raised their voices' at the end? Why in the world would that work? If the pixius wanted to help, they would have, and yelling loudly for their help would probably aggravate them more than anything else.
- The romance was highly unbelievable. I don't care if you pull the childhood sweetheart card. You have to make it believable. And what did I think of their awkward kisses and furious hand signals of love? I couldn't. This story would have been perfectly fine without the romance. Fei and Li Wei could have been great friends. The romance just didn't help the story get any better.
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