Karsa Orlong Posted July 3, 2015 Share Posted July 3, 2015 In the darkness of an underground cave system, blind creatures hunt by sound. Then there is light, there are voices, and they feed... Swarming from their prison, the creatures thrive and destroy. To scream, even to whisper, is to summon death. As the hordes lay waste to Europe, a girl watches to see if they will cross the sea. Deaf for many years, she knows how to live in silence; now, it is her family’s only chance of survival. To leave their home, to shun others, to find a remote haven where they can sit out the plague. But will it ever end? And what kind of world will be left? In many ways The Silence is an updating of classic science fiction and horror stories of the past. I thought it had the feel of a modern John Wyndham, with a dash of The Day of the Triffids, and also latched on to the success of The Walking Dead - or any other tale that sees a small group of people fighting to survive against insurmountable odds. Lebbon's brilliance is in making it all feel fresh. The characters are fantastic. He focuses tightly on Ally - a fourteen year-old girl who has been profoundly deaf since being in an accident some years before - her mother and father, Kelly and Huw, her ten year-old brother Jude, and her grandmother Lynne. He tells the story in third person from Huw's point of view and - brilliantly - in first person from Ally's perspective. He uses 24-hour news channels and social media extracts at the start of chapters to show what's happening elsewhere and to fuel the urgency and fear that pervades the story. All around Ally there is an initial sense of disbelief which quickly turns to panic and terror, and Lebbon creates the atmosphere beautifully and his style is very easy to read. The pacing is fantastic. Starting with the incident in Moldova, he gives you a chance to get to know the family, slowly building the dread of an impending cataclysm and a race against time. It eventually becomes a breathless exercise in terrifying set pieces, made all the more intense because he has made you care about these people. Coupled with some heartbreaking moments, as well as showing the kinds of horrors people will inflict upon each other out of sheer desperation as society breaks down, Lebbon pleasingly manages this without resorting to shock tactics or overly explicit violence and gore. This is the scariest book I've read in years - in a good way! Full review here Other reviews: http://matthewscottbaker.com/blog/2015/03/book-review-the-silence-by-tim-lebbon/ http://gingernutsofhorror.com/4/post/2015/04/horror-fiction-review-the-silence-by-tim-lebbon.html https://horrorhothousereview.wordpress.com/2015/04/20/the-silence-by-tim-lebbon-book-review/ http://www.welovethisbook.com/reviews/the-silence Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobblybear Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 I added this to my wishlist the other day, but as it's only £2.99 (for the Kindle ) I've bought it. I'll make it my next read, I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nollaig Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 Oooh only 3 quid?! Tis on my Kindle now too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted July 6, 2015 Author Share Posted July 6, 2015 Blimey. I'm getting quite good at spending other people's money I hope you both like it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobblybear Posted July 10, 2015 Share Posted July 10, 2015 I'm about to start reading it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted July 11, 2015 Share Posted July 11, 2015 Blimey. I'm getting quite good at spending other people's money That's a skill that can be useful to have . I hope you, Noll and BB, enjoy the book ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nollaig Posted July 11, 2015 Share Posted July 11, 2015 I might start reading it too maaaaybe. Must check what else I have ready to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobblybear Posted July 12, 2015 Share Posted July 12, 2015 I've just finished it, and it's a ripper of a story. If you like end-of-the-world situations, and very fast pacing, then you'll probably enjoy it. It was a fairly quick read too - I think it took me just over a day to finish it, because it's the kind of book that you just have to find out what happens next. Quite well-written too with a good lead character. I think there will be a sequel. There has to be a sequel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nollaig Posted July 12, 2015 Share Posted July 12, 2015 Glad you enjoyed it Bobbly! I should be starting it later today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobblybear Posted July 12, 2015 Share Posted July 12, 2015 Hope you like it!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nollaig Posted July 12, 2015 Share Posted July 12, 2015 Just over halfway through. Writing's a tad clunky in places, but other than that it's great. No idea how anyone is going to survive! Otis Should have just shot him before they left, far less traumatic for the dog. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobblybear Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 Yeah, was so gutted about that. It was described a bit too graphically as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nollaig Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 Yeah, was so gutted about that. It was described a bit too graphically as well. It really was. I haven't felt bad about any of the people dying, not even the obvious one, but I had to put my tablet down for a minute after reading that. I'm 85% in, I think, so will finish it at lunchtime/when I get home. I wasn't expecting it to be so character driven - it's quite a nicely understated book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted July 22, 2015 Author Share Posted July 22, 2015 (edited) I've just finished it, and it's a ripper of a story. If you like end-of-the-world situations, and very fast pacing, then you'll probably enjoy it. It was a fairly quick read too - I think it took me just over a day to finish it, because it's the kind of book that you just have to find out what happens next. Quite well-written too with a good lead character. I think there will be a sequel. There has to be a sequel. Glad you enjoyed it, bobs - looking forward to the review! Regarding the ending, I really hope there isn't a sequel - I think for it to end more conclusively would have been a cop out, a bit like the 'red dust' in the tv series V, or countless other ridiculous solutions to end-of-the-world scenarios. For me, it had to end this way, in mid-air. There was no possibility of the power remaining on, so Ally had to lose access to the internet sooner or later. Without the internet they had no way of knowing what was going on beyond their bubble, or if a solution had been found. The family wasn't central to the quest to defeat the vesps, so that was never an option. Personally, I preferred this to having the story drag on unnecessarily. I liked that he left it to the reader's imagination. Re Otis, I thought he did that brilliantly. In other books we've mentioned recently the animal deaths have kind of been thrown away, but here it was absolutely gut-wrenching and heart-breaking, because Otis was one of the family. I didn't like it, obviously, but it had been set up so well from early on in the book that it was inevitable, and it happened much sooner than I expected, too. Edited July 22, 2015 by Karsa Orlong Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nollaig Posted July 22, 2015 Share Posted July 22, 2015 Glad you enjoyed it, bobs - looking forward to the review! Regarding the ending, I really hope there isn't a sequel - I think for it to end more conclusively would have been a cop out, a bit like the 'red dust' in the tv series V, or countless other ridiculous solutions to end-of-the-world scenarios. For me, it had to end this way, in mid-air. There was no possibility of the power remaining on, so Ally had to lose access to the internet sooner or later. Without the internet they had no way of knowing what was going on beyond their bubble, or if a solution had been found. The family wasn't central to the quest to defeat the vesps, so that was never an option. Personally, I preferred this to having the story drag on unnecessarily. I liked that he left it to the reader's imagination. Re Otis, I thought he did that brilliantly. In other books we've mentioned recently the animal deaths have kind of been thrown away, but here it was absolutely gut-wrenching and heart-breaking, because Otis was one of the family. I didn't like it, obviously, but it had been set up so well from early on in the book that it was inevitable, and it happened much sooner than I expected, too. I took massive issue with the former bit and thought it was a total cop out. Agree r.e. the latter bit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted July 22, 2015 Author Share Posted July 22, 2015 I took massive issue with the former bit and thought it was a total cop out. I thought it would have been a cop out for it to be any other way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nollaig Posted July 22, 2015 Share Posted July 22, 2015 I thought it would have been a cop out for it to be any other way. Noooooo. If the entire story had been told through social media/on her tablet in blog posts or whatever, then it would make sense, the medium for the story would be gone. But since half the story simply occurred as a narration by her dad, not on any form of device, there's no logical reason why the world going Grey would mean the reader would stop hearing his thoughts. Therefore, no reason for the death of the device to be the end point for the story. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted July 22, 2015 Author Share Posted July 22, 2015 Noooooo. If the entire story had been told through social media/on her tablet in blog posts or whatever, then it would make sense, the medium for the story would be gone. But since half the story simply occurred as a narration by her dad, not on any form of device, there's no logical reason why the world going Grey would mean the reader would stop hearing his thoughts. Therefore, no reason for the death of the device to be the end point for the story. So, given that logic, the story would've dragged on indefinitely? Noooooo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nollaig Posted July 22, 2015 Share Posted July 22, 2015 Well it would have dragged on until such time as the author chose to end it, but I didn't like where it ended because it basically just cut off, and my above logic makes the reason for doing so there tenuous at best.I still enjoyed the book, that just irked me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted July 22, 2015 Author Share Posted July 22, 2015 Well it would have dragged on until such time as the author chose to end it, but I didn't like where it ended because it basically just cut off, and my above logic makes the reason for doing so there tenuous at best. I still enjoyed the book, that just irked me. That sort of ending is quite common in this type of book, though. In a way, it was the most clichéd thing about it. As they were nothing to do with the effort to defeat the vesps, and it wasn't central to their story, to have them wake up one morning and find all the vesps dead, and then have some pat explanation of how and why - that, to me, would've been a real cop out. I would name examples of books that have done things differently and have cop-out endings which illustrate why this one does work, but that would spoil the endings of the other books for anyone who hasn't read them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nollaig Posted July 22, 2015 Share Posted July 22, 2015 That sort of ending is quite common in this type of book, though. In a way, it was the most clichéd thing about it. As they were nothing to do with the effort to defeat the vesps, and it wasn't central to their story, to have them wake up one morning and find all the vesps dead, and then have some pat explanation of how and why - that, to me, would've been a real cop out. I would name examples of books that have done things differently and have cop-out endings which illustrate why this one does work, but that would spoil the endings of the other books for anyone who hasn't read them I'm not even saying that should have happened, I just would have liked maybe if they had reached Scotland and settled into a new way of life there or something. I might even have been okay if it had just ended without using the Grey to frame it, because that came out of nowhere considering the story had not been subject to that frame all along, but I still felt like there could have been more story without the book being bad, so I don't like that it got cut off. I Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted July 22, 2015 Author Share Posted July 22, 2015 I'm not even saying that should have happened, I just would have liked maybe if they had reached Scotland and settled into a new way of life there or something. I might even have been okay if it had just ended without using the Grey to frame it, because that came out of nowhere considering the story had not been subject to that frame all along, but I still felt like there could have been more story without the book being bad, so I don't like that it got cut off. I Eh? The Grey didn't come out of nowhere, it had been mentioned long before it actually happened And he'd made it clear where they were headed, he didn't need to spell it out for the reader, surely? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nollaig Posted July 22, 2015 Share Posted July 22, 2015 Eh? The Grey didn't come out of nowhere, it had been mentioned long before it actually happened And he'd made it clear where they were headed, he didn't need to spell it out for the reader, surely? No I mean, our experience of the events wasn't subject to the presence of functioning devices. Basically what I said earlier. I dunno, I just didn't like it! STOP INTERROGATING ME! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geordie9 Posted January 6, 2016 Share Posted January 6, 2016 I've just finished The Silence & really enjoyed it. I really felt for the main characters & i'm hoping for a sequel. Has anyone got any good Tim Lebbon recommendations as i want to read more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelly_ann_1990 Posted January 9, 2016 Share Posted January 9, 2016 This book has definitely peaked my interest. I think I may have to look into it and see if it will make it onto the 'to read' soon list Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.