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    Silver in the Wood
    Silver in the Wood
    Silver in the Wood
    Ebook103 pages1 hour

    Silver in the Wood

    By Emily Tesh

    4/5

    ()

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    About this ebook

    Winner of the 2020 World Fantasy Award!

    From Astounding Award winner and Crawford Award finalist Emily Tesh

    An ALA RUSA Reading List Selection

    "A true story of the woods, of the fae, and of the heart. Deep and green and wonderful.”—New York Times bestselling author Naomi Novik

    There is a Wild Man who lives in the deep quiet of Greenhollow, and he listens to the wood. Tobias, tethered to the forest, does not dwell on his past life, but he lives a perfectly unremarkable existence with his cottage, his cat, and his dryads.

    When Greenhollow Hall acquires a handsome, intensely curious new owner in Henry Silver, everything changes. Old secrets better left buried are dug up, and Tobias is forced to reckon with his troubled past—both the green magic of the woods, and the dark things that rest in its heart.

    Praise for Emily Tesh's Silver in the Wood

    "A wildly evocative and enchanting story of old forests, forgotten gods, and new love. Just magnificent."—Jenn Lyons, author of The Ruin of Kings

    At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMacmillan Publishers
    Release dateJun 18, 2019
    ISBN9781250229786
    Silver in the Wood
    Author

    Emily Tesh

    EMILY TESH is a UK-based author of science fiction and fantasy. Her debut novel, Some Desperate Glory, won the Hugo Award for Best Novel. Tesh is also a winner of the Astounding Award, and the author of the World Fantasy Award-winning Greenhollow duology.

    Read more from Emily Tesh

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    Reviews for Silver in the Wood

    4/5

    471 ratings32 reviews

    What our readers think

    Readers find this title to be a wonderful modern fairy tale with beautiful fantastical elements. The characters are well-developed and the story is a light-hearted and fast read. Some readers wished for more character development and interaction between the love interests, but overall, the book is enjoyable. The second half of the duology introduces more folklore and backstory, which adds excitement to the story. The book is recommended for fans of The House in the Cerulean Sea and The Starless Sea. It is a cute and wholesome folklore tale that takes readers on a fantastic journey into the depths of the woods.

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 3/5
      I guess it was sold to me wrongly and that was not what i expected at all. Its a good story, the atmosphere is nice and im sure a lot of people will find it delightful. Just not really my cup of tea
    • 3/5
      Perfect for fans of folklore and evermore . This book is like getting lost in the woods and its stories .
    • 5/5
      Beautiful. A lovey, quick read. I’m thrilled there is a sequel!
    • 5/5
      Wonderful modern Kunstmaerchen, literary fairy tale! I love how the author takes the Gaelic greenman and turns him into a thinking, feeling man of the green woods. And the Silver family (mother & son) are characters I want to see more of. Planning to read Drowned Country, the followup novel.
    • 4/5
      Nice light hearted fast read. It's not crazy developed but a good story (a story just for entertainment's sake). The book is broken into two parts and it seems like the second part suddenly explodes with a bunch of folklore and backstory that was completely absent in the first half (which seems like a drawn out but pleasant exposition). It's like a slow stroll that bursts into a sudden sprint, but that's the way of novellas.
    • 3/5
      an incredibly cute and wholesome folklore tale!! <3 also silver is a literal cinnamon roll and i love them very much!!
    • 5/5
      Woods with a curse, immortality under the bases of managing the woods, love in the most unexpected places, love of mythology & folklore

      Characters
      > Tobias:
      - Protagonist, self appointed guardian of the forest

      > Henry/Silver:
      - Tobias's "landlord"

      > Mrs. Silver:
      - Henry's mom

      > Fabian (Falela/Fay):
      - Tobia's old friend/lover

      > Bramble (Dryiad):
      - Tobias's house guard and friend



      Rating Breakdown
      Storyline/Plot: 4.5
      Characters: 4
      Writing Style: 5
      Over All Rating: 4.5 rounded up
    • 3/5
      Interesting short story based on the Greenman lore, set in a world full of fae and cryptids and people that hunt them. It's seems barely mm - Silver is obviously interested but while Tobias seems to understand sex and homosexuality, he seems barely interested (this seems to change in the second novel but I'm currently reading that). 400 years of being alone will do that to you. The story gets a little dark and spooky towards the end with a somewhat HEA. If you're into paranormal romance, I'd definitely give it a shot.
    • 4/5
      Ein verdienter Gewinner des Nebula Awards. Eine phantastische und wundervolle Reise in die Tiefe der Wälder.
    • 5/5
      Silver in the Wood is a well-crafted novella that captures the essence of folkloric storytelling. Tesh balances the lightness of the relationship between Tobias Finch, a keeper of the woods, and the newly arrived Henry Silver, an aspiring folklorist who has come to follow legends about a wild man of the woods, with the dark trappings of gothic fairytales. What an absolutely wonderful piece of storytelling.
    • 4/5
      I love stories that explore old traditions, especially when they can take us with them to heart of things. In this case, the heart of the woods, which is a place where time moves strangely. I was not expecting the practical folklorist, but I am certainly glad to know of her. And I appreciate cats and dryads, so I will forgive the death of the tree.
    • 4/5
      a lovely thing, this novella, romantic and fantastic by turns, blessed with a fabulous cover by David Curtis. Tobias lives alone in a cottage in the wood. he sharpens his knives, he darns his socks, he navigates slow time, he talks to dryads, and he manages all the big and little tasks of keeping his wood tidy. but then Henry Silver appears, from a less timeless world, and Toby invites him in. it gets out of hand: Silver's terrifying mother arrives, and the Lord of Summer, and everything changes in fast time, and it feels like the end of the story - and perhaps of the wood. Except it's not. the writer paints on a delicate canvas of words in a web of enchantment. it reminded me of Patricia A McKillip's work, and that's high praise.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      This reminded me of the old fey-based stories I would read as a kid. It especially reminded me of my favourite romance story, An Earthly Knight. I love trees so this was easy to enjoy. I wish it was longer, and we had more time for character development or time for the love interests to do more interacting, but that's a small complaint.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      This slim volume was just the sort of nature-oriented fantasy story I wanted when I started it. I'm glad Tesh didn't try to stretch it out to make a longer book. The story would have suffered greatly. I hope more people relish this as I did.
      I have pre-ordered the sequel using bookshop.org
    • 3/5
      I'm having a hard time with this one because I think it is very well written and very atmospheric. The author does an excellent job setting a scene in a very short amount of time. However, I didn't really enjoy my time reading this. I think I'm learning that this sort of whimsical, fantastical, vaguely paranormal type story is just doesn't really work for me. I don't like the feeling of being dropped into a world with no introduction to that world or it's characters. I think this might also be why I didn't love Wolfsong quite as much as other people do. For such a short book, it couldn't really hold my attention and I found the pacing to be off. Overall, the writing is strong, it's just not a style I tend to enjoy.
    • 4/5
      Loved this story, and definitely moving right along to the second half of the duology. It was beautifully fantastical, with fairy tale vibes, and perfectly, gently queer. Didn't know how much I needed to read this, I had picked up the free copy when Tor offered it, and I couldn't put it down. Recommend this for fans of The House in the Cerulean Sea and The Starless Sea

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      A lovely little book that makes me want to go stand in the middle of a forest and wait for magical things to happen.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      Free book from TOR. Silver in the Wood is a debut fantasy by Emily Tesh. Emily Tesh is an English author and a teacher of Latin and ancient Greek to school children. The story incorporates folklore. The Dryads, the Green Man, etc. I found the story engaging and an easy read. I for one, did not know much about the Green Man. Research tells me that the Green Man (lady) represent spring, new birth. The story features the winter solstice, the summer solstice and the equinox. The book is labeled queer and there is a bit of kissing but no more than that. It could have done without it, it did not add to the story and therefore maty be gratuitous.
    • 4/5
      A thoroughly enjoyable take on the Green Man legend.
    • 4/5
      Charming as hell--a quick read that delivers a lingering, emotional tale.
    • 3/5
      Sometimes a single character carries an entire book on her shoulders. Adela Silver shows up around the halfway point and lifts this previously pokey gay supernatural romance to a new level, bringing energy and shaking our morose protagonist out of his state of inaction.
    • 5/5
      For being a short story it stays right on track with building a world around a myth. It was a dreamy beautiful world with men connected to trees and dryads roaming the lands. You learn the legend, become part of the legend and then have closure to the legend which helped bring this story to life for me. It was a sweet dreamy book and I enjoyed every inch of it.
    • 4/5
      Novella that began life on AO3. Tobias is the Green Man of the Wood, huge and scary, who’s defended the woods for hundreds of years. Silver is the new legal owner interested in folklore. When an evil force steals Silver, Tobias finds that he can’t leave things as they have been for so long (also prodded by Silver’s very forceful mother). I would read more stories about Tobias and Mrs. Silver fighting monsters.
    • 5/5
      This novella is part fairy tale, part love story, and all wonderful. I don't want to say too much for fear of giving things way, but if you like faeishness in a tale, and gentleness that exists not at the expense of sharp realities, and stories about love and affection, you should check this out. A "clutch it to my chest book" for me.
    • 3/5
      Emily Tesh concludes her captivating Greenhollow Duology with Drowned Country, and a satisfying conclusion it is.

      The story continues with the concept of transformation and love, set amid the overlapping worlds of the English countryside and the fairy realm, and this time she also seamlessly introduces a vampiric presence. She weaves tension through not only her plot advancement, but through the unspoken dialogues between characters. This is very adept writing, weaving all of human experience through any narrative, creating believable characters from the unbelievable.

      If you enjoy well-written fantasy the likes of Guy Gavriel Kay, Robert Holdstock, or C.J. Cherryh's Morgaine Cycle, you will certainly enjoy Tesh's Greenhollow Duology.
    • 5/5
      Series Info/Source: This is the first book in the Greenhollow Duology. I bought this book for my Kindle.

      Story (5/5): I loved this story. It is just such a calm and beautiful story about a Green Man and his forest. Things do get kind of shaken up when he has to face the fearsome Summer King. There is a lot of wonderful mythology and description and some light humor. It was a very pleasant and beautiful read that I enjoyed a lot.

      Characters (5/5): The characters in here are amazing and contrast each other wonderfully. I loved Tobias’s steadfastness, Henry’s enthusiasm, and Henry’s mother’s determination. All the characters are so engaging, complex, and lovable.

      Setting (5/5): The majority of the story is set in Greenhollow town and the forest there. It was a beautiful setting and the fantastic description really made the setting come alive. I felt like I could really see and smell and be part of the forest there and loved every second of it.

      Writing Style (5/5): The writing here flows beautifully and is calm, quirky, and engaging. The story sucked me right in but also had a sort of calming quality to it while also keeping me entertaining and smiling.

      My Summary (5/5): Overall this was such a pleasant surprise and I really loved it. I enjoyed pretty much everything about this story and immediately went out and bought the second book in the duology. If you enjoy folklore/mythology, forests, and magic I would definitely recommend this book. It was just so well done.
    • 4/5
      So I'd been seeing this on my social media feeds and it sounded like not exactly my thing, but the cover was pretty and it's a tiny little novella, so of course when it showed up on the NEW shelves at the library I had to pick it up.

      I enjoyed it more than I expected. Really, I've read frightfully little fantasy, so other than knowing that there is a "Green Man" character in folklore, I know not much more beyond that. So if there are tropes and references in this little book I probably missed most of them. There were a few relationships I wish had been more fleshed out here (maybe in the second book?), but really on the whole I think it works as the slight little tale that it is. The m/m relationships sometimes felt a little fan-ficcy (m/m written by straight girls), but this is a different society and one of them isn't exactly human, so what do I know.

      Besides. I like fanfic.

      I'd like to read more stories like this.
    • 3/5
      Tobias, dwelling deep in Greenhollow, knows the wood. He lives a somewhat solitary existence with Pearl the cat while a dryad, Bramble, watches over him.

      Folklorist Henry Silver, the new owner of Greenhollow Hall, finds himself drawn to the wood. Soon, old secrets threaten, forcing Tobias to deal with the past four hundred years.

      What lies ahead for Tobias, Henry, and the wood?

      Old secrets, even older magic, and whispering trees help define the mystical fairytale setting for the telling of this haunting tale. The mythology is the star of the novella; the “romance” lacks depth and feels forced, making that part of the narrative a bit off-putting for the reader.
    • 5/5
      This is the first short story/novella in a very long time that I've loved. Emily Tesh wrote an amazingly vibrant narrative with skilful world-building that did not overwhelm the narrative. Her nuanced main character, Tobias, was engaging from the very start. There was a gentle, even serene tone to this myth that nonetheless had some major evil realities at its core.

      Lost half-a-star for me at the end, because the fate of what Tobias was to become seemed so undefined. The hazy events that precede this dénouement were too undeveloped. Despite that niggle, I highly recommend this tale to those who love retold folklore and atmospheric adventures in the world of "The Green Man".
    • 5/5
      This is rather gorgeous. It's a short novella but the characters and world-building just mesh wonderfully into a lovely intricate story of history, revenge, romance and redemption.

      Tobias is the local Wild Man of the Woods, living a simple life in a cottage among the trees, with dryads and a cat to keep him company. In general the villagers avoid him, but keep the traditions alive, donating to the old gods when they remember. However the Manner has a new Lord, and when he passes by in a storm Tobias offers him shelter. The generosity is returned when Tobias is accidentally shot. Henry is interested in folklore and slowly uncovers some of the strangeness surrounding Tobias, and curiosity can't keep him away even when Tobias strictly warns him that some nights are not safe in the Woods.

      It's marvellously done, the pacing is perfect, slowly revealing more and more details, explaining oddities mentioned earlier. The characters work well together and the motivations are clear. I seldom enjoy novellas, being either too short or too long, but this was just right. An author to watch out for.

    Book preview

    Silver in the Wood - Emily Tesh

    I

    IT WAS THE MIDDLE OF AN AUTUMN DOWNPOUR when Tobias first met Henry Silver. Summer had come and gone, and the wood was quiet. Tobias was snug inside his neat little cottage with Pearl asleep on the hearth, tail twitching occasionally as she dreamed of catching sparrows. He had all his knives laid out in a row on the table and his oilstone to hand. He looked up through the cloudy panes of his one good window and saw the young man in a well-fitted grey coat stumbling along the track with wet leaves blowing into his face and his hat a crumpled ruin in his hands. Then Tobias didn’t even really think about it, just stepped outside and hollered for him to come in. The young man looked up with a startled expression. He had a soft boyish face and pale grey eyes, and his mud-coloured hair was plastered to his skin.

    I said come on in, you’re getting soaked, called Tobias from his doorway.

    The young man stared at him a little longer, and then carefully opened Tobias’s garden gate, closed it again behind him, and walked down the path to the cottage. Tobias stood aside to let him in. Need some help with that coat? he asked.

    Thank you, said the young man, and once Tobias had taken it off him—it was a damn good coat, even Tobias could tell that, the kind so perfectly tailored it required a servant to pour you into it and peel you out again—he saw that his new guest really was soaked through.

    I’ll get you some clothes, he said.

    He went into the cottage’s one other room and fetched out some of his old things. I’m Tobias Finch, he said as he came back to the main room. The young man was crouched by the fire. Pearl had opened slitted eyes to consider him, but she was a very unflappable cat, not likely to be startled from her warm spot by a stranger who did not disturb her.

    Silver, said his guest after a moment. Henry Silver.

    Pleasure’s all mine, Mr Silver, said Tobias, and offered him the pile of dry clothes.

    Silver got changed and then sat down by the fire again. Pearl graciously crawled into his lap and butted his hand with her head to indicate he might have the honour of petting her. Tobias sat down by the window and returned to sharpening his knives. He let himself glance over once in a while, but Silver didn’t seem inclined to chatter and Tobias had never been the talkative type. He often intimidated people, being a big and grim-looking sort of fellow; he’d accepted it years ago and had long since stopped trying to be the kind of man who smiled enough to make up for it. Silver’s hair dried into fluffy curls, and although not a particularly small man, he looked like he might disappear inside Tobias’s shirt and trousers.

    An hour or so went by. Silver stroked the cat, who eventually began to purr. Tobias finished sharpening his knives, put them all away in their proper places, and got out his mending. The rain was still going strong, rattling on the roof and through the trees. An occasional distant boom meant there was thunder in the wind somewhere. Might go all night, he said at last, owning the truth. You can have my bed.

    They say a madman lives in Greenhollow Wood, said Silver, looking over at him.

    "Who’s they?" said Tobias.

    The people I spoke to in Hallerton village. They say there’s a wild man out here—a priest of the old gods, or a desperate criminal, or just an ordinary lunatic. He eats nothing but meat, raw, and it has made him grow to a giant’s stature; or so I was given to understand at the Fox and Feathers. They informed me I would know him by his height and his hair.

    His hair, hmm, said Tobias.

    Waist-length and unwashed, said Silver, looking at Tobias.

    Now that’s a slander, said Tobias. It’s not past my elbows, and I wash all over every week.

    I’m glad to hear it, Mr Finch, said Silver.

    The rest’s all true, said Tobias.

    "Old gods and banditry and lunacy?"

    And the one where I eat people, said Tobias, unsmiling.

    Silver laughed abruptly, a splendid peal of sound. Maidens, they told me. Yellow-haired for preference.

    Nothing for you to worry about, then, said Tobias. He finished darning his old sock. I’ll make up the bed fresh for you, or as fresh as it’ll go.

    You’re very kind, said Silver. You don’t even know who I am.

    Figure you must be the new owner up at Greenhallow Hall, said Tobias. Which makes you my landlord. Not being kind, just buttering you up.

    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.

    Are you sure about this? said Silver when Tobias waved him towards the bed. Where will you sleep?

    Floor, said Tobias.

    It doesn’t look very comfortable, said Silver. The bed’s big enough to share, surely. He gave Tobias a smile.

    Tobias looked down at him and said, Really?

    Well, said Silver, after contemplating the bulk of Tobias for a moment or two, maybe not.

    I’ll be all right. I sleep out by the fire plenty of nights this time of year. Pearl’ll keep me company, said Tobias. Get along to bed with you.

    "I’d argue longer but I am tired, said Silver. You must let me make it up to you somehow."

    Cut my rent, said Tobias.

    Silver went off to sleep in Tobias’s bed in Tobias’s shirt, and Pearl treacherously went and joined him, so Tobias sat alone by the fire, not sleeping. As it burned lower and lower, the rain died down to a drizzle, and then it quieted and there was only the gentle drip-drip from the leaves of the old oak tree behind the cottage. Tobias took up a newly sharpened knife and trimmed his fingernails. He’d meant to do it earlier, but then Silver had been there. Afterwards he swept up the scattered dry curls of dead leaves and tossed them on the embers.

    Sometime after midnight, sitting in the near dark and thinking about nothing very much, Tobias suddenly snorted with laughter. Silver had been inviting him, and not just to share a bed that definitely couldn’t fit the two of them. How long had it been, if Tobias couldn’t even recognise a handsome lad suggesting a bit of mutual entertainment

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