Book Blog: Silver on the Road by Laura Anne Gilman

 

This book, released in 2015,  is absolutely beautiful; both for its story, the quality of the writing and its physical appearance, which goes very nicely with the contents; a backdrop of desert browns and oranges against the silver lettering of the title and the young woman in long 1880s-style skirts approaching across the landscape.

 It is alternate history and myth woven together, creating a fascinating world I would rather like to live in.  If I had to categorise it, probably I would call it coming of age.  The focus on a teenaged protagonist and the clear, easy reading language, make it suitable for young people as well as for adults.

Isobel was indentured as a baby, to a being whom his people call “the boss” and whom outsiders call “the devil.”  He runs a saloon in the town of Flood, and from it, the land called the Territory.  If people want to stay within this land he claims west of the Missisippi, they must make a bargain with him.  At the beginning of the story, Isobel is about to turn sixteen and it is her time to make the deal.

In true coming of age style, the protagonist must learn and grow in order to become strong enough for their destiny;  in this case, Isobel’s agreement to work for her boss as his ‘Left Hand’.  She leaves the town and takes to the road, mentored by a rider called Gabriel, who has made his own bargain with the devil. 

The present story about powerful magical threats to the Territory is engrossing enough, making it clear that whoever and whatever the boss really is, he’s not omnipotent.  I found the backstory just as intriguing and spent a lot of time wondering about him and his people, particularly Marie, who works as his “Right Hand” within the town of Flood.  Neither of them are exactly human but I couldn’t place them securely in any mythos.  This devil is true to his word and protective of his people, and the word is he runs the only honest gaming tables in the West.

Nor could I be sure just when in time – and being an alternate world, perhaps this was intentional – the story takes place.  The intruding Spanish monks who show up make me think 1700s, but the scenario of the wild west and the settlers protected by the boss’s riders, who seem a blend of the law, messengers and magical aid, seem to suggest later on.  My knowledge of early American history is admittedly a bit patchy and strongly influenced by works such as Deadwood and Paint Your Wagon. 

The story of Silver on the Road is fairly slow moving and the reader is mostly limited to what Isobel discovers, and her thoughts about those discoveries, with some story devoted to Gabriel, though his own mystery remains, and so does that of the boss, with only small glimpses of what they may possibly be.  This is only the first book in a trilogy.  Some reviews I read criticised the book’s pace but I had no problem with it;  I wanted to remain within the world.  I can most definitely recommend it to any reader, whether they’re into fantasy specifically or not.