Silver in the Wood: 1 (The Greenhollow Duology)

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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. This was such a gorgeous little volume. I fell in love with Tesh's descriptions of Greenhollow, and Tobias. It's lush and vibrant. It's a spell that is woven around you slowly, bring you into the deep dark green. Tobias Finch lives deep in the quiet of Greenhollow forest where he tries not to dwell on the past. When Henry Silver, a curious and clever young man, acquires Greenhollow Hall, the quiet and the secrecy Tobias clings to may soon come to an end.

Silver in the Wood - Tordotcom Publishing

this book is EVERYTHING i love about myth and faery and the power of story mixed with “okay but what if these characters acted like real people tho” — aka what DWJ did so well, and what the world has been desperately missing for almost 10 years. Quiet, gruff Tobias was a caretaker with secrets he was content to never remove from the hollows he stored them in. A man the townspeople told stories about, the old soul had long been entwind with the woods. His kind heart beat with a gentle cadence, his prowess branching out as often as necessary. Mysteriously straightforward, he was quite intriguing. Fiercly rich in folklore and forestry, The Silver in the Woods oozes images of lush English landscapes and old forgotten stories. I could almost see myself alongside Tobias as he walks the forest floor, smell the damp and the rot and hear the leaves rustling as they whisper stories of old. Add in facinating characters that are immediately loveable, especially the Winters, and you're on to a winner. Silver in the Wood —with its cottagecore, cat-loving man bound to a forest of magical trees— was amazing! The atmosphere in particular felt entirely tangible and lovely; I could almost believe I was experiencing the story whilst traversing the woods with Tobias and Silver. A long, long time, that was what. A long time, whispered the low rustle of the breeze in the leaves outside. A long time, sang the drip-drip-drip of rainwater, softly, while Tobias sat clear-eyed and sleepless in the dark, listening to the wood.”

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At once slow deep green rolled over him. He took a breath, and another, smelling old rotting leaves and healthy growth and autumn light. He felt almost as though he could have planted his feet and become a tree himself, a strong oak reaching up to the sky, brother of the old oak who ruled the wood." This was fantastic. It was beautiful, magical, and surprisingly unexpected. I didn’t have any expectations going into this novella, but what I found was worth shouting about.

Silver in the Wood - LGBT Book Review - Book of the Gay Silver in the Wood - LGBT Book Review - Book of the Gay

Fairies he had met, and chased off usually; even more than dryads, they were better off far away from humans, and humans far from them.”Tobias has been the Wild Man of Greenhollow Wood for four hundred years now, protecting the Wood from the local people, and the local people from the things that dwell in the Wood. These include smaller spirits like dryads, both friendly and otherwise, and more dangerous creatures like the Summer King. Tobias is very much part of the Wood himself, and though he certainly started life as a human he is not, quite, human and mortal at this point. To local villagers, he is a creature out of myth himself, and someone to fear. The Greenhollow Duology is a series of two fantasy romance novellas by Emily Tesh. The first entry in the series, Silver in the Wood, won the 2020 World Fantasy Award for Best Novella.

Silver in the Wood (The Greenhollow Duology Book 1) Kindle

Well done. Reads very much like a fairy tale but from the other side and queer friendly. I wanted a bit more meat but I gobbled it up regardless so can't say I didn't like it. In England (and some other places) there's an old lore about a figure known as The Green Man, who is a forest spirit or wood deity of some form. Silver in the Wood takes this lore and puts its own lovely little spin on it. Tesh has a fluid, engaging writing style, and the woods setting was rich and evocative. Equally, so was the way reality was woven in to coexist besides the magical setting of the wood - I'm not sure when this was set (later Victorian era, perhaps?) but the wider world was so excellent. I also haven't seen any English folklore retelling for ages, and this is just a reminder of how much potential there is. Two years after the events of the first story, Silver has become the new Wild Man of the Woods, and Tobias has ended their romantic relationship. Tobias now works for Mrs. Silver. One day, Henry receives a letter from his mother; she is investigating the disappearance of Maud Lindherst, who has been kidnapped by a vampire. Silver agrees to help. Silver in the Wood might not be an epic novel with battles over the fate of the entire world but it's consuming, haunting and so so beautiful. If you are looking for a short read to dive into, to do away with the real world and experience a little magic then I definitely recommend Silver in the Wood. A wildly evocative and enchanting story of old forests, forgotten gods, and new love. Just magnificent."—Jenn LyonsI think this could be seen as a story about how damaging relationships reach out from the past to paralyze you, hurt you and scare you away from loving in the present, and Tobias’s challenge is to finally bury that past where it belongs and find a future with more hope. I’m delighted that he succeeded, and I’m equally delighted that what looked like it was going to be a case of Bury-Your-Gays ended up being a near miss with a happy ending instead. Dr. Seuss references aside, this story was so gentle and loving and it made my heart INCREDIBLY happy. Reading it was like existing in a woodland dreamscape and even though this book does have a sequel, it was a very well-rounded story in and of itself. Silver in the Woods is a sweet, dreamy and lush little novella, like a folk tale that’s part happy and part melancholy. Atmosphere and beautiful writing are two of its greatest strengths – you can practically smell the green growing things and hear the rustle of leaves while you read. The magical woods are ancient, full of power and mystery and tales half-forgotten and I wouldn’t have minded spending a whole book exploring and wandering Greenhollow with Tobias.