The Silver Forest: A Thought Experiment In Story Form

Hey Bookworms, I’m back at it again with another ARC review! I’m making good progress with my ARC backlog (yay!) and today’s review is for The Silver Forest.

Thanks to Book Sirens and J. D. Rasch for the ARC; I leave my review voluntarily.

About The Silver Forest

Synopsis

Asmar lives in Tuland, a small pacifist village away from the political happenings of the world. When the Great Council of Wizards suddenly summons him, he’s confused. What do you mean he’s the only one who can stop the renegade Wizard Malzus? Malzus has betrayed the council and stolen their golden staff to amplify his power in order to find the source of all knowledge: the golden pulcher tree. Asmar is eager to learn more about his powers but can he trust the wizards’ training? Asmar must learn to determine his own destiny if he has any chance of stopping Malzus.

My Review

I accepted this ARC because I was in the mood for a classic fantasy quest story but I was pleasantly surprised by the way this book played around with the quest structure. As a fantasy reader, it’s very familiar but the plot proceeds in ways I found refreshing.

The Silver Forest is told in multiple POVs: Mostly Asmar and Malzus but Asmar’s cousin Remer gets an equal share of the spotlight despite not being mentioned in the synopsis. I particularly enjoyed the ways Asmar and Remer’s POVS separated and re-joined at various times throughout the narrative which played with the quest structure a bit. At times Remer was a ‘Companion’ but at others, he was his own individual facing his struggles.

“Asmar stared at the statue of the Great Wizard. It seemed out of place next to the simplicity of the fountain, as if it was an afterthought.”

The various POVs sometimes overlap in the narrative to experience the same events from different vantage points. This could potentially be annoying as readers might not want to repeat moments but it was handled well and felt more like filling in puzzle pieces to a character study. Rasch mentions in the author’s note that originally he wanted to write an essay on ethics but instead wrote a thought experiment in story form—putting characters in situations to see how they react to outside stimuli. With this in mind, I can better appreciate certain storytelling choices that he made and I think approaching the story with that context enriches the experience. However, I will say the pace suffered a bit in the middle due to this.

“He knew nothing real, and the books only gave him a false sense of security.”

For a book called “The Silver Forest”, it had a surprising amount of travel through the desert but those were some of my favourite scenes. Both Asmar and Remer have to learn how to survive in the desert as they travel from city to city. The many dangers they encounter in the desert kept me engaged because they challenge our characters’ core values.

Asmar and Remer are Tulanders and that means they don’t eat meat and they do not use weapons. However, the world in the desert doesn’t adhere to the same values; wolves hunt for food, various tribes are at war, and sometimes the only food available is meat. Each character has to decide what values, if any, they are willing to sacrifice to survive which makes for compelling storytelling. Asmar and Remer are both soft, caring, young men who might be considered naïve by outsiders but they love each other fiercely and I love them for it!

Final Thoughts on The Silver Forest & Rating

The writing style is not my favourite, it’s well-written but not very descriptive or emotive, which I guess is in keeping with a thought experiment. But the ethical conundrums, the plot, and the characters were more than enough to keep my attention and I want to know what’s going to happen next! The second book, which is a direct continuation, comes out in July 2024 so keep an eye out!

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