Review: Silksinger

Silksinger (Dreamdark #2), by Laini Taylor. The GoodReads summary:

Whisper Silksinger is the last of the secret guardians of the Azazel, one of the powerful Djinn who dreamed the world into being. Relentlessly pursued by bloodthirsty devils, she flees to the city of Nazneen to restore the Azazel to his temple. At the same time, Hirik Mothmage is also on a secret quest, to find the Azazel and restore his disgraced clan’s ancient honor.

And behind them all flies Magpie Windwitch, first champion of the new age of faeries, desperate to rescue Whisper and the Azazel alike before they fall in the clutches of a sinister hidden enemy.

I was looking forward to this sequel, honestly. The first book, Blackbringer, was so surprisingly intriguing and good that I really wanted to read this one. And that’s saying something because I’m not usually into middle-grade fairy novels. I think it’s just Laini Taylor’s writing skills that pull me through--she writes so deftly and her plots are pretty dang good for a kids book.

This book has Magpie and Talon and the crows, like in the first one, but it also introduces Whisper and Kirik as new characters. While Kirik fits right in with the rest of Laini Taylor's butt-kicking fairies, Whisper is different. She doesn’t quite jump off the page at you like the others do. I think it’s because she’s a shier, more naïve character and an artist not a warrior. But she does have courage--it’s just a quieter more subtle kind.

The villain in this one I thought was way creepier than the one in Blackbringer. In Blackbringer, the villain is so obviously and blatantly evil, but the bad guy in Silksinger is more devious and two-faced, which makes him worse, in my opinion. And guess what? Batch Hangnail, the lying, cheating scavenger imp is back in this book! I think he may be becoming my favorite character--he just has so much personality. Also he’s hilarious.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed Silksinger. It’s a solid book with enough adventure and humor to go around. And the fantasy world that Laini Taylor has built never fails to intrigue me. I really hope she finishes the series so I can find out what happens. There’s absolutely nothing objectionable in this one, so I feel pretty confident in recommending it to anyone who can handle a fairy book.

Rating: 3.5 / 5