Soundless

by Richelle Mead Narrated by Kim Mai Guest

Overview

A NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER

From Richelle Mead, the #1 internationally bestselling author of Vampire Academy and Bloodlines, comes a breathtaking new fantasy perfect for fans of Leigh Bardugo, Laini Taylor and Sabaa Tahir.
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"Fans of characters like Rose Hathaway and Sydney Sage will flock to this impressive stand-alone novel."
--Booklist

For as long as Fei can remember, there has been no sound in her village, where rocky terrain and frequent avalanches prevent residents from self-sustaining. Fei and her people are at the mercy of a zipline that carries food up the treacherous cliffs from Beiguo, a mysterious faraway kingdom.
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When villagers begin to lose their sight, deliveries from the zipline shrink and many go hungry. Fei's home, the people she loves, and her entire existence is plunged into crisis, under threat of darkness and starvation.
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But soon Fei is awoken in the night by a searing noise, and sound becomes her weapon.
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Richelle Mead takes readers on a triumphant journey from the peak of Fei's jagged mountain village to the valley of Beiguo, where a startling truth and an unlikely romance will change her life forever....

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

10/05/2015
Fei lives in a mountain village whose inhabitants have been deaf for generations, relying on artists like her for their daily news. Isolated by rockslides and unable to descend the mountain, the villagers depend on food supplied via a pulley system from the kingdom below. The price of survival is the mountain's gold and silver, and the majority of the population works in the mines. But now Fei's people, including her beloved sister, are starting to go blind, which will mean their extinction. After a vivid dream, Fei wakes with the gift of hearing and struggles to comprehend the new sensation of sound. She and her childhood friend Li Wei embark on a desperate effort to avert her people's horrifying fate. Like her heroine, Mead (the Vampire Academy series) paints with a delicate brush (when Fei sees brightly colored silk for the first time, readers feel it as an explosion of the senses), creating a fablelike story that melds folktale, sacrifice, romance, and the stark realization of humanity's capacity to exploit others for profit. Ages 12–up. Agent: Jim McCarthy, Dystel & Goderich Literary Management. (Nov.)

From the Publisher

"Like her heroine, Mead paints with a delicate brush, creating a fable like story that melds folktale, sacrifice, romance, and the stark realization of humanity's capacity to exploit others for profit."—Publishers Weekly, on the English-language edition

School Library Journal

09/01/2015
Gr 7 Up—Fei and her sister, Zhang Jing, live in a mountain village where everyone is deaf and has one of three jobs: artist, miner, or supplier. Fei and Zhang are both artists who paint pictures to illustrate the news of the day. Fei knows that her sister is in trouble when she begins to lose her vision, as she will become a miner if she can't continue to convey the news. In fact, others in the village are also losing their vision. Then, Fei suddenly can hear—but why? Knowing that the answer is out there, Fei and her friend Li Wei set out to get help from a forbidden place in the valley Beiguo. While they are there, they discover the surprising truth about their own village and know what they must do to save its members. Inspired by Chinese folklore, Mead has ventured away from "Vampire Academy" (Penguin) and written a stand-alone fantasy. While the story line is a bit predictable and Fei's ability to suddenly hear doesn't seem overly surprising to her, there is plenty of action and intensity after the duo sets out to find the valley, with a light romance between Fei and Li Wei that will please readers. VERDICT Fans of the author won't want to miss this multicultural, folk tale-based tale.—Karen Alexander, Lake Fenton High School, Linden, MI

DECEMBER 2015 - AudioFile

In her isolated mountaintop village, Fei belongs to the elite class of artists who paint the daily news for the community of deaf inhabitants. Miners procure metals sent down by zip line in return for the village’s rations. Kim Mai Guest's Asian accent fits this world, inspired by Chinese myth. She speaks delicately and deferentially, as Fei is both thoughtful and conformist. Her acquiescent voice gathers strength, however, when Fei’s sister and others begin losing their sight. A significant event spurs Fei to question tradition and the village’s dependence on the zip line. Guest creates authentic male characters, too, particularly artistic master Elder Chen and Fei’s forbidden love interest, miner Lee Wei. There’s an irony in an audiobook about the deaf. Guest delivers this story of adventure, love, and myth with respect and wonder. L.T. © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine

Kirkus Reviews

2015-08-05
Bestselling teen author Mead weaves Chinese folklore, themes of family, courage, and loyalty, plus her signature romance into her first stand-alone fantasy novel. At the top of a jagged mountain, an isolated mining village exists in silence. Fei, like her fellow villagers, cannot hear or speak. For generations, they've been cut off from the rest of the world and rely on a zip line that carries food up from the valley below. In exchange, they send down precious metals. As artists who record daily events pictorially, Fei and her sister, Zhang Jing, live a more comfortable life than most. However, with many villagers losing their sight, Zhang Jing included, and dwindling food supplies, something must be done. One day, Fei wakes up with her hearing miraculously restored, the perfect "weapon" to save her village. Fei teams up with her childhood sweetheart, Li Wei, and they descend the mountain together. After several harrowing adventures and near misses, Fei and Li Wei discover the horrific truth behind their circumstances. Can they rally their people together against the oppressive regime and conquer forbidden love too? While Mead may be commended for attempting to create a world based on a non-Western culture, her use of Chinese mythology and culture is superficial at best. She could have renamed her characters and plonked them down in medieval England with no real narrative impact. Readers hoping for non-Western fantasy alternatives need to look elsewhere. (Fantasy. 14 & up)

Product Details

BN ID:	2940172078064
Publisher:	Penguin Random House
Publication date:	11/10/2015
Edition description:	Unabridged

Read an Excerpt

***This excerpt is from an advance uncorrected proof***
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
(Continues…)

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Excerpted from "Soundless"
by .
Copyright © 2015 Richelle Mead.
Excerpted by permission of Penguin Young Readers Group.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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