Laura Anne Gilman is the author of the Locus bestsellers Silver on the Road and The Cold Eye, the popular Cosa Nostradamus books (the Retrievers and Paranormal Scene Investigations urban fantasy series), and the Nebula Award–nominated The Vineart War trilogy. Her first story collection is Dragon Virus, and she continues to write and sell short fiction in a variety of genres. Follow her at @LAGilman or LauraAnneGilman.net.
A Publishers Weekly SF, Fantasy, & Horror Top Ten Pick for Fall
2015
*Publishers Weekly*
A Locus Hardcover Bestseller, January 2016!
*January 7th, 2016*
"Silver on the Road takes an underused setting for fantasy—the
American West—and uses it to explore coming of age, the limits of
power and responsibility, and the importance of mingling compassion
and justice. It’s fresh and original and the language is both stark
and lovely. The descriptions of the natural landscape of the West
fit beautifully with descriptions of talking animals, travelling
magicians and terrifying supernatural forces." - 4 ½ stars
*RT Book review*
"Silver on the Road feels like a story you've always known, but
never read; the kind of haunting, perfect myth that draws together
magic, the Old West, saints and sinners and innocents into a
brilliant blend that's simultaneously startling and familiar."
*- Rachel Caine, NYT bestselling author of the Weather Warden and
Morganville Vampire series*
There's magic in the West, and weirdness not easily explained. The
deserts are a place of ghostly silences and inexplicable sounds in
the night. The mountains have a pull that is magnetic — the kind of
thing you can feel in your sleep. The wind will mess with your
dreams.
None of this has anything to do with Laura Anne Gilman's new book,
Silver on the Road. I lived in the west — spent a decade or more in
what Gilman calls simply "the Territory" — and that's just the way
things are. So she's chosen a fertile place to begin her new series
(the broad plains, red rock and looming mountains of the American
West), and amped up the oddity of it all by planting the Devil
there as a card dealer, fancy-pants and owner of a saloon in a town
called Flood.
And the Devil, he runs the Territory. Owns it in a way. Wards it
against things meaner than he is, because Gilman's Devil isn't
exactly the church-y version. He's dapper in a fine suit and
starched shirt. He's power incarnate — a man (no horns, no forked
tail, just a hint of brimstone now and then) who gets things done;
who offers bargains to any who come asking and always keeps to the
terms because, as everyone in the territory knows, "The Devil runs
an honest house." He never asks for anything you're not prepared to
give, never gives anything that doesn't have a price.
So when Isobel, who has worked since childhood as an indenture in
the Devil's house, comes of age and has the chance to cut her own
deal with Old Scratch, she gives the only thing she owns — herself
— into the employ of the Boss and becomes the Devil's Left
Hand.
"The right hand gathers and gives, visible to all," he tells her.
"But the Left Hand, Isobel, the manu sinistra? It moves in shadows,
unseen, unheard ... It is the strength of the Territory, the quick
knife in the darkness, the cold eye and the final word."
In order to learn her new trade, Isobel takes to the road under the
mentorship of Gabriel (yeah, no foreshadowing there...), one of a
loose organization of "riders" who go from town to town delivering
mail, carrying news, helping folks in need and just generally
(conveniently) keeping an eye on things in the Devil's West (which,
unsurprisingly, is the name Gilman has given to her new series, of
which Silver on the Road is the first book).
Gilman has obviously read her Joseph Campbell and memorized the 12
steps of the hero's journey. Isobel proceeds rigidly through the
paces — daily life, the call to adventure and the appearance of a
mentor. She sets off on her journey, learning and growing along the
path. To Gilman's credit, Isobel thinks and acts like a teenage
girl saddled with both great responsibility and mysterious powers
might — particularly one who has grown up as a saloon girl in close
proximity to the Devil himself — but that's just mechanics and good
writing.
No, what makes Silver on the Road readable and more than just an
exercise in making mythology soup is that it all feels so ...
pure.
That's not exactly the right word, but it's close. The book has an
internal logic that holds together. The strangeness feels honestly
strange, but rooted in the land like it'd been living there far
longer than there have been eyes to appreciate it. The magic feels
real and dirty and grounded and dangerous and uncontrollable. The
Boss is a force whose influence holds the Territory together. And
the people who populate Gilman's west seem sufficiently steeped in
this mess of Christian theology, Native American shamanism,
homespun desert magic and a healthy dose of purely American Weird
that suddenly seeing a talking rattlesnake on the trail spouting
doom-y prophecy only counts as maybe the third or fourth creepiest
thing that might happen to them in a day.
All of which makes Silver take on the sheen and weight of forgotten
history. Lost in the middle of the story, you'll feel somehow that
you've always known the Devil wore a suit and ran a gambling house
back in six-gun times, that he once sent a sixteen year old girl
out into the world to fight monsters for him — and it's that echo
in the brain that makes the thing hard to put down, because reading
Silver on the Road is not like falling into some new and unfamiliar
world.
It's more like a true American myth being found.
*October 10, 2015*
Silver on the Road marks a major landmark in the burgeoning
subgenre of Weird West Fantasy, and in my opinion the best novel,
on all fronts, that Laura Anne Gilman has written to date. Anyone
vaguely interested in her work, or in Weird Westerns, should take
the coin of the Devil and ride the road with Isobel and Gabriel to
find out what’s in the Devil’s West. Isobel’s journey begins here
and while the novel ends on a strong note, it is clear that she has
miles to ride on the Road yet. I can’t wait for the sequel.
*October 9, 2015*
Gilman (the Vineart War trilogy) takes readerson a scenic tour of a
very weird Wild West in this delightful start to theDevil’s West
series. In an early 19th-century America where superstition,magic,
and unusual beings flourish, a man considered to be the devil has
claimed a vast region west of the Mississippi that’s known simply
as theTerritory. When saloon girl Isobel turns 16, she volunteers
to work for thedevil and is appointed as his Left Hand, an agent to
help keep the Territory under control. Under the guidance of her
new mentor, the enigmatic Gabriel, Isobel sets out to learn the
ways of the road and discover what her role trulyentails. A rash of
supernatural events terrorizing the Territory forces Isobel and
Gabriel to team with unlikely allies in hopes of preventing
furthertragedy. Gilman skillfully plays with western folklore and
history, infusing them with ambiguity and subtle strangeness to
deliver a memorable adventure outon the untamed frontier.
Refreshingly, her vision of the American West includes respectful
portrayals of Native Americans. Isobel’s coming-of-age story is
veryaccessible to teens, and there’s plenty for adventure-minded
adults to enjoy as well.
*August 31, 2015*
"Laura Anne Gilman has reimagined an American West that is alluring
and gritty, strange and utterly convincing. Her prose is stunning,
and her story and characters grabbed my heart and would not let go.
Silver on the Road is pure gold.”
*— David B. Coe/D.B. Jackson, author of the Thieftaker
Chronicles*
"[SILVER ON THE ROAD is] captivating, vivid, and impossible to stop
reading... I could taste the dust, hear the rattle of the snakes,
feel the wind, and sense the road. Filled with wonderful mythology
and strong, compelling characters, this book is a fantastic start
to what promises to be a fantastic new series."
*- Sarah Beth Durst - author of VESSEL and CONJURED*
"I loved the worldbuilding in this story. I love that the Devil
both is and isn’t the figure you’re used to. In some respects,
particularly the Bargains he makes, he’s very familiar … and then
you realize “Devil” is just a name, and you never truly learn what
he really is. There’s power and mystery there. I look forward to
the next book in the series!"
*Hugo award winning author, Libriomancer*
"Reading Silver on the Road is not like falling into some new and
unfamiliar world. It's more like a true American myth being
found."
*- NPR Books*
"
"Silver on the Road will absolutely be on my Top 10 of 2015
list at the end of this year. This book is everything I wanted it
to be plus more."
*Bookworm Blues*
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