Description: In a village without sound…
For as long as Fei can remember, no one in her village has been able to hear. Rocky terrain and frequent avalanches make it impossible to leave the village, so Fei and her people are at the mercy of a zipline that carries food up the treacherous cliffs from Beiguo, a mysterious faraway kingdom.
When villagers begin to lose their sight, deliveries from the zipline shrink. Many go hungry. Fei and all the people she loves are plunged into crisis, with nothing to look forward to but darkness and starvation.
One girl hears a call to action…
Until one night, Fei is awoken by a searing noise. Sound becomes her weapon.
She sets out to uncover what’s happened to her and to fight the dangers threatening her village. A handsome miner with a revolutionary spirit accompanies Fei on her quest, bringing with him new risks and the possibility of romance. They embark on a majestic journey from the peak of their jagged mountain village to the valley of Beiguo, where a startling truth will change their lives forever…
And unlocks a power that will save her people.
My Thoughts: Soundless did an amazing job with the question: What if no one you knew could hear? And what if you were suddenly the only one who could? I was interested in and captivated by both the way Fei originally described her soundless environment and then later how she coped with suddenly knowing sound and being unable to explain just what all these sounds... sounded like.
The relationship between Fei and Li Wei is also well done, coming across as real rather than forced for the plot. But they are also not so hopelessly in love that the story becomes all about their relationship. The story is clean, with only a couple of non-descriptive kisses, and there is no bad language.
What took the story down from five stars was the ending. Up until the final chapters, it seemed as though Fei was going to be able to convince their village of the danger in staying where they were and thus rescue them from death. Instead, <spoiler> the village is saved by Pixiu; up-until-then mythical guardians which the people managed to wake by passionately screaming <spoiler>. While this had been hinted at, it still felt out of place because of the lack of supernatural events prior to that. It also made me question why Fei had been needed in the first place.
While I didn't like the ending, I would still say that Soundless it worth the read. If for nothing else, the way sound is dealt with makes it interesting.
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