Blurb:

The Urdahl believe pain is inevitable. But if one can lean into that suffering they can achieve anything.

Beneath the desert sands, Bas has spent his entire life training to become a fully-fledged Urdahl. And now his time has come to prove his worth. First, he must drink from the Seeing Bowl to clear his clouded mind and witness visions bestowed to him by ancient deities. Next, he must prove strength of body with the Passage of the High Pass. But destiny is shrouded in red and strength of arm will not be enough to survive its true tests.

Will he ascend to a full Urdahl or will his visions of blood come to pass?

The turning season has begun.

Taking place before the events of the Shadowbinders trilogy, "Silence is Silver" is a novella for both old and new readers.

Review:

"Pain is a lie. Told to us by weakness."

Silence is Silver is a deep dive into a character—Bas—that we meet briefly in Harbinger of Justice. We learn more about his mysterious people, the Urdahl. This was a fascinating coming of age story, chock full of profound Urdahl proverbs and wisdom. It is amazing how much story and interesting cultural history that Watson is able to pack into such a short novella. 

"There is strength in lies."

The Urdahl are a mysterious people that we catch glimpses of in Harbinger of Justice; however, Silence is Silver pulls back the veil and allows us to observe their coming of age ceremony, with the brutality and impassion that makes these people so terrifying. There is a clinical iciness to these people that chills the bones and makes you question to what extent they will walk down the proverb lined path of their creed. The twists and turns in this book are ankle-breakers, letting the readers experience the harshness of the Urdahl as they seek to purify and strengthen themselves, sometimes at the detriment of those around them. 

"Breaking is an act of creation as much as it is destruction."

Andrew has continued to mature as a writer, and you can feel that confidence as he grabs the reader by the throat from page one, drawing them into this imaginative world where pain is weakness that needs to be driven from the body and strength is found in the reliance of one’s own prowess and not in the ability to help empower other people. Whether this is your first exposure to Tarris or you’ve already had your heart judged by the Harbinger of Justice, this is a must-read, brutal coming-of-age story. Silence is Silver is an intimate, fast-paced vignette of Urdahl maturation that expands the overall worldbuilding and depth of Tarris.