What do you think?
Rate this book
Eyes of Silver
It has been 12 years since Wolf-priest Malachy Kidd lost his eyes in battle, and his ability to serve his god with powerful combat magicks and unwavering faith. But Kidd's divine inspiration finally arrives: he must protect the legendary Dost, the most powerful figure in the land, on a journey filled with magic, intrigue, and love--one that offers him the chance to restore his honor at last.
464 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1998
1 person is currently reading
128 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
November 25, 2016
Despite featuring cheesy cover artwork that would make Fabio proud, Eyes of Silver was a surprisingly engaging novel. I say surprising because even though I am a fan of Michael Stackpole's work (his novel Talion: Revenant that turned me on to fantasy fiction in the first place), his work is not without some noticeable flaws. For example, he tends to end every chapter with a character making some bold declaration. Or the fact that the lead characters in most of his novels are essentially the same noble guy. Circumstances aside, Corran Horn is not much different than Nolan, who isn't that far removed from Locke, etc.
Stackpole took a big step forward with Eyes of Silver. Instead of focusing on a single heroic character, he introduces several characters and devotes nearly equal time to each one. The characters are diverse and seem far more human than I'm used to in a Stackpole novel. A few of the characters were a somewhat predictable, but a couple of them tread a very fine line between protagonist and antagonist, which made them all the more compelling. He doesn't quite reach the George R.R. Martin level with this technique (but to be fair, I don't think anyone really can), but it is still a nice touch.
Loosely basing the novel on historical events was another improvement, and made for a refreshing change from the RPG-based fantasy worlds in which Stackpole's other novels take place. He doesn't quite reach the Guy Gavriel Kay level with this type of storytelling (again, I don't think anyone really can), but it still works quite well.
All told, Eyes of Silver was a pleasant surprise from an author who has proven that he is not content to tell the same kind of story over and over. It's not a perfect novel, but I'll gladly take it over the latest Belgariad rehash by David Eddings any day.
Stackpole took a big step forward with Eyes of Silver. Instead of focusing on a single heroic character, he introduces several characters and devotes nearly equal time to each one. The characters are diverse and seem far more human than I'm used to in a Stackpole novel. A few of the characters were a somewhat predictable, but a couple of them tread a very fine line between protagonist and antagonist, which made them all the more compelling. He doesn't quite reach the George R.R. Martin level with this technique (but to be fair, I don't think anyone really can), but it is still a nice touch.
Loosely basing the novel on historical events was another improvement, and made for a refreshing change from the RPG-based fantasy worlds in which Stackpole's other novels take place. He doesn't quite reach the Guy Gavriel Kay level with this type of storytelling (again, I don't think anyone really can), but it still works quite well.
All told, Eyes of Silver was a pleasant surprise from an author who has proven that he is not content to tell the same kind of story over and over. It's not a perfect novel, but I'll gladly take it over the latest Belgariad rehash by David Eddings any day.
March 19, 2013
This might have been a good book, but I had little patience for it. The author spends so much time setting up his fantasy world (with steam cannons-- what the heck are those) and multiple countries/factions that he just never got the story moving faster than a snail with hemmoroids.. The background was really rich, but just too overdone for my taste.
I was look for a nice stand-alone fantasy book (non-series) and this almost fit the ticket.
I was look for a nice stand-alone fantasy book (non-series) and this almost fit the ticket.
June 4, 2023
What an incredible find. I picked this up at the used bookstore purely because of the author: Michael Stackpole. I had read his Star Wars novels and loved them, and had heard him talk on many podcasts about the process of writing and on the business of publishing, and I really found him fascinating. I later read his book "Talion: Revenant" which was one of my all time favorite standalones. This might rival that novel.
What makes this book so great is the way it blends things together. The book is technically Fantasy, and certainly has some major Fantasy elements, but the magic takes an overall backseat to the political worldbuilding, characters, and plot. As such, the majority of this book feels like its a historical fiction book...just set in another world. Part of the political worldbuilding is how the countries have similar cultures to real life ones. The "Ilbeorian" Empire is similar to England. The "Stranan" Empire is similar to Russia, and the "Helensajar" is a lot like Israel with the nearby "Veroin Political District" being a standin for Palestine. I do not believe I have ever seen these four countries mixed in such a way for the cultures of a Fantasy novel.
In addition, the blending of religious faiths works really well. In fact, Christianity is so obviously impacting the religion of Ilbeoria and Aran that I believe several of the "scriptures" in the book are either literal scriptures from the Bible or very similar. Likewise, the religion of the tribes of Helansajar seems to be an amalgamation of Judaism and Islam. The interweaving of religion into the story, especially since the story is so militaristic and political in nature, makes the book feel grounded and realistic.
As if the worldbuilding and religions of the book weren't well done enough, this book has great character work. Several characters have journeys, and it would be difficult to name them all. I will name the journeys of Robin Drury, Malachy Kidd, and Naatalya Ohanscai. Their character arcs in particular really captured me. But several of the others did as well.
I don't always agree with Michael Stackpole on politics or even the themes in his books, but there were some really deep themes in this one that I appreciated. One theme that was prevelant in two plot threads was the theme of chasity and why it is important to a moral society. Two characters have the opportunity to conduct themselves in an unbecoming fashion for pleasurable outcomes, but both refuse to do it to maintain their morality. For this alone I applaud Stackpole's writing.
There are also themes of trusting political leaders, using political power just because it exists, and at what point do you rely on faith and not sight? All of these are excellently explored in the book.
Being a standalone, this book is very self-contained. Do not expect a cliffhanger or that much of an open eneded story. Stackpole wraps everything up neatly and cleanly. I personally love that, which is one reason I like standalones so much, but it is just done really well here. There could be future books in this universe (and I would 100% read them!), but given this book's poor reception overall and lack of sales, it is unlikely we will ever see them.
This leads me to the one problem I have with the book...the cover! This cover evokes cheesy romances rather than an epic political fantasy novel, and as such probably hurt the sales of the book! I understand why some of the choices were made, but had the publisher gone with a classic 80s or 90s style painting it would have worked. This feels like a cheesy romance cover or maybe a cheesy movie poster. Stackpole has never had the enormous draw outside Star Wars that other authors have had...but I think the sales here were severely hurt because of this cover.
Other than that, I really have no complaints about this book. This will go down as not only one of my favorite Fantasy standalones, but one of my favorite Michael Stackpole novels, who just continues to deliver every time!
Overall, magnificent book. Some people may not like it for the lack of action in the middle, but it works perfectly for me. I certainly think I will reread it one day because of how much it kept my attention. 9.7 out of 10. Well done Michael Stackpole!
What makes this book so great is the way it blends things together. The book is technically Fantasy, and certainly has some major Fantasy elements, but the magic takes an overall backseat to the political worldbuilding, characters, and plot. As such, the majority of this book feels like its a historical fiction book...just set in another world. Part of the political worldbuilding is how the countries have similar cultures to real life ones. The "Ilbeorian" Empire is similar to England. The "Stranan" Empire is similar to Russia, and the "Helensajar" is a lot like Israel with the nearby "Veroin Political District" being a standin for Palestine. I do not believe I have ever seen these four countries mixed in such a way for the cultures of a Fantasy novel.
In addition, the blending of religious faiths works really well. In fact, Christianity is so obviously impacting the religion of Ilbeoria and Aran that I believe several of the "scriptures" in the book are either literal scriptures from the Bible or very similar. Likewise, the religion of the tribes of Helansajar seems to be an amalgamation of Judaism and Islam. The interweaving of religion into the story, especially since the story is so militaristic and political in nature, makes the book feel grounded and realistic.
As if the worldbuilding and religions of the book weren't well done enough, this book has great character work. Several characters have journeys, and it would be difficult to name them all. I will name the journeys of Robin Drury, Malachy Kidd, and Naatalya Ohanscai. Their character arcs in particular really captured me. But several of the others did as well.
I don't always agree with Michael Stackpole on politics or even the themes in his books, but there were some really deep themes in this one that I appreciated. One theme that was prevelant in two plot threads was the theme of chasity and why it is important to a moral society. Two characters have the opportunity to conduct themselves in an unbecoming fashion for pleasurable outcomes, but both refuse to do it to maintain their morality. For this alone I applaud Stackpole's writing.
There are also themes of trusting political leaders, using political power just because it exists, and at what point do you rely on faith and not sight? All of these are excellently explored in the book.
Being a standalone, this book is very self-contained. Do not expect a cliffhanger or that much of an open eneded story. Stackpole wraps everything up neatly and cleanly. I personally love that, which is one reason I like standalones so much, but it is just done really well here. There could be future books in this universe (and I would 100% read them!), but given this book's poor reception overall and lack of sales, it is unlikely we will ever see them.
This leads me to the one problem I have with the book...the cover! This cover evokes cheesy romances rather than an epic political fantasy novel, and as such probably hurt the sales of the book! I understand why some of the choices were made, but had the publisher gone with a classic 80s or 90s style painting it would have worked. This feels like a cheesy romance cover or maybe a cheesy movie poster. Stackpole has never had the enormous draw outside Star Wars that other authors have had...but I think the sales here were severely hurt because of this cover.
Other than that, I really have no complaints about this book. This will go down as not only one of my favorite Fantasy standalones, but one of my favorite Michael Stackpole novels, who just continues to deliver every time!
Overall, magnificent book. Some people may not like it for the lack of action in the middle, but it works perfectly for me. I certainly think I will reread it one day because of how much it kept my attention. 9.7 out of 10. Well done Michael Stackpole!
June 21, 2010
An awesome fantasy book, based on a true historic event. A great use of magic woven around an historical fiction core.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews