Drowned Country – Atmospheric and Moody

Reading sequels is something that I used to do all the time, but has really fallen off the more and more I read. Ironically, aiming for 200 books this year has made me more aware of all the things I’ll never have time to read, which makes picking up a sequel a pretty big deal for me. Even knowing this about myself, it was a surprise when I realized I hadn’t ever finished the Greenhollow Duology. They’re short novellas, and while Silver in the Wood wasn’t perfect, I also loved my time with it. Drowned Country is a straightforward improvement in my mind, though it didn’t address some of my core problems I encountered with Silver.

You can read my review of Silver in the Wood here.

Elevator Pitch:
Several years after Silver adopted the mantle of the wood and Tobias departed, he is summoned by his mother to help find a missing girl. What should have been a straightforward Vampire Hunt shifts as the trio realizes that the girl in question won’t take no for an answer when it comes to mixing with unnatural forces. Through this, Silver confronts his immediate and distant past, and his present moment with Tobias. 

What Worked for Me:
If Silver in the Wood was Tobias’s book, Drowned Country is Silver’s. The novella cares far more about exploring Silver’s relationship with himself and the wood than with Tobias, and I thought Tesh did an excellent job of fleshing him out as a complex and nuanced character. He’s a scholar, yes, but I think he avoids most of the tropes and stereotypes of that role while also finding spots for a scholar to excel and solve problems in ways that were unique to him. Tesh does a phenomenal job of letting us peek behind the curtain of his mind, and this was the biggest upgrade (of something already very good) from Silver in the Wood. He’s sulky and melodramatic and gets in his head far more than is good for him.

Other than that, Tesh develops great side characters, including an eminently practical and emotionally unavailable mother, a feisty girl who gets in far more trouble than she’s able to handle, and a Tobias that feels changed now that he’s returned to mortality. The ambiance remains appropriately mystical and spooky, maintaining a dark folklore atmosphere that was a high point of book 1. In some way, Tesh’s writing reminds me of what I love about some of Nghi Vo’s period pieces like Siren Queen; the air in the room turns thick as soup while you read, and simply existing int he story is a delight. If you liked Silver in the Wood, you’re going to love Drowned Company.

What Didn’t Work For Me:
I am eminently thankful these books were written before the current romantasy boom, because I think romantic connections are one of Tesh’s weak spots as a writer. I simply don’t believe these two characters are in love. I don’t even see that they’re friends much. We are told they are infatuated with each other in a very traditional romantic sense, but their dialogue and actions never reflected that. This is such a small part of the page count (and more divorced from the plot than I thought it would be), so it isn’t a major complaint.

Otherwise, I’m not sold on whether or not Tesh stuck the landing. She tried to begin explaining some things to wrap up loose ends, but I wish she’d have left things ambiguous and unknowable. Even though he’s a scholar of the paranormal, Silver himself routinely admits to human ignorance about the more powerful and arcane corners of the world, and I’d have liked the ending to reflect that.

Conclusion: Short, atmospheric, and a great read overall, even though it isn’t perfect.