I had never heard of the poem this novel is based on, but I am always down for an Arthurian retelling. And I was not disappointed.

This was such a remarkable story about Silence's search for understanding of their own identity and their place within the world. I loved how the author switched around Silence's pronouns as they explored what it means to be born a woman, raised as a man, and all around be expected to pigeonhole their sense of self into what everyone else thinks should be.

I loved Silence's character, who, while being good and true and brave and everything a knight should be, but also be flawed and worried and secretive. The relationships that they built, especially with characters like Griselle were so wonderful to read. As soon as I had finished I wanted more stories of Silence as they continued to grow and change.

It does have some issues with pacing. It feels very slow and meandering, which sometimes worked, but sometimes felt like too much dragged. And I personally didn't like the epilogue, but I did understand how it plays into the idea of the story you tell about yourself versus the stories others will tell about you.

This was a fantastic new addition to the Arthurian canon, and I look forward to adding it to my own collection, as well as searching out more from this author.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harper 360 for this ARC.

I apprecitate the publisher allowing me to read this book. I found this a really interesting read and the characters are quite engaging. it kept me reading until the end. I highly recommend.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for giving me a free advanced copy of this book to read and review.

*Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Voyager for granting me access to an early copy of this book*
Why I Requested This: I thought the cover was pretty, with the minimalist black and white sketch and the pink ornamentation added in was a nice touch, possibly tying into the gender identity theme of the story. Speaking of which the fact that was inspired by an actual French poem from the thirteenth century I find fascinating, and I was curious to see what Myers would do with it.

What It's About: Due to a matter of inheritance, Silence was born a girl but is raised as a boy. Struggling with their identity at home, Silence leaves on a journey of personal growth with the end goal of becoming a knight.

Cons: The plot is very bare, mostly shuffling from place to place, but I think that's so the themes of gender, identity, and virtue could drive the story. The problem was the story came off as a bit disjointed when it wasn't supposed to be, more like three or more separate parts rather than one complete tapestry. I also did not care for the ending. While I am ambivalent about the dual ending for Silence, I really did not like the "failed seductress falsely accuses knight of rape" scenario", which is the part from the original story that was kept. I am still baffled as too why it was kept and it leans into the Madonna/ Whore complex where women are either completely virtuous (Silence) or villainous (The Queen) and the villainous women are punished. Yes the King was not really a virtuous person but the Queen still accuses Silence of rape and is ultimately beheaded. For a book that's trying to adapt a story about gender at its core for a modern audience, this beat felt quite dated and unnecessary.

Pros: Silence was an okay protagonist. Again their character arc lacked direction so they never quite felt like a fully fleshed out character, but they were at least a moral character who is trying to get some agency, which is the type of protagonist I prefer.

Finishing Thoughts: I liked this book well enough when I was reading it but the lack of focus and momentum made it rather forgettable. To be fair, this was also a story that just didn't personally resonate with me, so it might be more memorable with someone who did.

An interesting premise but it never pulled me in. Was too slow-paced for my taste. I love the background of the story, the setting, characters and cover art but I just couldn't get myself to finish.

Very fascinating retelling of legend. Not my favorite version of trans narrative, but an interesting addition to the genre.

Thank you to netgalley.com for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Story of Silence is a retelling of a French poem called “Le Roman de Silence” about a child assigned female at birth who is raised as boy so he is eligible to inherit from his father. Myers builds upon this 13th century tale of gender and nature vs. nurture, depicting Silence as an aspiring knight, who does not learn of their sex assigned at birth until late childhood.

This is a slow-moving novel, but this felt characteristic of the medieval setting. Myers does a great job capturing the medieval feel in his writing, and it was interesting to read an exploration of gender identity set in medieval Europe. The novel is character-driven and reflective – the novel is centered on Silence’s inner monologue, while the “plot” occurs to bring Silence to a deeper understanding about themself and their gender.

While I could not find a copy of the original text to read, I did read the wikipedia page to get a sense of how Myers’ story differs from the original. Prior to doing so, I had already really enjoyed the ending (though I had to sit with it for a moment to comprehend the meaning!) However, after reading the synopsis of the original text, I see even more how brilliant Myers’ writing of the ending was. I would recommend this novel to those who enjoy retellings, Arthurian fiction, and explorations of gender identity.

The Story of Silence is a retelling of the 13th-century French romance poem “The Romance of Silence.” This medieval tale is one of a girl child, Silence, who is raised as a boy. The father requires this deception so that the laws of inheritance remained uninterrupted. The story follows the life of Silence from birth to knighthood to final disclosure by the Arthurian wizard, Merlin. In modern terms, the story reflects questions of nature vs nurture. We see the stereotypical expression of masculinity and femininity in many of the characters. The story questions what roles are appropriate for each gender. In this world, genders are clearly identified: women are deceptive and seductive, while men are violent and greedy. The opportunities for women in the medieval world are limited and narrow. Yet in The Story of Silence, we see how the nobility, bravery and skill of a knight are not solely male qualities; but ones that develop through hard work, determination, and valor. This novel addresses the ideas of gender as a construct. How gender is expressed seems more the result of culture and experience than to biology. Perhaps much of what is thought to be male or female can exist successfully in either sex.

The writing is rich in imagery and character. The medieval world becomes alive, especially in regard to the life and training of the knight. Yet, at times the writing seems to plod along. It reads much slower than might be wanted and some summary of the plot is perhaps needed at times to maintain the reader’s interest.

The Story of Silence is a lyrical, dreamy retelling of a medieval poem, which offers a consideration of gender and identity that feels surprisingly modern. Overall, this is a fascinating book, and one I definitely recommend to people looking for historical fiction that incorporates queerness at its very core. I’m not entirely sure the story itself was compelling enough for me, mostly due to the detachment created by the narrative style.
Full review to come on YouTube.

The premise of this story is so unique and so desperately needed in today's world. I absolutely loved the way Merlin was depicted in this Arthurian retelling; he felt much more real to the reader. He honestly gave me Uncle Iroh vibes. It was hard to take the name Silence seriously for the main character, but I believed what she was fighting for so that helped. I'm shocked that this book wasn't more hyped up!

I wasn't sure what to expect going into this, as I'm not super knowledgeable in Arthurian legend in general, and I also haven't seen a lot of nonbinary characters in fantasy and wasn't sure how well it would be done. But I seriously loved this, and I loved Silence so much, and I even had dreams about this book afterwards.

Overall, I felt like Silence and their gender was done extremely well, and I loved seeing the evolution of Silence's perception of themselves, from their gender to their dreams. I loved the way this book framed this journey through a physical journey Silence undertook, and I loved the support Silence got at times, even though most people around them didn't fully understand. I also really loved a lot of the passages dedicated to Silence's gender crisis, and the final scene where Silence accepted their whole self (and the book made the switch to they/them pronouns instead of he/him) was seriously my favorite of the entire book. So much of it just rang true for me.

I also really liked the set-up of the plot itself, and while the story spanned years and was 'slow' at points, it was almost comforting. We were watching Silence grow up, figure out what they wanted, and the struggles they went through to get there. I read the beginning 40% of this book over the span of a few weeks, and it was honestly just such a nice story to come back to every once in a while.

My only issue with the book is the false ending that's forced on Silence. This entire story is framed as if it's being recounted by Silence to a bard in a tavern some time after the ending of the story, with the bard curious about Silence as a person and their history. While the actual ending of the story hurt but fit, the bard didn't feel like it was a good ending to the story and changed it up for retelling. The bard's ending rang hollow with Silence's journey, and it just rubbed me the wrong way. I'm glad we get this duplicity of endings just so I can be happy that's not the actually ending, but I can't help and think that this bard really sat there through Silence's whole story and decided he knew of a better ending for them, that went against everything Silence had worked towards.

Overall, I really liked this book, and just try not to think of that final ending too much. Silence has become somewhat of a comfort character now at this point, and I can definitely see myself rereading parts of this in the future!

This is an excellent retelling of Le Roman de Silence. Set in the Arthurian canon, The Story of Silnce explores gender and identity in a truly original way. I enjoyed it and am familiar with the original text it is based on from college.

Very interesting take on a trope that I haven’t seen much of before. I’m finding that the historical MM books are a little hard to find but when you do, they are fantastic! This one is no exception to that. Highly recommend for anyone who wants to dip their toes into historical MM. Its interesting, dynamic, and one I’ll reread again!

I really wanted to like this book. Sold as a nonbinary take on knights, chivalry, and legends, The Story of Silence is a conventional story of a girl raised as a boy, doing "boy" things. Adapted from a medieval poem and owing story beats and descriptions to Tamora Pierce's Alanna books, Silence is a dull hero with too few original moments. Raised as a boy in order to preserve her father's inheritance, Silence dreams of knighthood and begins a self-imposed quest to gain the title. In each encounter Silence has, the first person they meet is able to move them to the next goalpost and somehow become SIlence's dearest friend, at least until it's time to move to the next encounter. Mentors who live just long enough to promote silence and then die when Silence wants to move on abound. The framing device, Silence telling their story to a bard who later changes it dramatically, is meant to explain the omniscient narrator and justify two divergent endings. Might be fun for those who are not yet versed enough in the genre to notice all of the cliches.

Every once in awhile a book comes along that completely blows my expectations out of the water. The Story of Silence by Alex Myers was one of those books. Based on the old French legend - Le Roman de Silence - the story delves into the history of a knight who was born a woman, but raised as a man. There are plenty of tricky gender politics, and a lot of discussion over nature versus nurture. The book also asks what it means to exhibit knightly virtues like chivalry, courage, mercy, and faith. It also draws a lot from the more obscure aspects of Arthurian legend. Including the great wizard Merlin living as a beast in the forest due to a curse. This gender-bending fairy tale has a lot of layers to peel back, so let's take a look at The Story of Silence by Alex Myers.

Silence is actually the name of the main character, who was born to the noble lord of England in the days after the king decreed that no women could inherit land. Lord Cador is stricken with grief when his wife dies in childbirth. And he fears losing his estate when his child is born female. So he conspires with a midwife to conceal the gender of his child. The midwife takes Silence away to a secluded estate to raise him as a boy, in hopes that one day he will inherit his father's titles and estate.

The question of nature versus nurture arises as Silence grows up, training to become a knight. It is all that he has ever wanted, and when he learns the truth of his birth he feels betrayed. He is more determined than ever to become a knight, to keep his secret closely guarded, and to fulfil the expectations of his father. The gender roles of medieval England are undeniably strict. Women are the gentle maidens who do needlework all day and swoon over a joust. The majority of the men are knights, who must adhere to a strict code of conduct. Silence doesn't understand how to be a woman, and has no interest in womanly pursuits. But he also suffers under the moral conundrum of adhering to the knightly virtues that include truth as a basic tenet. How can he live his truth, while still pursuing his dreams?

In the original legend - Le Roman de Silence - there are personifications of Nature and Nurture that show up at one point to debate with Silence about their gender identity. This is one element of the original text that I wish had made it into the book. There is magic in abundance with Merlin, and the dragon. So including the goddess of Nature would have been a nice addition, to further delve into the theme of Nature vs Nurture.

The story follows Silence as he moves from his isolated home to his father's court. This is where he trains to be a knight while keeping his secret. It follows him across the sea to France, where he becomes a traveling bard before returning to knightly duties for a French lord. Silence harbors a secret love for his best friend, but can never act on his feelings for fear of revealing his secret, or else be viewed as homosexual. 

In the end a false rape accusation forces Silence to take action to prove his innocence. He ventures deep into the heart of the enchanted forest to find Merlin. Along the way he slays a dragon, and breaks the curse on the wizard. Silence proves himself to be the truest of knights. And he finally learns to accept his dual nature as both male and female. They reveal themselves to the court, only to find a marriage proposal from the king laid at their feet. 

This is where the legend takes a metafictional turn. The framing device of the story is such that Silence is telling it to another bard at a quiet inn. This is the first time that Silence has ever told the truth of their story, from beginning to whatever ending they are in the midst of creating.

The novel gives us two endings. There is the "happy" fairy tale ending where Silence accepts their nature as a woman and becomes Queen. This is the ending that the original French legend gives. And then there is the better ending, the one that is not so neatly wrapped up. The ending where Silence refuses the marriage proposal. Where they strike out to live as a gender-fluid individual in a world that doesn't know what to do with them. A wandering knight who has given up all titles and estates. But they have not given up on living the knightly virtues that they adhere to so strongly.

The gender dynamics in this novel are sometimes uncomfortable to read. I know that the author was trying to adhere to the reality of medieval English/French life. But there are some notably sexist passages about the women of the world that didn't quite feel necessary to the text. And the false rape accusation made me literally groan aloud, because I'm so tired of that trope. I know that this plot point - along with the way women are depicted - is true to the original text of the French legend, so I understand why it was included. However, the women of this book certainly get a short shrift. They are described as vapid, selfish, and vain creatures. No wonder Silence doesn't want to be one of them.

The author could have done a bit more to update this aspect of the story. There is one female character in the book that Silence bonds with, and even considers marrying at one point. But she is only in the text briefly, an underused character who could have been given a larger role. This would have been the perfect opportunity to show Silence the positive aspects of being a woman. As they learn to accept both the feminine along with the masculine. But the author was clearly trying to stay true to the original text, and only truly veers off-book at the end. 

Despite my qualms with the portrayal of women in the book, I do have to say that I enjoyed the The Story of Silence by Alex Myers. It was a fascinating take on a post-Arthurian legend that I was not as familiar with. And it tackles the gender identity issue with nuance and care. The writing is lyrical and elegant, never falling into the stuffy archaic language typical with medieval stories. At times this book reminded me of other stories about children raised as the opposite gender than what they were born. Fans of Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides, or the popular theatrical production/film Hedwig and the Angry Inch will certainly find a lot to ponder in The Story of Silence.

Reads a little slowly, but an interesting story nonetheless. The characters were really fun and I loved the nonbinary representation. Excellent work! #NetGalley #TheStoryOfSilence

I can safely say that I've never read anything quite like The Story of Silence. Based on an actual story from 13th century France, The Story of Silence follows Silence, a female child raised as a boy so their father, Earl Cador, may inherit land and property from the king, who agreed on the terms that Cador has a son, as women cannot inherit. Throughout the story, themes such as nature vs. nurture, gender roles and performativity, and the unequal bias against women are covered with a degree of care and thoughtfulness that is refreshing - even despite its medieval setting, the conversations about the stifling nature of gender performance are suitably fitting for modern times. The only problem I encountered in this novel was some pacing issues for the first quarter/third of the book, but the plot definitely picks up when Silence enters adolescence and begins training as a page. Overall, a fascinating, eye-opening read with refreshing insights on self-realization beyond gender in a gender-obsessed world.

Unfortunately, this was a DNF at around 35%. I was very intrigued by the story, however, I did not care for the use of narrative. There were several moments where I found myself scanning rather than reading. I'm sure this is a 5 star book for a lot of people. For some reason, it just didn't work out for me.

DNF. Great conceptually, and one I’d definitely revisit on different circumstances. It’s just too morbidly slow paced, and I’m already dealing with issues getting invested in books to begin with.

Non-binary/bigender medieval knight tale with Merlin & dragons?? YES! This is everything I've ever wanted.

Brought to life from a 13th century poem, The Story of Silence follows the life of Silence, Earl Cador's child. Due to inheritance laws, Cador must have a boy for Cornwall to stay within the family; when his wife becomes pregnant, they vow that they will bring up the child as a boy regardless of the sex of the baby. Silence is born, a baby girl by nature, and the Earl's wife dies in childbirth, leaving Silence as the sole possible inheritor of Cornwall. To protect his progeny's future holdings, the Earl sends Silence off with his cousin--sworn to secrecy--to be raised as a boy.

Tucked away in a forest estate, Silence grows up dreaming of becoming a gallant knight, play fighting with sticks as swords and memorizing the virtues of knighthood. Though he knows it is odd to not be brought up in court like other noble boys, it is not until he is near teen hood that he learns the circumstances of his brith and his 'true Nature'. The rest of the book follows Silence as they grow into adulthood struggling with their gender identity and their desire to become a knight above all else.

A beautiful book that deals intimately with gender vs sex (nurture vs nature), Myers does not shy away from the concept of fluidity, of embracing your full self, and discussing the inner (and outer) conflict of gender identity that does not match one's assigned sex at birth. This is not a Mulan-esque book where the main character 'pretends' to be a boy in order to further their career and to prove themselves among men--Silence is a man as much as they are a woman. So many stories of gender nonconforming individuals are erased from history, and I give great kudos to Alex Myers for bringing such an important and captivating story to life in such vivid detail. We need more queer and gnc stories set in the past, bringing to light that queer and trans individuals did not suddenly appear in the late 1900s, but have been around since history began.

This book is unique with a lovable and relatable main character whose heart of gold is reminiscent of gallant knight tales without erring on the side of being too cheesy or unbelievable. Silence's story will stick with you for long after you set down the book, and the medieval understanding of gender identity can teach us much about how we understand gender in the 27th century. I can't wait to get my hands on a physical copy when it comes out -- it's gorgeous and I cannot wait to lend it out to friends and reread it for myself.