Soundless is Richelle Mead's newest book. It is a standalone fantasy novel set in a world resembling ancient China. The main character Fei is an artist living in a gold mining village located high in the mountains. The villagers have been cut off from the outside world for several generations and do not have access to any farm land, pastures or hunting/gathering grounds. The people survive by sending gold and silver down the mountain via a rope mechanism and people at the base of the mountain send up food and other supplies. The isolation of the village is further exacerbated by the fact that the entire population mysteriously lost hearing generations ago and now some of the villagers are also going blind. Moreover, whatever food and supplies reach the village are not sufficient, and people are always underfed and have to ration everything. When Fei's younger sister starts loosing her sight, Fei is desperate to save her and find the cause of this plight. At the same time, one night, miraculously Fei regains her hearing. She is the only one in the village this has ever happened to. After her childhood friend's father dies in the mines, he and Fei resolve to get down the mountain and find a way to get more food and supplies for their people.
Richelle Mead is an excellent writer. Because most of the characters in the book are deaf, all communication between them is in sign language. Mead does a great job describing what it would be like to be deprived of one's hearing or suddenly regain it. I enjoyed the book and liked how it ended. However, at just under 270 pages it is way too short for a standalone fantasy novel. I really think she could have made the plot more complex and fleshed out the characters and the world a bit better. As it is, it reads more like a fairy tale or a myth and lacks complexity and depth. Nonetheless, it is an enjoyable and fast-paced book. I rated it 4 out of 5 stars.
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