Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell by Brandon Sanderson

Originally appearing in the Dangerous Women anthology and now available as a solo ebook, Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell is a chilling novella of the Cosmere, the universe shared by Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn series and the #1 New York Times bestselling Stormlight Archive. When the familiar and seemingly safe turns lethal, therein danger lies. Amid a forest where the shades of the dead linger all around, every homesteader knows to follow the Simple Rules: “Don’t kindle flame, don’t shed the blood of another, don't run at night. These things draw shades.” Silence Montane has broken all three rules on more than one occasion. And to protect her family from a murderous gang with high bounties on their heads, Silence will break every rule again, at the risk of becoming a shade herself.

This short story by Sanderson describes a night in the life of an unexpected bounty hunter. As you would expect given the author, the unusual parts of the world are given the attention you would expect in a full novel. Ghosts that attack at the sight of blood could have been a cliche topic, but in this case it was flushed out enough with the economy, protection and past events to keep things interesting.

2.75 stars.

It was an enjoyable short story, but I could not connect to the characters. The plot was pretty simple, although the setting is still interesting. I would have appreciated more explanation about the world and the shadows in typical Sanderson's style, but due to space constraints I am aware it gets tricky doing so. I am curious to know more in detail how this story and characters will connect to the rest of the cosmere.

An excellent short story.

This was the best short story ever! And a really good introduction to another world in the Cosmere Spoilerwhich does not have a Shard and the Investiture was so weird because a Shard was destroyed in this solar system. So like, you don't have a magic system and you're not going to die in peace and will instead get creepy ass powers once you die. WTF! Forests of Hell is apt.The rules for the Shades were so cool. Like it specifically says “Don't shed the blood of another” instead of saying something vague like “don't shed blood” which wouldn't have worked in a realistic scenario.That said, Silence was an amazing character and I loved that she was given a protective personality and was a mother; not just a ruthless bounty hunter who wanted to survive, but who wanted to raise her kids right and wanted them to have normal lives.This story referenced the God Beyond many times, like [b:Mistborn: Secret History 42028213 Mistborn Secret History Brandon Sanderson https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1544550801l/42028213.SY75.jpg 48896020]. Still a lot of vague stuff. The Shades were stuck in the Cognitive Realm as I thought (Cognitive Shadows). No Hoid in this but it was still enjoyable in a scary way.Give me a full novel set on Threnody!Read this as part of [b:Arcanum Unbounded 34226341 Arcanum Unbounded Brandon Sanderson https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1532120976l/34226341.SY75.jpg 48765829].