Silver Elite: Chapter 54-55
Nov. 30th, 2025 12:26 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
penwallaThe penultimate chapter.
Wren and Xavier are walking through the Blacklands, and Wren is constantly correcting Xavier because she is the expert on the Blacklands as the only person to go in there and not die, ever.
Wren navigates by sound, which is cool in the bits we get and I wish got more focus in this scene. Instead it's just Xavier telling Wren how in love Cross is with her. Do we really need this? Is this really an important thing to waste word count on, now, when the book is almost over?
The answer is no.
If no one has ever lived in the Blacklands, how did Jim know so much about it? How did he and Wren become experts at all the poisonous plants and animals? How do they all have proper names if no one ever goes in the Blacklands?
They reach Wren's childhood home, which is a hut in a small meadow with sunlight. Wren rummages around, nostalgic, and finds a letter from Jim waiting for her. Once Xavier goes to bed, she reads it.
Naturally, Wren conceals the content of the letter from us, in this present tense first person novel where there really is no excuse. I assume Jim is revealing the evil doings of the Uprising to her, or he's telling her who her parents really were.
All right. We're finally here. The final chapter. Let's go.
It takes Wren and Xavier two days to reach the other side of the Blacklands. By the end of the trip, Wren and Xavier have bonded. She links with Adrienne, tells her where they are, and Adrienne directs her to the closest landing site for a helicopter.
And then Wren realizes she hasn't told Adrienne she brought a Silver Elite soldier with her for no reason. With no thought about how dangerous that was for the Uprising. Our protagonist, everyone, remember when she told us she was intelligent and strategic?
Xavier insists he has to come with Wren, because he promised Cross and his loyalty to Cross overrides his sense of self-preservation.
The Uprising lands, and...
Kaine was alive and in the Uprising all along! Unfortunately, the happy reunion is interrupted when Xavier tries to attack Kaine, since Tyler still died during the attack. Xavier gets taken prisoner, because of course he does, that was obviously what was going to happen. It's wild to me how in this book we're supposed to hate the Uprising for being too pragmatic and laud these idiot characters who never think through their decisions because they're supposedly motivated by the right feelings.
Turns out Kaine is the hotshot pilot of the Uprising, Grayson Blake. And Ellis, the healer who fixed Wren's bloodmark, is also one of them, which is why he didn't out Wren.
Wren is mad that Kaine didn't tell her the truth, which is wild because WHY WOULD HE, and also Wren lied to him, and also when Cross turned out to be Wolf Wren wasn't mad, she was elated.
Kaine tells Wren Xavier has committed other crimes, and she should know this, because she met Xavier when he was literally helping Cross interrogate her in military prison.
Remember: Xavier helped Wren, so now he's good, even if he did some Mod murder in the past. That's how this book works.
Wren reluctantly goes with Xavier. By all rights, having brought a Command officer with her, Wren should also be going to prison with Xavier. Or at least be facing some hard questions. But no, she links with Cross, tells him she is safe, and gets into the helicopter with Kaine.
Chapter end. And now, we finally get to read this letter from Jim.
Okay, so I was wrong and I am pleasantly surprised to find this book doesn't explicitly end with Wren betraying the Uprising. It just ends, with nothing resolved, so that you have to buy the sequel.
God, what a waste of time.
This book is terrible.
Full review and Broken Dove (yes, that's the sequel) predictions to come.
Wren and Xavier are walking through the Blacklands, and Wren is constantly correcting Xavier because she is the expert on the Blacklands as the only person to go in there and not die, ever.
Wren navigates by sound, which is cool in the bits we get and I wish got more focus in this scene. Instead it's just Xavier telling Wren how in love Cross is with her. Do we really need this? Is this really an important thing to waste word count on, now, when the book is almost over?
The answer is no.
If no one has ever lived in the Blacklands, how did Jim know so much about it? How did he and Wren become experts at all the poisonous plants and animals? How do they all have proper names if no one ever goes in the Blacklands?
They reach Wren's childhood home, which is a hut in a small meadow with sunlight. Wren rummages around, nostalgic, and finds a letter from Jim waiting for her. Once Xavier goes to bed, she reads it.
The more I read, the weaker my pulse gets. I draw another deep breath, but the oxygen barely reaches my lungs. My mind stumbles over the words. I’m forced to read it a second time in order to make sure I’m seeing it properly.
Naturally, Wren conceals the content of the letter from us, in this present tense first person novel where there really is no excuse. I assume Jim is revealing the evil doings of the Uprising to her, or he's telling her who her parents really were.
All right. We're finally here. The final chapter. Let's go.
It takes Wren and Xavier two days to reach the other side of the Blacklands. By the end of the trip, Wren and Xavier have bonded. She links with Adrienne, tells her where they are, and Adrienne directs her to the closest landing site for a helicopter.
And then Wren realizes she hasn't told Adrienne she brought a Silver Elite soldier with her for no reason. With no thought about how dangerous that was for the Uprising. Our protagonist, everyone, remember when she told us she was intelligent and strategic?
Xavier insists he has to come with Wren, because he promised Cross and his loyalty to Cross overrides his sense of self-preservation.
The Uprising lands, and...
The pilot’s sheepish eyes collide with mine as he strides toward us. His hair looks bright in the morning sun. He rakes a hand through it, then lets his arm drop to his side.
We stare at each other for a moment. The corner of his mouth lifts in a crooked smile.
A thousand thoughts clamor for my attention, but amid the chaos of my mind, one thought rises above the rest.
“You fucking asshole!”
I lunge toward him and, with an angry roar, slam my fist into his jaw.
“What the hell, cowgirl?” Kaine rears back in shock, rubbing his chin.
Kaine was alive and in the Uprising all along! Unfortunately, the happy reunion is interrupted when Xavier tries to attack Kaine, since Tyler still died during the attack. Xavier gets taken prisoner, because of course he does, that was obviously what was going to happen. It's wild to me how in this book we're supposed to hate the Uprising for being too pragmatic and laud these idiot characters who never think through their decisions because they're supposedly motivated by the right feelings.
Turns out Kaine is the hotshot pilot of the Uprising, Grayson Blake. And Ellis, the healer who fixed Wren's bloodmark, is also one of them, which is why he didn't out Wren.
Wren is mad that Kaine didn't tell her the truth, which is wild because WHY WOULD HE, and also Wren lied to him, and also when Cross turned out to be Wolf Wren wasn't mad, she was elated.
“We really do need to go now. We’re too close to the Blacklands to stand out here all day. But before we go, I need you to ask yourself if you’re ready for a war, Wren, because that’s what you’re signing up for by coming here. The bombing of the Command base was just the beginning. The Uprising is coming for the Company.”
I bite my lip. “Even if I didn’t want that, you’ve left me no choice.” I gesture to the helicopter. “Xavier helped me. I’m not just going to let him rot in some Uprising prison. Or worse, let him be killed when his only crime was risking his life for me.”
Kaine tells Wren Xavier has committed other crimes, and she should know this, because she met Xavier when he was literally helping Cross interrogate her in military prison.
Remember: Xavier helped Wren, so now he's good, even if he did some Mod murder in the past. That's how this book works.
Wren reluctantly goes with Xavier. By all rights, having brought a Command officer with her, Wren should also be going to prison with Xavier. Or at least be facing some hard questions. But no, she links with Cross, tells him she is safe, and gets into the helicopter with Kaine.
Chapter end. And now, we finally get to read this letter from Jim.
Your name is Stella Hess.So it turns out Wren's parents coordinated a bombing that killed a lot of Mods, and that's why Jim never told her anything about them while he was alive. This is backstory that frankly would have made the book much more interesting if we had gotten it earlier. But that goes for pretty much everything that happens in the last six chapters of this book.
Your mother’s name was Marina Serrano. She was executed for concealing her Modified identity from the Company. I loved her deeply, despite what she was.
Your father’s name was Jake Hess. He died in the Sun Post attack, a Modified retaliation to the bombing of Valterra Ridge.
The bombing your parents coordinated.
To the Uprising, your parents are known as the Tin Block Traitors.
Okay, so I was wrong and I am pleasantly surprised to find this book doesn't explicitly end with Wren betraying the Uprising. It just ends, with nothing resolved, so that you have to buy the sequel.
God, what a waste of time.
This book is terrible.
Full review and Broken Dove (yes, that's the sequel) predictions to come.
