The Silent Land

A Novel

By: Graham Joyce

Narrated by: John Lee

Award-winning novelist and cult favorite Graham Joyce transports listeners to a mysterious world of isolation and fear with this hypnotically dark story - a daring and powerful novel about love, loss, and rebirth.

In the French Pyrenees, a young married couple is buried under a flash avalanche while skiing. Miraculously, Jake and Zoe dig their way out from under the snow - only to discover the world they knew has been overtaken by an eerie and absolute silence. Their hotel is devoid of another living soul. Cell phones and land lines are cut off. An evacuation as sudden and thorough as this leaves Jake and Zoe to face a terrifying situation alone. They are trapped by the storm, completely isolated, with another catastrophic avalanche threatening to bury them alive… again. And as the couple begins to witness unset­tling events neither can ignore, they are forced to con­front a frightening truth about the silent land they now inhabit.< /p>

The Silent Land is a brilliantly conceived novel that puts a husband and wife in a strange and frightening reality where it would seem they are the last two people on Earth. Together they will face the ultimate test of their love for each other, and they will be forced to decide what their lives are worth - and what they will sacrifice to save each other. Joyce has written a mysteri­ous masterpiece, a tour de force that will thrill fans of Peter Straub and the hit television show Lost.

©2010 Graham Joyce (P)2011 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“[A] gently haunting fantasy thriller.” ( Publishers Weekly)

Interesting story

Story was interesting and right up my alley but I did start to figure things out fairly quickly but not knowing for sure I finished it. I don’t want to give anything away…Not at all saying the ending is bad it’s just not the type of book I usually choose but wouldn’t have known that when starting it.
If you like romance with a little mystery you will certain enjoy it. I did.

Excellent read

What did you love best about The Silent Land?

The surprise ending

What did you like best about this story?

It was just an interesting book, the subject matter was not something you see over and over again, that's nice.

What about John Lee’s performance did you like?

Very good reader

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Two went for a ski, no one else came back.

Any additional comments?

This is a great book, you will love the story, and be shocked by the ending.

A compelling story

It's a great story, and not as predictable as one might think. My only complaint is that the reader makes the characters, particularly the female character, seem vapid. But the story is so good that it's worth it anyway.

It was beautiful

Sometimes a book is good enough that I get mad at it for being so good. This is one of them. Dang book. Made me listen to the whole thing in one sitting and then burst into tears at the end.

If you want something scary and fast, this isn't your book. If you want to be absolutely shocked, look elsewhere. It is unsettling, and there is a twist, so to speak, but it's mostly a story about a couple and what makes a life. There's some beautiful writing here, and the narrator is lovely.

Obligatory NSFW warning: there's scenes of lovemaking that are described in detail, so don't listen to this on a family road trip or work carpool. It's not gross or obscene and it's appropriate to their story, but it is vivid. Great Aunt Maude or Carol from accounting might have a fainting spell over it.

not what I thought

This would have done better as a short story. As a full length, I'll be at short, novel it meanders and includes many scenes that don't seem to connect with the overall story arc. Maybe if the author had concentrated less on multiple sex scenes, and more on the fantasy aspect of the story, it would have done better. I enjoyed it once, but probably won't keep it in my library.