The Silent Deal by Levi Stack

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

The Silent Deal by Levi Stack

Publication Date: May 2, 2013
Pages: 358
Source: by author in exchange for an honest review
Buy It: Amazon | The Book Depository
When Viktor and Romulus, two peasant boys, dig too deep into their town’s strange past, they awaken the wrath of a mysterious overlord. As the blood brothers struggle to survive, their search for answers takes them through gambling parlors, bare-knuckle boxing matches, and dark forests full of wild animals and men alike. But even with the help of their friends, can they escape the deathly experiments their foe is creating in Staryi Castle?
Enter the bold lands of the Russian Empire where the colorful characters of The Card Game dwell, from the fortune-tellers and fire-jugglers of the Romani Gypsies, to the dangerous criminals that make up the Thieves World, the predecessor of the Russian Mafia.
An explosive mixture of adventure and mystery, The Silent Deal is a young adult novel that will rip readers through the pages. A perilous journey awaits… --Goodreads
A young miner’s son, Viktor, befriends the boy of the forest, Romulus.  Together, they discover the history behind their town’s odd laws.  What started out as a harmless curiosity to learn more turns into a fight for their lives.

If I were going to judge this book on its cover, I would have never picked it up.  However, the summary on the back had me itching to know more.  After reading The Silent Deal, the cover is spot on with the story.  Whereas the cover is just okay, the story is phenomenal.

The main characters of the tale are Viktor and Romulus.  Romulus is the more level-headed one and keeps the story rolling with his dialogue.  Viktor has to be my favorite.  I just have a thing about character development and throughout the whole book, I was rooting for Viktor.  Readers can tell that he continued to become smarter as the book went on.  The Silent Deal holds a unique and compelling cast of characters that readers will never tire of reading more about. 

A little story about how great this book is: I went on vacation last week and forgot The Silent Deal.  I was in the middle of the book, right before readers really get into the world of Cards.  I was so mad at myself that I forgot it at home that instead of joining in on some of the family activities, I would just sunbathe and think about how these two boys, Viktor and Romulus are going to get the Silent Deal.  How are they going to figure this one out?  I was on vacation for five days.  And when I returned home, I just had to face the facts: these two boys are smarter than I am.  They figured things out in the matter of a few chapters and I hadn’t even figured much of anything in the five days I was gone. 

It just shows how entertaining this book is.  It stole my mind for a good week, and I think it’s time to reread it just so The Silent Deal can capture my mind again.  Levi Stack knows how to write an incredible plot- twists and turns and crazy things that just keep coming at you until the very end. 

The epilogue hits you, but it’s not a cliffhanger.  Well, it didn’t seem like one to me.  However, I read it at least four times.  It’s one of those endings that readings can’t let go—there has to be more to it.  Don’t worry, there is a sequel. 

The Silent Deal by Levi Stack grabs readers of all ages and takes them on a wild ride through the Russian Empire.  The novel is fantastic, a wonderful tale which makes readers think because Stack writes in such a way that no one ever knows what will happen next.






Rated PG-13 for violence.

Cover: 3
Characters: 4
Plot: 5
Writing Style: 4
Ending: 5

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