Title:

Island of Whispers

Author:

Frances Hardinge

Category:

Science Fiction / Fantasy

Rating:

Date Reviewed:

September 28, 2024
am a big fan of Hardinge's books. She has a talent for creating inventive fantasy worlds and populating them with young protagonists. Island of Whispers is her latest (copyright 2023) book. It is a much shorter story than Hardinge's usual novels, just 107 pages, and much of those pages are filled with artwork. The art is by Emily Gravett, and it is all done in black, white and shades of indigo blue. Island of Whispers is not a novel, it can be read in just one sitting. I think the brevity of the tale prevented Hardinge from expanding on an interesting world, and limited the character development - the book focuses on just the main character, fourteen year old Milo. I was intrigued by what I read and wanted a lot more of the story; I am disappointed that it ended so quickly. (I just finished a re-read of The Phantom Tollbooth, and that book also features a young protagonist named Milo. Coincidence!)

Milo's dad is the ferryman for the dead. When someone on the island dies, a relative brings the dead person's shoes to the ferryman. The dead are compelled to follow their shoes. The ferryman collects the shoes and sails his ship, the Evening Mare, to the Island of the Broken Tower. When the shoes are placed upon the shore, the ghosts of the dead will disembark and walk to the tower. When they ascend the spiral steps of the tower, they are released from life.

It is important to not look at the ghosts of the dead, lest your own spirit be dragged into their grey world. Milo's father is dispassionate and calm, as is Milo's older brother, Leif. But Milo is empathetic and curious, so it is dangerous for him to be near the ghosts. It is clear that it will be Leif who becomes the new ferryman whenever the fateful day comes that his father perishes because Milo cannot seem to control his curiosity.

At the beginning of the story, the tear-stained wife of the lord of the island arrives at the ferryman's door. She is carrying a pair of blue shoes. The princess Gabrielle has died, and now must be escorted to the next stage. The ferryman gravely promises to carry out his responsibilities. But before the ferryman can gather up the shoes and depart, the lord himself arrives with four armed men. The lord demands that his daughter's shoes be returned to him, for he has employed magicians that can bring her back - Gabrielle is merely ill. The ferryman refuses; he knows her ghost is already at hand. A violent altercation ensues, and the ferryman is murdered. Leif, who stood next to his father, is captured by the guards and tied up - Milo witnesses all of this in horror from his window. The lord demands that Leif returns his daughter's shoes. Leif reluctantly agrees - and promptly leads the lord and his men off in the wrong direction.

Milo realizes what he must do. The lord will soon see that Leif has mislead him and will return to the house for the shoes. Milo must take Gabrielle's shoes himself and sail the Evening Mare to the Island of the Broken Tower, even though he has never been there before. Milo collects the shoes, including the shoes of his dead father, and sprints down the secret path to the cove where he will depart.

Milo barely makes it to the hidden dock where the Evening Mare is berthed. He casts off, but the lord has a ship also, and sailing with him are two powerful magicians - Indigo and White. Can Milo successfully sail to the Island of the Broken Tower? The ghosts of the restless dead sail with him, and Milo knows that he must not look directly at them, that he must resist their attempts to communicate with him. Yet Gabrielle seems to insist that there is something important that she must tell him.

I wish that Hardinge had expanded on this story. It seems to be a new take on the idea of Charon ferrying souls across the river Styx to Hades. The lord, his magicians, Milo's father and brother - all could have been better appreciated with more background. There are still other Hardinge novels that I have not yet read, I should see what else our library carries.