“Some will live. Some will die. And then it will get even worse. ” Silver by Chris Wooding is an astonishing thriller with twists and turns on practically every page. It is by far one of those books that you CAN NOT put down. What makes Silver such an incredible story is the characters. Chris Wooding does a stupendous job displaying the archetypes clearly in his book which makes the book worth reading. The characters alter the outcomes of the situations so differently because of their archetypes which makes the story a fresh and original read.
Three examples of characters with clear archetypes are Erika, he damsel in distress, Adam, the bully and The Infected, whom are all the vampire archetype. First off, Erika clearly is the damsel in distress in Silver. Erika is “perfect”. She has the perfect face, perfect grades, all the girls want to be her and nearly all the boys at Mordingham Boarding Academy are drooling over her. You would think that Erika would be happy constantly getting showered in affection and being the center of attention 24/7, however, this isn’t the truth.. “All her life she’d wanted people to see past her face.
She wanted people to life her for ho she was, instead of feeling jealous or using her as a route to the in-crowd”. (109) Erika wants to help, and prove that she is brains over brawn. There is only one problem. Whenever Erika tries to help out or tries to act different, she always ends up in some form of trouble. In one occasion, Erika tries to help Paul and Caitlyn board up the windows to keep The Infected out. Instead of saving everyone inside, Erika turns into the one who needs to be saved, the damsel in distress. “Suddenly everyone was yelling and screaming at once. Paul! ‘ Erika shrieked ‘Paul, et it off me! The thing beyond the window screeched as Paul tried to drag Erika away from it”. (94) From this point forward in the story, no matter how hard Erika tries to be someone else, she always ends up being the helpless, weak and naive damsel. Poor Erika will probably never be seen as a hero if she can’t save without having to be saved. Because Erika is always in trouble, she alters the outcomes of different events in the story. She causes lots of time loss and close calls because she has to be saved.
Overall, without Erika, the damsel in distress, the story ould have had many different outcomes and it wouldn’t have as many nail biting close calls as it does. Another character that clearly shows their archetype is Adam. Adam is a stomping intimidating giant who everyone has learned to fear. “Adam glared at him, fists bunched , his thuggish voice screwed up in a fighting scowl. He was bigger than Paul, and more thickly built, but there was no retreat now. Fight! Fight! Fight! “. (1-2) Adam was always the one to start a fight or create tension. He is quick tempered, disrespectful at times, and rebellious.
Adam couldn’t fit the bully archetype better. Though Adam seems like pure evil, there is something that everyone doesn’t know, Adam is a coward. “Adam found nothing strange in threatening while retreating. He’d had dozens of fights with boys who were much bigger and stronger than he was, but he’s avoided just as many. Acting scared or meek was the worst thing to do. So you made yourself dangerous, and you backed off, and you left with your hide and your pride”. (150) Adam’s greatest fear is losing his pride. He wants to be seen as a fearless “leader”.
His way of protecting his pride and staying on top of the heap, was by ntimidating everyone with his size and attitude. Adam claims that there are things that he is deathly scared of, such as speaking at a school assembly or talking to the girl he likes, but when it comes to fighting, there is a different effect than fear. “Then his fear got muddled up with his anger. He didn’t feel scared in a fight. He was like a concerned animal instead. The more afraid he should have been, the more angry he got”. (151) Adam uses this strategy to look even more intimidating, hide his fear and keep his pride high.
Just like Erika, Adam also drastically ffects the outcomes in certain situations in the story as welI. someone Adam is able to hide his fear which keeps the others calm in the terrifying uncertain situations against The Infected. In addition to this, Adam also uses his anger and strength in a positive way by fighting off The Infected and protecting his classmates. As a whole, without Adam, the bully, nobody would be there to keep everyone in line (even if he does keep them in line in a not so positive way), and nobody would have enough anger and strength to overcome fear to fight off The Infected.
A final set of characters that display their archetype very clearly is The Infected. The Infected are the vampire archetype. The Infected weren’t always “The Infected”. They started off as a majority of the staff and students at Mortingham Boarding Academy. All were humans, normal kind humans who would never hurt a fly. All this changed once a raging infection spread across school grounds. It all started with the bite of a bizarre silver beetle, then one by one the students and staff were turned into mechanical monsters.
Flesh turned into shiny silver metal, while uscle, tendons and bones turned into wires and metal rods. This isn’t even the worst part of it all believe it or not. The infection was invented by scientists to help destroy countries whom they are at war with. The scientists mixed the rabies disease with nanobots to get a horrifying disease that could wipe out an entire country. Once infected, an individual would initially slaughter all living things until all were transformed into bloodthirsty machines. The Infected aren’t driven by power nor money. They are driven by instinct. Instinct to kill and rid of the human race.
Humans who were once normal innocent beings, turned into cannibals. Turned into a new type of being. Creating an evil existence. soulless.. No empathy what so ever. “Mr. Harrison was on top of Nurse Wan, who was thrashing wildly beneath him. He had his head bent down close to her throat. Then there was a wet tearing sound and Mr. Harrison’s head came up, and Nurse Wan went suddenly ridgid. Mr. Harrison’s mouth and chin were red with blood; a flap of muscle and skin hung from his teeth; his face twisted in a snarl of animal savagery”. (74) In Silver, The Infected cause the main problem.
The remaining students and staff are trying to escape the savage beasts lurking outside the academy walls, however it’s nearly impossible to get away. The Infected already have the advantage being machines. They are faster and harder to be destroyed. Not to mention that they are evolving by the second. Growing smarter, faster, and stronger/bigger. In the end, without The Infected, there wouldn’t be a story here. Everything would be normal. Everyone at Mortingham Academy would have been safe and sound. In conclusion, Silver by Chris Wooding is a nail biter that everyone should read, young or old.
With its many twists and turns, Silver is a unique thriller that no other author can ever recreate. However, without the characters who distinctly reveal their archetypes, the book wouldn’t have been the same. Without The Infected-the vampires, Adam-the bully or Erika-the damsel in distress, the book would have had many different more dull outcomes. The book wouldn’t have the exciting unexpected results in certain situations. It would be just another thriller. Without these characters Chris Wooding wouldn’t be able to say “Some will die. Some will live. And then it will get even worse. “
