#Silver Elite

[thebellekeys]

bunch of military-inspired fantasies coming out these days... casual side-effect of fourth wing's popularity or plain ole american military propaganda?

[altocat]

Silver Elite headcanons anything that you think was revealed that Sephiroth never wanted public ever

It's also interesting recalling the official guidebooks have all his personal information just with question marks meanwhile you have hojo basically screwing around with all of Sephiroth's personal information and that is insane to me

Things that have been dumped on Silver Elite:

Sephiroth baby pictures

Babyroth pics post-surgery. Hojo likes to add cute little captions like "Sephiroth had to have a tooth extraction today, ouch!" Or "Uh oh! Sephiroth looks a little sad after his stomach got pumped :)" pretending like it's all standard medical care and not him fucking with Sephiroth's body for fun.

An entire list of foods Sephiroth was caught eating over the course of the week.

On the heels of that, speculation posts on whenever Sephiroth has gained/lost weight.

Pics of Sephiroth while he's asleep.

Pics of Sephiroth at his desk.

Pics of Sephiroth on the battlefield, his expression empty, borderline lethargic.

Sephiroth's gala speeches, awards, and accolades.

A sus picture of a sealed laboratory container, no elaboration.

Sephiroth on the beach at Costa, staring wistfully out at the waves.

An entire lock of Sephiroth's hair.

Awkward photos of Sephiroth during puberty.

Discarded clothes Sephiroth used to wear.

Speculation posts about Sephiroth every time he's around a female coworker. "Is this Sephiroth's newest item????" They are conveniently never good enough to meet Charwoman H's approval.

Recipes on Sephiroth's favorite "snacks" (all distasteful lab-sludge that no one but his most ardent fans would eat).

Nail clippings.

A private note Sephiroth passed to Genesis about where to meet up later.

Fuzzy pics of Sephiroth's apartment.

Nudes (This was retracted IMMEDIATELY by the Shinra executives because even they knew this was pushing things too far. Lazard shut that shit down the second he heard about it. They managed to scrub a great deal from public platforms but the Internet is forever. They're still floating around out there somewhere).

Miscellaneous horrors relating to casual lab visits/medical data.

A bandage Sephiroth supposedly had one his wrist last Tuesday.

Every Miniroth propaganda ad.

Sephiroth's embarrassing cameo on the Stamp TV show.

[merriweather-boat]

I like to think that Sephiroth told the Silver Elite that he uses a bottle of shampoo and a bottle of conditioner on his hair per shower in a fit of pettiness. They harrassed him about it one too many times and he just got fed up and told the most ridiculous lie he could think of, and they believed him. And he commits to the bit. He doubles down in every interview from that moment on. In reality he uses men's 3 in 1 and his hair is just Like That

[widebrimmedhatsblog]

Silver Elite 🛸🛸

Before I started Silver Elite, I knew I wanted to post a review on here for my fellow Fourth Wing enjoyers, since it’s been so heavily marketed to us. I knew I could provide a more nuanced perspective on if it was the right read for us or not. I finished it a few days ago, but I really needed to let my thoughts marinate.

A spoiler-free TL;DR:

1. Silver Elite plagiarizes most of Fourth Wing. The similarities start with the contents of Cross and Wren’s first meeting, but only worsen as the plot progresses.

2. There are other smaller instances of plagiarism from other properties, but most wouldn’t upset me on their own. In concert with the level of theft present throughout the book, however, it’s concerning.

3. The politics of the book are suspect at best, and offensive at worst. The most damning issues are subtle, but I feel the subliminal endorsement of the conservative party standpoint is more dangerous than a blatant endorsement of the party’s values.

Below the cut, I elaborate on all those points (without plot spoilers for more than the first 25% or so). In terms of rating, I couldn’t pick a number. Up to the last 75% of the novel, I was enjoying myself, plagiarism be damned, enough for a high 3 star, even a 4 if I was feeling feisty. Then, the narrative did a series of things I dislike all at once, the pacing got weird, and the characterization got worse. The longer I sat with the story, the more the politics and the blatant theft bothered me. So, since I generally would rate a story of this quality off of enjoyment, I just can’t pick a number. If you’re asking yourself if you should read it, it really depends on the type of person you want to give your money to, and the type of book you want to see more of in stores.

To elaborate further on point one, Wren and Cross meet while sparring. Obviously, there are no parapets being crossed, but the content of the sparring session in terms of prose is alarmingly similar to Rebecca’s style. Then, you quickly learn that the MMC’s father is responsible for the execution of the FMC’s father-figure, and that the only way the FMC can redeem herself for her father-figures crimes is to enlist in the most elite subset of their military. At this point, I was committed to calling Wren “she-Xaden” for the rest of the read, but the gender bending ends there. I took notes on this for the buddy read with @maethologies and @softodettes and I pretty much say “okay Rebecca can sue” once every 5 chapters. As the plot progresses, you have direct copies of gauntlet practice, threshing, Jack Barlowe dying, Xaden and Garrick sparring, and the reunification day party, to name a few. This doesn’t even account for the lines lifted from Rebecca, or the copying of her more unique stylistic choices. Cross speaks like Xaden, generally, while occupying a position similar to Xaden’s and looking like Xaden. It’s a little too similar for me.

The things Francis steals from other franchises are much more innocuous. There are copies of the Hunger Games mutts, and a character with the last name Granger who says almost a perfect copy of one of Draco Malfoy’s better known lines (“I’m going to tell my father about this!”). If these were the only similarities with other texts in this novel, I wouldn’t care. But, in concert with the abundance of similarities to Rebecca’s work, it feels alarming.

A common critique I saw a of the text before reading was that Silver Elite was a book meant for liberal girls with republican boyfriends. Sadly, I saw this after I had placed my (non-refundable) order, or I may have changed my mind. I will say, that specific comment paints a much less nuanced picture than I think is truly the case with Silver Elite. The conclusion my friends and I came to as a team is that Dani Francis (whoever she is) has the republican boyfriend, not Wren. Cross defies the constructs set by his father (allegorical Lilith) (though not right away, and not until he has already said something pretty disgusting about the death penalty, which Wren just lets slide), but he does so in such a way that it’s clear Francis is a centrist at the very least, if not farther right. Specifically, she seems to be anti-ACAB, and that seems to be the crux of Cross’s story. Further, she’s entirely unwilling to acknowledge that any problems are systemic in origin. Most of this shows up in what Wren chooses to think about, and what she doesn’t. The way the text chooses to treat women is also interesting. Cross calls Wren a whore and a bitch on page, and nothing is ever said about it by Wren.

Further, the text had a complete inability to interrogate the state it created. Wren’s world (a country I’m not sure is ever named? On a continent that also goes unnamed?) seems to be based loosely on communist China. The state owns 51% of every business, jobs are assigned by the government, and a small, elite capitalist class is allowed to accumulate wealth (and, consequently, signs of wealth like make up and hair products) by virtue of their closeness to the general, while accumulating wealth is frowned upon for everyone else. When I first saw critiques that, for example, this book was written by Trump, for Trump, I assumed the communism presented would be critiqued. But, it’s never even addressed. The only travesty of the state acknowledged is that they suppress magic use, but the only alternative rule presented is the Uprising (capitalization required) which is demonstrably just as bad. The refusal to interrogate the system of governance as a problem at all is super concerning in this day and age. Further, while there’s merit to stories that present the flaws of revolutionary factions (Mockingjay, for example) something about the way Dani Francis does it feels sus. @maethologies and I referred to it as a conservative dog whistle. I saw reviews before reading that said this book was like if Katniss dated a peacekeeper, but that’s not explicitly true. It’s like if Katniss dated a peacekeeper who “wasn’t that bad”. I think that caveat is the key problem that says the most about the novel’s message.

This segues nicely to my critique that didn’t make the TL;DR.

1. Wren is really stupid. There’s a phenomenon in romantasy (generally perpetrated by authors struggling to find their sea legs) wherein the heroine is what I like to call stupid for the plot. The FMC will do things that seem stupid, and it’s clear that the author made her do them so that a load-baring scene could happen. Wren does do things that are this particular type of stupid, but she does it in a way that is so much worse than anything I have read before, I genuinely don’t know how to articulate it. For context, I almost never lament FMCs being stupid in the books I read. I have a pretty high tolerance for plot convenience, especially in this type of book. But Wren takes it one step further in this book by pretending to be stupid in her classes, and then whinging about no one taking her seriously. This felt like such a bad call in a genre where your readers are predominantly women who consider themselves to be intelligent.

Now, the real issue with all of the above is that, despite it all, there were still moments I had fun. Before the last quarter of the book, Cross has some capital M Moments that got me going. He read to me like if Xaden was meaner. A lot of people have said the world building doesn’t feel plausible. This isn’t really a gripe I had, although I thought her choice of names was really odd, and that often took me out of the story. The real issue is that Francis is either ignorant or a conservative. The topics presented within Silver Elite all have merit, and in the hands of a better author could be much more impactful. Unfortunately, they were mishandled here.

I feel like I have more to say, but after this yap-athon, I can’t fully remember! If any of you have read Silver Elite, I’d love to discuss what you thought! And if you have any questions, feel free to ask :)

[yibeimolihuacha]

You talk about Silver Elite, but all I can imagine is silvercops from Solar Opposites

[clldcosas]

Didn’t crack a new book open til last week. Spent the last two months on AO3 and a buddy reread of fourth wing 🖤💛

Finished Silver Elite by Dani Francis ⭐️⭐️⭐️

[meltotheany]

Goodreads | Amazon US | B&N | Blackwell’s | Bookshop okay, another long preface before i talk about this book, because i promise you that i went into this hoping i’d love it alongside so many readers! i love reading hyped books, especially ones that can evoke nostalgia for the books i grew up reading, and i extra love loving these stories alongside the book community. (example: fourth wing!) i also think that people are being extra weird with romantasy readers and reviewers in 2025, acting like it is somehow “lesser” reading, and i never want people to think that is something i believe – because i very much do not! and lastly, i truly went into this with the best expectations at heart, reading it alongside a few of my very best friends, hoping that we all would love it as much as so many other prereviewers had! But sadly, this really and truly is the worst book i’ve read all year. also, one very quick side note: with all the white dystopian comparisons going around – the concept also reminded me of the gods below (the hollow covenant, #1) by andrea stewart! which i really loved last year and highly recommend if this story didn’t work for you, but you like the world and the set up!) the very basic premise of silver elite is that this is a dystopian future of what i believe used to be earth, and many years ago a biotoxin killed most of the population, yet two different groups of people survived. the primes, who were just immune to the biotoxin. and then the modified, who were enhanced by the biotoxin and now have telepathic mind powers that very much differ in range and intensity. and our main character, wren, was given to a man to keep her safe when she was only five years old, because her parents could already tell that her powers were so strong, and because the primes want to control or kill all the modified people. also in this world, people who have these mind abilities normally show when they are using them by their veins appearing silver, but our main character is so powerful this doesn’t happen to her. therefore, after some very traumatic events, she is forced to leave her world of hiding and join a training center to maybe graduate and become a silver elite for the very empire who has ruined her life in every capacity. the truth of my hating this book is that wren is too stupid to actually live. i understand she is twenty, i understand people are just attracted to other people sometimes without rhyme or reason, and i understand that humans are allowed to make mistakes. but the amount of mistakes she made… i mean, i am hard pressed to think of a good choice she made the entire book. from trusting the people you have known for your entire existence want you dead, and who constantly show you they want your people dead. to constantly flip flopping and ultimately betraying your own people because you have a romance with someone who isn’t “as bad” as the rest of the people who want your kind dead. to not communicating well with any side and having it hurt your “friends” constantly. wren is truly the most insufferable character i’ve read in years. please use caution while reading this paragraph – i will be talking about a side character with spoilers for this book! there are obviously a lot of things that i did not like about this book but the thing that just made me feel really disgusted was how the character tana was treated. to have your character who is described to have “dark skin” be raped and then sent to a labor camp with her father, while having us believe that this is the best outcome the mc can do for her best friend… is beyond words disgusting. and then to have it never really brought up again, and to have the mc still trusting people who are complacent in a system that allowed this to happen to her best friend? i just can’t. i’m not saying she won’t save her friend in later books (i think this is somehow going to be a six book series), i’m not saying this wasn’t described as horrific while happening (it for sure was), but it ultimately was the re...

[plasticfangtastic]

I cant for the life of me.listen to a podcast but i can listen to some random girl yelling on a mic for 45 min to 2 hrs about a book i will never read but whose drama i want context for.

[snowbanshee]

[the-knifeketeer]

Alright, you know that pseudo-dystopia Silver Elite? This is the plot! Basically, mean totalitarian govt. hates girl for being extra-special- specifically, being genetically engineered to be special. Pretty damn Objectivist for an "apolitical" escapist product.

IN THIS HOUSE, GENETIC ENGINEERING IS A METAPHOR FOR CLASSISM AND/OR THE HOPES AND EXPECTATIONS OF A PARENT!

I’m always amazed by YA fictions ability to evoke fascist imagery for their villains to signify they are the baddies while maintaining the most fascist eugenicist politics as the entire thesis of the plot the entire time

[sthenoaloraquest]

I finished Silver Elite... if you're looking for a weird time, this would be it 🙃. Silver Elite starts out as a pretty good story. I like the main character, the side characters, and the world building for the most part. Around character 20 is where the writing gets weird and frustrating. The fantasy portion is good, but the romance needs a lot of work! The mmc and mfc have no chemistry at all. The mmc is irks me the whoolleee way threw. I dont like him. Ao3 and Wattpad stories have more chemistry than whatever this couple was. I was rooting for the side character Kaine to end up being the love interest, but to my dismay, that's not what happened. Kaine did carry the book on his back, the poor guy. The last chapter has me slightly interested in book two. I won't be going out of my way to get book two, but if my in-person book club wanted to read it, then I would.

[altocat]

Why does Hojo leak things to the fan club? Would he ever do it as punishment?

He does it mostly as a power flex. Hojo receives a special high whenever he gets to bask in his son's glory. Or anything in relation to Sephiroth in general. He owns his son. He MADE him. Every tiny particle of Sephiroth's identity belongs to him. And he'll happily flaunt it for all to see, even if they don't know that he's the one behind it. It serves a useful role in boosting Sephiroth's fame and popularity, too. More fans and followers means a more secure future for Shinra's finest soldier. Shinra gets free publicity. Hojo gets to wallow in narc euphoria. Fans get to pretend they have a more personal relationship with their idol. Everyone (except for Sephiroth) gets what they want.

Hojo WILL use it as a punishment though. And has many times before. So much so that it eventually stops being effective as Sephiroth has become too miserably checked out to care. Hojo will just have to think of something else. Which is TWICE as fun, in his opinion. There's always room for new forms of punishment when it comes to his most precious specimen...

[silentlyscreamingatyou]

Just finished “Silver Elite”. It’s decent, but I had deja vu several times, feeling like I’ve read it before. There was one scene that I had to go back and read again because I KNOW I’ve read it before.

I know Dani Francis is just a pen name, so I’m wondering if the author did fan fiction or something to crowdsource.

It’s a no-thought-required good time! I’ll definitely read the next book.

[razreads]

Maybe we can’t change the fundamental trajectory of our lives, but we can adjust the details along the way. It’s like navigating an ocean current. We can’t change its course, but we can choose which path to take as we flow along with it.

Dani Francis, Silver Elite

[rovanlee]

Silver Elite/ Shield of Sparrows

Silver Elite 2/5. Did not enjoy, very bland, very predictable. Very little originality.

Shield of Sparrows....solid 4/5. there were a few things I found very predictable, but some twists and turns I didn't see coming. I did find it enjoyable enough that I'll read the second book. Didn't care for the romance that much but thats okay. I did enjoy the monsters and the mystery. Some parts reminded me of Bridge Kingdom, not in a blantant copy sort of way, but enough I noticed. That and me and the fmc have the same name, which was a first that made me laugh.