This was really good!! I immediately was interested in the book, setting, and characters. It actually reminded me of The Name of the Wind in feel! As always, I wish there was more! 
 Mini-review as originally posted HERE on The Book Addict's Guide 3/23/16: I think this is one of my favorite Brandon Sanderson novellas to date. (Though I think LEGION is right up there but in a totally different way.) SHADOWS FOR SILENCE IN THE FORESTS OF HELL (whew, that's a long title for a short book) was instantly engaging for me! It took just a minute or two before I figured out who the focus of the novella was (you know me -- I don't re-read synopses before starting a new book) and then once I was there I was totally there. It was a short story but I was instantly captivated. Although it's set firmly in the Cosmere, the characters and setting actually really reminded me of Patrick Rothfuss' THE NAME OF THE WIND -- which I also adore -- and so I think that familiarity (even though totally unrelated) really helped me get a feel for things quickly which is something that I do have issues with sometimes in novellas. 
 The characters, action, and plot were all great! As usual with a short story, I was left wanting so much more world-building and backstory but in the sense that I was interested and invested, not that it was lacking. I felt like I had a nice grip on the concept of what was happening and the characters were interesting and showed a nice depth. 
 I think if you're interested in picking a novella of Sanderson's this is one I'd highly recommend on starting with! The audiobook was also great (and cheap) and it was perfect for a little change of pace between full-length novels.