In honor of Anne Bishop's latest release, Shalador's Lady, I've decided to post something different than my normal review. I will say that Shalador's Lady is as close to a perfect read for me and may possibly be one of my favorite books set in the Territory of Dena Neheleher, known as the world of the Black Jewels.
It was a year ago where I finally decided to read Anne Bishop's Black Jewel Trilogy books and now count myself as one of her biggest fans. The highest regard I can give an author is when I call their books crack, as in, I'm a complete crack addict to their work and will move heaven and earth to get my hands on their next book. There are only a few authors I call my crack authors. J.R.Ward, Nalini Singh, J.D. Robb and Meljean Brook are only a few of these authors I have given the crack label to.
It's always wonderful when others understand your need and "fan girl" way about certain authors and their books. One such Bishop "fan girl/crack lover" is Bree, the second half of Moira Rogers, the well known Urban Fantasy author duo who loves the Bishop crack like I do. I asked for her thoughts about Anne Bishop and her books, as well as Shaldor's Lady, which she was able to read before the release date because of a certain redheaded book fairy ;)
Anne Bishop & Me: A Fangirl Love Story
Let me take you back in time. The year? 1999. The place? The University of Minnesota. Our heroine is a nineteen year old geek who has just realized she doesn't belong in business school, and is trying to figure out how in hell she's going to tell her parents that the cushy full-ride scholarship footing the bill might disappear once she switches majors.
(It will be eight years, three colleges and five majors before she gets a degree in Computer Science, after which she'll randomly start writing romance novels, but that's getting ahead of the story...)
Our hapless heroine heads to the one place she knows life is always good: the little comic book store down the street. There, amongst the stacks of Sci-Fi and Fantasy books, she finds two little paperbacks snuggled together by an author she'd recently heard a friend mention.
Daughter of the Blood and Heir to Shadows went home with her that day, and our hapless geek heroine became a Bishop fangirl. She never, ever looked back.
I can't possibly write an objective review of an Anne Bishop book because there's nothing objective about the way I read them. Those of you who have swallowed the Kool-Aid know what I'm talking about. Next week, next month...sometime in some distant future maybe you can acknowledge that the names are a little bit silly and the bad guys are comically bad, but none of that matters when you open an Black Jewels book because the pages are crack-laced magic.
Over the years I have purchased every subsequent book on release day. There are ones I enjoy more than others, but I never put a Bishop book down disappointed. Her prose is effortless. Comfortable. Her characters are strong and flawed, dark and dangerous and always my most favorite companions for when I've had a bad day and need to disappear into a magical world where the good guys can be bad, the bad guys are flat-out evil, and everyone gets what they deserve.
Shalador's Lady is no different. The magic is still there, maybe even stronger than in the previous book. Shalador's Lady continues (finishes?) the story of Lady Cassidy, a plain-spoken, plain-lookin' Queen who lacks the incredible magical power present in many of the important characters of the past. More than anything, the past two books have been the story of a quiet young woman blooming not just in spite of adversity, but because of it.
The Invisible Ring is one of my favorite Bishop titles, and is one of her most traditional romances, in my opinion. Together with The Shadow Queen and Shalador's Lady I think you have a very nice trilogy of sorts, the death of a land and its rebirth, painted across the lives of those who loved and lost and were broken and finally became whole.
You should buy these books. You should buy all of her books. You should buy multiple copies and read them until they fall to pieces. Okay, maybe not, but that's what I do, and I'm not ashamed to admit it!
My name is Bree, and I'm addicted to Anne Bishop.
You should be too.
KB: Raise your hand if you're an Anne Bishop fan girl! For those who haven't read Anne Bishop, please do. Her books are a wonderful world with characters that haunt you, where you will be aching for the next book.
23 comments:
That about sums it up. I a huge Anne Bishop fan girl, even though I know the Mary Sue ranking of Jaenelle is about as high as you can get. However I love her Tir Alainne (?) series even more because the characters are more balanced.
I am beyond silly for Jaenelle and Daemon! And after reading SL, I am dying for a Kindred. Those pups are too cute for words.
A friend of mine bought the Black Jewels for me as a birthday present the year before last. I was instantly addicted.
Daemon is a darkly delicious character. I won't get into it here (spoiler you know) but one particular moment in those books stuck with me. I think it always will.
Then there's Lucivar. I was so glad he got his own story, if not his own book. I think he spawned my love of "membranous wings."
I've read the Bishop/Sunny arguments and don’t want to drag that up here. Both series are enjoyable. It’s just that one is clearly superior. ;)
Oh, I am so a fangirl! *raises flag* Bishop's books are among the most cherished on my shelves, and I go back to them again and again. Love the family dynamics, especially between the triumvirate: Saetan/Lucivar/Daemon. I could read certain scenes those three share every single day and be completely happy. I absolutely canNOT wait for SHALADOR'S LADY (because Gray is totally stealing into my heart, too, and I love how Cassidy isn't a typical Queen. Such good stuff.)
Absolutely beautiful.
I am so a fangirl!! Can't wait for Shalador's Lady to finally get here!!
LOVE Anne Bishop. My fave's Sebastien--that was the first novel by her I read.
I love Anne Bishop. The Black Jewels are her best though. I admit, I stopped reading her after Sebastian--it just didn't live up to the AB standard I'd been enjoying for so many years. That being said, I will be purchasing up the rest of the books for the black jewels and getting all my crack reading done at once. I need a good fantasy.
I know this will come as a huge surprise to you, KB, but I am a card-carrying member of the Anne Bishop fan club!
Whoa, my crack likes my other crack. O.O
It's recursive crack! The circle of crack!
Either way, they're good books. :D
*raises hand*
I adore Anne Bishop. I reread The Shadow Queen this past week in preparation for Shalador's Lady, which I'm having smuggled into the country BECAUSE STUPID AUSTRALIAN PROTECTIONIST LAWS MEAN THAT IT WON'T BE OFFICIALLY RELEASED HERE UNTIL APRIL SOMETIME. DAMN YOU, GOVERNMENT!!
*ahem*
I think I'll be going now...
I can't say I'm an ANNE BISHOP addict, but I'm a Black Jewels addict, for sure. I love that series!! I think it's great how it's fantasy, and yet there are "modern world" touches. And I really appreciate the way she handles isses of gender and sexuality. For instance, Karla and Ranier are gay, and it's no big deal. Daemon has kissed men, danced with men, and it's no big deal. The caste and jewels system is complex and creative, and the characterization is amazing. Dorothea and Hekatah are at the tip-top of my most-hated-villains list. It's so hard to read their scenes, and yet you have to, because they're integral to the series -- unlike, say, JR Ward's Lessors.
I've got Shalador's Lady on order, but it's going to be shipped with Silver Borne (book #5 of the Mercy Thompson series), so I still have about a month to wait.
~Nifty
Both hands up in the air here! Once I got the world that the Black Jewels were set in, I was totally in love with it! At that time it was totally different to anything else I was reading!
Nifty: I love how Bishop handles the sexuality, even though the second book in the trilogy was very hard to get through by the end because of what happens to Janelle.
I love how Bishop shows Daemon and Jaenelle so married. I can't wait to see them start a family. Daemon will probably faint when he finds out Janelle is pregnant.
Kris: poor SCK :( Why so late in the Outback?
*raises hand*
I'm so a fan of the Black Jewels series. I have yet to read her other books, but they're on the list! Am currently (im)patiently awaiting delivery of Shalador's Lady to the library...
And after reading SL, I am dying for a Kindred.
Imagine if your cat could talk?
I am also a Black Jewels fanatic. I have Shaladors Lady right beside me. I plan to read it tomorrow. And I re-read the other Black Jewels frequently. And as a bookseller, I recommend them often. A customer buys the first one and then comes back for the rest, telling me how much they are enjoying the books.
If my cat could talk she wouldn't stop!
I am most definitely a fan girl! Love Anne Bishop. This is a great post, I enjoyed reading it!
I made my husband read the Black Jewels Trilogy and he dislikes Anne Bishop, says she is a man-hater. I laughed and continued reading...he doesn't know what he is missing with the rest of the books her refuses to read.
Love love love the Black Jewels trilogy! And any Anne Bishop is a good read to me~
I was just thinking the other day what a master she is at building menace and danger that the reader is fully aware of, yet the characters can do little about. Lots of good reader angst there!
Ok, going to the bookstore today for Shalador's Lady. Thanks for the chance to squee together, Katie and Bree!
I've had a few people suggest that I read Anne Bishop, and I believe I'll have to pick up a few titles now. You've convinced me! :)
Another Aussie waiting for April when they release the "authorised for Australia" version of Shaladors Lady. The good bit is that they are releasing a paperback version, not hardcover (hate the hardcover thing). Still reading blogs and boards where people are loving the book is making me sweat. I want it soooo bad.
Me too!! I am a rabid fan and re-read the series several times a year!
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