Helpful Score: 3
The first part of it was quite good. I was just as much in love with the characters as I was in the first two books. I enjoyed the small amusements even in the face of the adversity. The kindred Blood were more important in this book and so we got to see more of them; this was a pleasant happenstance for me because I enjoyed how Bishop wrote them. Unfortunately, the ending was less than satisfactory for me. Don't get me wrong, it was âgoodâ as these things go but it left me with more questions than it did answers! I know the main outcome of the story but I want to know how things continued from that point. It's my understanding that Bishop has written another book with for novellas of a sort from this world. One continues the story and so I think I'm going to have to find it and devour it like I did the other books in this series.
Helpful Score: 3
I adore this series and this book was no exception. Excellent! My only complaint was the brevity of a scene that was built up through the previous 2 installments (trying not to post spoilers). WAY too short and anti-climactic, like she rushed through it to get to the rest of the book. However I highly highly recommend this series, it's one of my favorites.
Helpful Score: 2
With The Black Jewels Trilogy (consisting of Daughter of the Blood, Heir to the Shadows and Queen of the Darkness), Anne Bishop has taken the literature of dark fantasy to heights I never even dreamed of. She has created a universe I can barely begin to describe, a realm of kingdoms ruled by women -- in the form of witches, priestesses and Black Widow queens -- where the strongest of men are forced into the role of consort to the most vindictive of mistresses. Bishop turns good and evil upside down in this masterful literary vision, giving us heroes the likes of Saetan the High Lord of Hayll, his sons Daemon Sadi and Lucivar, and one very special and very powerful young lady named Jaenelle Angelline.
If you are searching for something different, something that will completely captivate you in the form of a world unlike any you have yet encountered in your literary journeys, The Black Jewels Trilogy stands ready to redefine your very conception of the literature of dark fantasy. This is fantasy that should appeal to women as well as men, for this is not just another work of fantasy built around warlike dwarves, ethereal elves and heroic battles fought by stereotypical male characters. The Black Jewels Trilogy is literature of the highest order, more than earning author Anne Bishop the title I now personally bestow upon her: the Queen of Dark Fantasy.
If you are searching for something different, something that will completely captivate you in the form of a world unlike any you have yet encountered in your literary journeys, The Black Jewels Trilogy stands ready to redefine your very conception of the literature of dark fantasy. This is fantasy that should appeal to women as well as men, for this is not just another work of fantasy built around warlike dwarves, ethereal elves and heroic battles fought by stereotypical male characters. The Black Jewels Trilogy is literature of the highest order, more than earning author Anne Bishop the title I now personally bestow upon her: the Queen of Dark Fantasy.
Helpful Score: 2
The third book in the Black Jewels Trilogy stayed true to the story and characters. All in all, it was a satisfying book, but there were times when I wished for a bit more oomph, or cowbell, or something. Daemon finally arrives in court to be the Queen's Consort and it seems a bit like Anne Bishop wasn't quite sure how to get it on between these two - almost like she's good at writing masochism and sadism, warmth and family, but not quite comfortable with true love. Another awkward bit for me was how the author resolves the fates of the villainess' Dorothea and Heketah who are back stirring up big trouble again. With Witch being big-time powerful and finally coming of age, I was looking forward to a giant can of whoop-ass at the climax, and although the Event was big, the telling of it could have taken some lessons from any one of Buffy the Vampire's season finales for satisfaction. Still, for a full-fledged setting, excellent banter, and plain perversion, this trilogy rocks.
Helpful Score: 1
Anne Bishop writes a good book about a magic kingdom in conflict, romance, witchery and sacrafice.
