Etched in Bone by Anne Bishop

While this is a short and sweet review The Others are one of my favorite series and deserves it's own review page.  The book will not be out until March of 2017.  No spoilers here.  Read and see if you will be like me when the book comes out.  You just have a little over a Month to wait.



Etched in Bone by Anne Bishop
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I love this series and when I got the email from Netgalley saying I was approved I wanted to drop everything and start reading. I did make myself finish the book I was reading and then picked up Etched in Bone. I started with mixed feelings. I read that this was a five book series and this was the last book. So as I read I was trying to make the book last while refusing to put the book down. Once again Anne Bishop has put together a great story. The Story is set primarily in the Courtyard at Lakeside so the side characters at other locations do not make much of an appearance in this book. All of the Lakeside and Courtyard characters carry the story. The exploding fluff balls (I loved this name) are still around and continuing to change how the others feel about some humans. The Lakeside police play a important part in the story line and some of the Others are still around causing trouble. The ending was what a lot of us have been waiting for and if this is indeed the last story set in this marvelous world it is very satisfying. However, I hope that Bishop will not abandon this world. There are still a lot of stories left in The Others world.

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Vision in Silver (The Others #3) by Anne Bishop

Dark Fantasy

From Goodreads:

The Others freed the  cassandra sangue  to protect the blood prophets from exploitation, not realizing their actions would have dire consequences. Now the fragile seers are in greater danger than ever before—both from their own weaknesses and from those who seek to control their divinations for wicked purposes. In desperate need of answers, Simon Wolfgard, a shape-shifter leader among the Others, has no choice but to enlist blood prophet Meg Corbyn’s help, regardless of the risks she faces by aiding him.

Meg is still deep in the throes of her addiction to the euphoria she feels when she cuts and speaks prophecy. She knows each slice of her blade tempts death. But Others and humans alike need answers, and her visions may be Simon’s only hope of ending the conflict.

For the shadows of war are deepening across the Atlantik, and the prejudice of a fanatic faction is threatening to bring the battle right to Meg and Simon’s doorstep.

As I read the last page of Vision in Silver it looked like this might be the last book in the series.  I did a quick check of Anne Bishop’s web page and found (to my relief) that there was a contract for books 4 and 5.  This is a wonderful world and I for one was not ready to give it up.

Vision in Silver expands the world building and the character development in the series.  While Meg is still a big part of the story she is not the main focus this time.  In fact the focus is on many of the side characters and how their actions are helping drive the story.

Some humans never learn is at the heart of Vision in Silver.  Humans First and Last are causing more and more trouble and the Others are beings driven to take action.  The relationship between the some of the humans around the Courtyard with the Others takes on more and more importance. 

The plot is complicated and the relationship between the characters grows more complex as the book unfolds.  By the end it is apparent that Others might just wipe humans off the continent.  Lakeside and The Courtyard hold the future of all in their hands.

Vision in Silver is a great story.  Bishop knows how to keep everything moving in a direction that holds the readers interest.  Now I just have to wait for the next book.  Vision in Silver is book three in the series.  It could be read as a stand alone but read the first two books first for maximum enjoyment.

Penguin Group published Vision in Silver by Anne Bishop in 2015.

I received an ARC of Vision in Silver from Netgalley in return for an honest review.

Murder of Crows (Courtyard of the Others) by Anne Bishop

Fantasy

From Goodreads: 

After winning the trust of the terra indigene residing in the Lakeside Courtyard, Meg Corbyn has had trouble figuring out what it means to live among them. As a human, Meg should be barely tolerated prey, but her abilities as a cassandra sangue make her something more.

The appearance of two addictive drugs has sparked violence between the humans and the Others, resulting in the murders of both species in nearby cities. So when Meg has a dream about blood and black feathers in the snow, Simon Wolfgard—Lakeside's shape-shifting leader—wonders whether their blood prophet dreamed of a past attack or of a future threat.

As the urge to speak prophecies strikes Meg more frequently, trouble finds its way inside the Courtyard. Now the Others and the handful of humans residing there must work together to stop the man bent on reclaiming their blood prophet—and stop the danger that threatens to destroy them all.

I said that I could not put Written in Red down.  Before I had even finished I checked to see if Murder of Crows was on the shelf at my library.  It was.  I checked it out and started it as soon as Written in Red was finished.  I started reading around noon and finished at 2 a.m.  Once again I could not put it down.

Meg, Simon and the rest of the characters are back and trouble is still on the horizon.  The two drugs that were mentioned in Written in Red are at the heart of Murder of Crows.  That drug is connected to the cassandra sangue and is a threat to both humans and the Others.  Meg is the important link in finding and stopping the production of the drug.

Meg grew in book one and in Murder of Crows she matures and changes even more.  Her relationship with Simon is not without problems.  They both have problems understanding each other and have to work to keep their friendship on track.  Some of the side characters become more important in Murder of Crows.  The human police that work with the Courtyard play a big role in stopping the drugs. 

Anne Bishop has written another tense, slightly dark book with just the right traces of humor.  My only problem – I have to wait until March of 2015 for the next book.

This would not do well as a stand alone.  It picks up where book one leaves off and while there is back story you still need to start with Written in Red.

Roc published Murder of Crows by Anne Bishop in 2014.

Written in Red (The Courtyards of the Others) by Anne Bishop

Fantasy

From Goodreads:

No one creates realms like New York Times bestselling author Anne Bishop. Now in a thrilling new fantasy series, enter a world inhabited by the Others, unearthly entities—vampires and shape-shifters among them—who rule the Earth and whose prey are humans.

As a cassandra sangue, or blood prophet, Meg Corbyn can see the future when her skin is cut—a gift that feels more like a curse. Meg’s Controller keeps her enslaved so he can have full access to her visions. But when she escapes, the only safe place Meg can hide is at the Lakeside Courtyard—a business district operated by the Others.

Shape-shifter Simon Wolfgard is reluctant to hire the stranger who inquires about the Human Liaison job. First, he senses she’s keeping a secret, and second, she doesn’t smell like human prey. Yet a stronger instinct propels him to give Meg the job. And when he learns the truth about Meg and that she’s wanted by the government, he’ll have to decide if she’s worth the fight between humans and the Others that will surely follow.

Once again I picked an audio book by a author whose books I have never read and once again I am hooked.  Written in Red by Anne Bishop drew me in and would not let me go. 

The world building caught me first the characters kept me glued to the book.  This is a world where the geography is like ours but the Others and the cassandre sangue (who are a form of human) are very different.  Only the humans like us remain the same and they are not the dominant species. 

Some of the Others are shape sifters, some are elementals and some are something no one even the rest of the Others ever want to meet.  To the Others humans are just meat.  Meg Corbyn is human but also cassandre sangue or blood prophet.  She does not smell like prey as other humans do.

That sets up part of the conflict in Written in Red.  Meg Corbyn is at the heart of the conflict. Meg has escaped a life she hated and the Others take her in.  Human law does not apply in the Courtyard where she now lives.  She is a very refreshing character.  She was raised in isolation and has a very different reaction to the Others.  She has an innocence that helps her win over the ones she is in contact with.  Simon Wolfguard is the Other who gives Meg the job in the Courtyard.  The fact that Meg does not smell like prey keeps him conflicted.  The interaction between the two can sometimes be very dangerous and sometimes be very amusing. 

The book can be a little dark but there were things that lightened it up  I loved the names of the stores in the Courtyard and they did add a light touch.  Howling Good Reads, A Little Bite, and Run and Thump - a bookstore, a coffee shop and a gym all owned by the Others.  

Writing in a way that brings all of the elements of a book together into a cohesive whole takes a lot of talent.  Anne Bishop has that kind of talent. 

If I had been reading Written in Red it would have been a book I could not put down.  Since I was listening I ended up listening to it in my house instead of my car because I had to know what was going to happen next. 

Recorded Book produced Written in Red by Anne Bishop in 2014.