Anne Bishop's The Black Jewels series is without a doubt, one of my favorite book series EVER. It's not recent, and I'm usually hard-pressed to find anyone who's familiar with it, which makes my heart hurt. It's a must-read if you like dark fantasy, and a should-read even if you don't.
The series starts off with a book called "Daughter of the Blood" about a young girl, Jaenelle Angelline, who, even from birth is destined to be the greatest witch and ruler that their world has ever seen. Sounds like your typical fantasy novel, right?
What sets Anne's series apart are the characters. To start, the world in which they live, while it contains both those people with magic - the Blood - lead those without, it is set amid severe role reversal. The female witches rule, and the men follow, either willingly or not-so-willingly. As with most dark fantasy series, this one is pretty sensual. Sex is portrayed as both an act of love and a weapon to be used by the corrupt. Jaenelle's tender age in the first book makes her a target for deprivation from those seeking to control her, yet her power makes her a force to be reckoned with.
"Daughter of the Blood" introduces you not only to Jaenelle, but to two of the best characters in fiction, the High Lord of Hell (yes, Hell is a kingdom in the series) Saetan SaDiablo and his son, Daemon Sadi. I picture Saetan to look a lot like John Travolta, back when he was cool and attractive and Daemon to look like another fictional Damon - Damon Salvator from the Vampire Diaries (Ian Somerhalder if you want to google that hotness). Needless to say, these are smokin' sexy characters. They're also the two most powerful people in the realm, short of Jaenelle, and feared by everyone - with good reason. A good majority of the violence in the series is a product of one or both of them. You also meet Surreal SaDiablo, a female assassin who could give Beatrix Kiddo (Uma Thurman's character in Kill Bill) a run for her money.
Anne does an excellent job with character development for all of her characters and plot twists leave you laughing, crying and on edge. As if all of that didn't appeal to a wide audience, you also have the Kindred, talking animal members of the Blood's society. They're kind of the cute fuzzy ewoks of the Black Jewels series.
"Daughter of the Blood" introduces you not only to Jaenelle, but to two of the best characters in fiction, the High Lord of Hell (yes, Hell is a kingdom in the series) Saetan SaDiablo and his son, Daemon Sadi. I picture Saetan to look a lot like John Travolta, back when he was cool and attractive and Daemon to look like another fictional Damon - Damon Salvator from the Vampire Diaries (Ian Somerhalder if you want to google that hotness). Needless to say, these are smokin' sexy characters. They're also the two most powerful people in the realm, short of Jaenelle, and feared by everyone - with good reason. A good majority of the violence in the series is a product of one or both of them. You also meet Surreal SaDiablo, a female assassin who could give Beatrix Kiddo (Uma Thurman's character in Kill Bill) a run for her money.
Anne does an excellent job with character development for all of her characters and plot twists leave you laughing, crying and on edge. As if all of that didn't appeal to a wide audience, you also have the Kindred, talking animal members of the Blood's society. They're kind of the cute fuzzy ewoks of the Black Jewels series.
So, do yourself a favor - read it! If you aren't hooked by the time you finish "Daughter of the Blood", I'll be shocked (and probably judge you a bit). As a matter of fact, you should probably just get The Black Jewels Trilogy to start. You'll end up getting the rest anyway.
Kim Gray is a mom, blogger, nutrition fanatic and founder of the Voracious Readers Society and ePaleoCookbooks.net. If you would like to join the society and submit your own book reviews, you can contact her at voraciousreaders@yahoo.com or on twitter @artex1024.
Kim Gray is a mom, blogger, nutrition fanatic and founder of the Voracious Readers Society and ePaleoCookbooks.net. If you would like to join the society and submit your own book reviews, you can contact her at voraciousreaders@yahoo.com or on twitter @artex1024.
No comments:
Post a Comment