So, a few weeks ago, word started to trickle through from different commenters that they had gotten their hands on a great new book from Anne Bishop, Written in Red. People like Charry said that they couldn’t put it down. I have been trying to be good, and for some reason I had skipped right over this one, but all of the positive response made me take a second look. It arrived yesterday…and I finished it last night. And it really is a great book. It gave me a Kate Daniels vibe – not in terms of storyline, but in terms of tone and world-building. Be warned, though, that these “Others” are not your usual paranormal characters – they bite, and they enjoy it. If you need more convincing, Doug Meeks did up a review that can say how great this book is better than I can…
What Doug said…
Written In Red
(A Novel of the Others)
By
Anne BishopSummary:
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.
Review:
Meg Corbyn is a blood prophet but while that is a part of the story it is not THE story. This is a novel of multiple plots all taking place at the same time, the motivations of the individuals are myriad and the interactions are unlike most any other UF/PNR you have read.Simon is an “Other” and what that means in this world is that he is NOT human and is not sensitive and misunderstood and there is no MINE moment at all in this story. Be aware, the wolves in this story will eat humans if they are provoked and I have not seen one looking for a mate ….yet.
Meg was considered “property” of some unseen entity (we assume human) and she represents thousands possibly millions of dollars to him with her prophetic powers. What this means is that getting her back becomes paramount to the story and the amounts of money are enough to motivate people to cross the “others” which has always been a very, VERY bad idea.
The “others” are the predominate race on the planet BUT the humans seem to forget or are unaware of that fact …… and that is going to cost them …a LOT.
The thing that separates this story from almost all others is partly the world Anne Bishop has created but it is a large part of how Meg who has no real personality manages to befriend these non-humans and the growing relations ships that form.
I can’t delve too deep into this story in a review without giving away a lot of information best discovered while reading the pages of this book. Suffice it to say that of the books I have read in the last year (20oish I would guess), this will be in the Top 10 if not the Top 5. It really is THAT good and if she was not writing a series, she could have added a few more chapters and ended this as an epic stand alone novel. There is no cliffhanger, it has an ending and leaves a few threads hanging that will build in the next book but this opener will be hard to top in the “can’t sleep until I finish this book” category.
Saying I rate this book 5 Stars is almost an understatement since it was so good. Get this book, steal it if ya have to but you don’t want to miss this one.
Who else loved this one? Can’t wait to get my hands on the next story, either. There is a ton of potential for great stories from this world, and I look forward to seeing where it will go.
I have read 2 more books since this one and working on a third one but I keep going back and thinking about this one. You can usually write that down as definite proof that this was an awesome book. Trying to remember characters and interactions between books that are months or a year apart is always a challenge (or you go back and scan the previous book again) I feel pretty sure I will need no reminders about the things that happen in this book. I gotta see if Anne Bishop needs me to come clean her kitchen for a ARC of the next book
Well you already know that I loved this book. I actually had to go back and reread it ,I enjoyed it so much. It was just that good. I’m glad that I wasn’t crazy in thinking that this is really one of the best books written to this genre this year.
You were totally right. You have me the kick in the pants to order it, too, so I owe you one. Very well done, and a bit different from the other “other” stuff out there, too.
Housework for ARC’s? You are in need. Have you heard anything yet about the second book? I took a quick peek around today and didn’t come up with anything yet.
I am hoping I don’t have to wait a year for the next one but most of the really outstanding series do about 1 book a year
Meh, that is a painful time to wait. Since apparently her Black Jewels series is finished, maybe the pace will be a bit faster, we can hope.
Well, crap. Looks like book two will be called Murder of Crows…March 2014. Bleargh.
Told ya, books that good seldom do more than 1 per year, that sux
Yeah, it really does.
Great review:)
I keep seeing positive reviews for this but I’m dead against reading it because of how the author finished her Black Jewels series. I don’t trust her anymore – she completely ruined the whole series for me. I really don’t want to waste my time and money if she’s only just going to ruin the end. Maybe I’ll pick it up if the reviews still look positive once the series has been completed.
This was my first Anne Bishop try, so I am coming in fresh. It is hard to get over past disappointments to try a new series, since there is that whole “one burned” thing. Not sure I want to know what happened with the Black Jewels, though, so I don’t get myself riled up.
I wish I could follow that advice, but I had to know. I wish I could leave it, but I am the kind of person that reads endings first. Let’s hope this series is different enough.
I avoided the Black Jewels series because my research into it (after a few fans contacted me) indicated it was too dark and evil for my tastes, at some point it becomes to evil to enjoy IMHO and what I could gather that series crossed that line for me but it had many fans, She seems to have (so far) stayed on this side of that line but I can see how it could get nasty in a hurry with this big “evil controller” type still out there but I am hooked into this series for the long haul.
Black Jewels didn’t sound like my thing, which is part of the reason that I passed by Written in Red at first. Although this one isn’t fluffy and sweet either, I did like the different tone.
I found the book description compelling and the review intriguing so I bought and read the book last night. I was immediately hooked. I don’t tend to favor series that develop a relationship over a series, I like it when you get a group with one couple per book, but the overall story hooked me in and I wasn’t worried about it. On some levels, it reminded me a bit of Thea Harrison’s Elder series. It is mentioned that the Elders used to eat people, then they started to have conservations with them. (Also, in G.A. Aiken’s books, the Dragon shifters eat people, so I had no problems). Let’s hope they stick to eating “bad” people.
I have never read Anne Bishop before and her website is not the greatest (I wasn’t really able to sense of her other stories, no background, if you know what I mean), so I hopped on here earlier today to see what people where saying and if another book was known about. To say I was freaked about the comments regarding the Black Jewels series is a bit of an understatement. I get emotionally ensnared in books and I am very picky about plots line, troupes, and general angst. There is more than more author whose books I really enjoyed but stopped reading because they were just too emotionally intense for me. (I stopped reading Elizabeth Lowell for this reason even though I generally liked her books.)
So, I decided to take a little cruise over to GoodReads and read me some spoilers. OMFG! One person commented that HEA isn’t guaranteed in these books (PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE don’t let that apply to this new series). Guaranteed HEA is THE reason why I read romance books. I can’t emotionally handle sad books.
This book was great. The gory doesn’t bother me, moments of doubt or confusion, ok. But I have very firm lines. Top one is cheating, fortunately, most authors don’t mess with this one too much (I don’t even tolerant the historials passing it off as okay because the characters lead separate lives). Other top one is death (I am reading for escape, not reality). I almost never read romances featuring widows or widowers. I really loved this book and now it is tainted by a fear that I stepped into an author willing to cross lines that drive me insane.
But after my rant, I am going to have faith and just enjoy. I figure if she ends this series with an anthology I now know I should simply pretend it doesn’t exist.
Sorry for the wordiness, I needed to get it out. On a really random side note, the Liason position angle reminded of a UK tv miniseries I watched on Netflix called Going Postal (it is based on Terry Pratchett’s Discworld novels).
Cassandra – Let me give you a couple of recommendations, well it is kinda one series The Long Ride Home and Shifting Dreams both by Elizabeth Hunter. The first is a 99 cent short story setting up the series and is one of the most emotional short stories I have ever read, the the actual first novel in the series is next. They are not all flowers and rainbows but she has had an HEA in all of her books. I have yet to fins anyone that did not enjoy them but be warned the short story is a bit poignant and sad but it contains information that will make the series much better for anyone. When you finish and don’t love them, feel free to castigate me in public
I am not worried LOL
Long Ride Home: A Cambio Springs Short Story
Shifting Dreams: A Cambio Springs Mystery
I actually liked the Black Jewels series, though I will admit that there was a twist at the end that bugged me. But hey, it’s her book and she can end it any way she pleases. She has a couple of other series that are not as compeling, but this book is great. I started reading it at 10PM one night and didn’t go to sleep until the end. She only does the one book a year so a person has to be patient. But at least she always sticks to her schedule and doesn’t promise a book and then change dates on us. I love Anne Bishop and am more than willing to wait for the next one; it’s totally worth it.
This was my first foray into her stuff, and I am with you. It was a one night read for me, as well. Most authors are down to one book per year per series, so really it isn’t that bad. It is good for my patience, too.
Thanks for the great review and recommendation! I finished the book last night and was just stunned at how good it was. I’m with everyone else it was hard to put down.
Thanks, Charleen. Glad you liked it too.