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Liked It “Black Jewels Lite. Good story, quick read, but nowhere near the depth of the rest of the series.” see full review » see other reviews » |
Didn’t Like It1 of 1 members found this review helpful “The invitation is signed "Jaenelle Angelline," and it summons her family to an entertainment she had specially prepared. Surreal SaDiablo, former courtesan and assassin, arrives first. But when she enters the house, Surreal finds herself trapped in a living nightmare created by the tangled...” see full review » see other reviews » |
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“I liked it, but was not quite as good as the other Dark Jewels novels.”
BareThoughts wrote this review Sunday, November 8 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“Black Jewels Lite. Good story, quick read, but nowhere near the depth of the rest of the series.”
Kesih wrote this review Friday, October 2 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“A story stemming from the Black Jewels Trilogy. It makes you think about people in a psychological sense. ”
Holly L wrote this review Tuesday, September 1 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“A vastly entertaining story that sheds light on how the Blood and the landens they protect perceive one another.”
James M wrote this review Thursday, August 27 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“It was in keeping with the mysteries set up by Surreal and Ranier's brief stint in a short story Anne Bishop made in Powers of Detection titled The Price. Although Ranier was already introduced as a dancer, as a member of the Third Circle and as a Purple Dusk Warlord Prince in Daemon & Jeannelle's short story in Dream's Made Flesh
o8oyCe wrote this review Tuesday, August 25 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
The premise here is that Jeannelle and Marian are making a spooky house for landen children. At the same time, someone else had made a house but of more sinister intents than fun and games and trapped Surreal and Ranier in it.
What was strong in this book was the sense of family. Of how the High Lord of Hell understands his two sons, and how his sons love him and the people in their (admittedly extremely extended) family. I was teary eyed in lots of ways. (Especially in part one, part one was NOTHING BUT family ties) You also get to see a lot of Lucivar's insecurities in this book (much like we all saw Daemon's own flaws and weaknesses in Queen of the Darkness and Dreams Made Flesh.
And just like in the rest of Ms. Bishop's books, though there is admittedly one main character, they all have equally important parts in it. Saetan, Lucivar, Daemon and Jeanelle all share in the movement of the story. I guess this was also a way to show that though an entire war was won and lost, that life goes on for the main characters too. Of the lives they lived after the entire War with Terille (sp?).
I think this book also managed to build in the world more, if that was possible. There are some things that I didn't understand about the blood, that I understood more in this book, or rather there were more details in this book that didn't find a place in the previous books (like the concept of a Dark House, and wow even the genetics of the blood hehe and how Keeler Territories work) that type of thing.
Hopefully, there will be more Dark Jewels in the future,(but since the main story arc is finished, it would be difficult to keep coming up with short plots) but whether or not there will be, I am extremely happy with this particular book.
Lee sidestory for Ephemera? Anyone?
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“As I expected, this book is a wonderful continuation of the Black Jewels Series. These are my favorite characters doing what they do best. ”
Kelley L wrote this review Sunday, August 9 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“I liked this novel better than the Ephemera books and the Invisible Ring, but not as good as the Black Jewels trilogy.
The Black Jackal wrote this review Friday, May 1 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
It was refreshing to read a tale from the Black Jewel series that recognized its insignificance to the war in the trilogy. It gave the book credit for being "less exciting" than the trilogy before it. It was great to see powerful characters set in a far less threatening situation.”
“Great mystery/adventure feel to this installment of the continuation of the Black Jewels series. I continue to love the characters, the flow, the mythology and the writing of this fantastic series. ”
Una wrote this review Sunday, April 19 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“This book was okay. I liked that you read about the characters after the war and see how they are doing. I also liked that the landens had more of significance in this book than the others. You would think that for the dominant race, even without power, they would have a bigger part in the stories. ”
Casey wrote this review Friday, March 6 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No1 of 1 members found this review helpful“The invitation is signed "Jaenelle Angelline," and it summons her family to an entertainment she had specially prepared. Surreal SaDiablo, former courtesan and assassin, arrives first. But when she enters the house, Surreal finds herself trapped in a living nightmare created by the tangled webs of Black Widow witches...and if she uses Craft to defend herself, she risks being sealed in the house forever.
But Jaenelle did not send the invitation. And now Jaenelle and her family must rescue Surreal and the others inside without becoming trapped themselves-and then discover who has created such a place, and why...
Anne's Bishop's Black Jewels trilogy remains one of my fondest teen discoveries, despite the inherent flaws in the books. The spines are cracked, the covers worn--I often open one of the book at a random spot and start reading from there to the end. They're three of my comfort reads. I enjoyed The Invisible Ring a lot, and eagerly awaited the news books set in the same 'verse.
It went downhill from there, sadly. Bishop's new works set in the BJ universe clearly show how quickly she's had to write them, and the quality simply doesn't match up.
Tangled Webs has actually made me realise I don't want to buy her new books, despite how much I love her original trilogy. Bishop has gone the same route as LKH: she simply no longer can bear the thought of anything bad happening to her characters. Through the latest novel, I knew all the misunderstandings would be cleared up, everything would be all right, and none of the 'good guys' would either be fatally injured or die. Bishop has also become a victim of her characterisation and world-building: the good no longer seem so, and I'm actually starting to really dislike the BJ universe as a whole. Jaenelle and those of her class no seem to be only whiny privileged people besotted with their own self-importance, and it was infuriating to read. Anne Bishop's writing weaknesses and flaws, which have always been in the background, also showed very heavily in this work.
I would only recommend this to people already familiar with the Black Jewels universe. I wouldn't recommend it in hardcover-- wait for the paperback. If you want to try the BJ books, start with the trilogy and then The Invisible Ring. Then buy the other books secondhand.
I had a bad taste in my mouth after I finished this book. I offered to send my copy to Ki because she also liked the books, and I wanted to make sure I wasn't reading a vastly different book.”
Helen C wrote this review Thursday, February 12 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
