Rating: 
Summary: It Was Worth the Wait
Review: i fell in love with the Blood Trilogy and have waited for a new book from Anne Bishop for quite a while...Pillars of the World was worth the wait!i marvel at Bishop's ability to draw the reader into the story...she has such talent with character development and plot and suspense that i am not only a fan but a student... what i like most about this book is the way the multiple characters are developed and explored without any of them succumbing to cliche or stereotype... in this book, she has combined the art of mystery, fantasy and romance without allowing any one part to overwhelm the rest... any reader who loved the Blood Trilogy will be happy with this tale...it is a great starter to what i hope is her next trilogy...
Rating: 
Summary: A fairy tale revisited.
Review: I first picked up Anne Bishops 'Black Jewels' trilogy and at the end of every book I screamed, ranted, and raved. Until the next one came out. This book is no exception. I picked it up with no real idea of what it was about, only that it was my beloved Anne Bishop finally giving me another story to read. Now, after reading it, I realize it's the basis for a new version of a fairy tale. Yes, it has definate ties to the mythological world from our very histories, but it gives us a different world to live through it. Almost a what if? What if magic were real? What if the fae (our version of the old gods) were real? What if the ties to our world and the world of the fae were broken? What if the witches of the world were destroyed? What if only those who hate are left with witch-like powers? What if.... Yes, in this story, you center on one witch. Ari. She is one of the few witches still living in the mortal world, but she is the draw for all things fae and human. She is just the central point to the driving force behind the telling of the begining of this tale. Others have told me that they didn't understand the 'Pillars of the World', well all I can say to that is that this is the first book. I didn't entirely understand the whold of the 'Black Jewels' world until well into the other books. I, for one, will say that it is a wonderfully enchanting book, but I will reserve my over all feelings until all the books in this series have been written and read.
Rating: 
Summary: totally disappointed
Review: I had to force myself to finish this book. The characters never developed enough for me to care about them. God I miss Daemon and Satan. Ms. Bishop, please bring them back! Pillars Of The World is totally different then Daughters and I guess that's the problem for me. All the characters are weak and boring. I'm not used to characters like that coming from the mind of Anne Bishop.
Rating:
Summary: Reading Fan
Review: I have read all of Anne Bishop's books and must say I am a devoted fan. While I really enjoyed the dark jewel trilogy, this book captured my attention almost immediately. I made the mistake of starting in late at night and could not put the book down. Pillars of the World was an easy read and held my interest through out the book. Not only is this book about good and evil, it is a love story as well. I liked the characters, especially the Gatherer. Can't wait for the next book in this trilogy, Shadows and Light!
Rating:
Summary: I think this book deserves more like 3 1/2 stars.
Review: I liked the idea of a pseudo-medeival world full of pointy-eared and magical people. Classic fantasy, right? Ann Bishop's book is a little different, for the magic is based much more off of modern wiccan religions, but it came out nicely. The magic and the mysticism in Pillars of the World lend the whole story an earthy feel, that I found I really enjoyed. Ari is a little too much of a cookie cutter character for me to really like her- she's this modest, quiet incredibly forgiving girl who doesn't seem to have a flaw. I'm not exactly sure why the fae seemed to be so intrigued by her, but a great deal of the story rotated around how perfect she was. And in the end, when she went with Neall, I can't really see why she did that. Okay, so he's a good friend, but it seemed mostly like she was leaving because everyone wanted her too. She just never seemed to do anything for herself. Lucian, on the other hand, I found fascinating. He seemed to constantly waver between being on the verge of self-discovery to being an entirley self centered prick. I thought his sister Dianna was a spoiled brat, but Lucian was so unpredictable he was incredibly intriguing. Morag, also, was very interesting. She has an interesting profession, that one. She is pretty perfect, but she is in an unusual enough position to be compelling. Merle and Darcy also lit up the story. One thing I'll say for Ann Bishop- she sure does know how to write good animals. The weakest thing about this book it that it is very obvious, with the exception of Lucian and possibly Dianna, who the author likes and who the author doesn't like. The villians are really evil and there's nothing good about them. The heroes (fae, witch, and human) are paragons of virtue who have no flaws and laugh at the drop of a hat. Yes, sometimes the story is funny, but sometimes it is a little forced. Yes, I hated Adolfo, but he wasn't particularly compelling- he was too evil. It was satisfying though, that he was so deathly afraid of Morag. Overall, Pillars of the World is a good book. It is entertaining and well-developed. The characters are a little one-dimensional, but it does not ruin the book. I will definatly read the other two books in the series.
Rating:
Summary: I think this book deserves more like 3 1/2 stars.
Review: I liked the idea of a pseudo-medeival world full of pointy-eared and magical people. Classic fantasy, right? Ann Bishop's book is a little different, for the magic is based much more off of modern wiccan religions, but it came out nicely. The magic and the mysticism in Pillars of the World lend the whole story an earthy feel, that I found I really enjoyed. Ari is a little too much of a cookie cutter character for me to really like her- she's this modest, quiet incredibly forgiving girl who doesn't seem to have a flaw. I'm not exactly sure why the fae seemed to be so intrigued by her, but a great deal of the story rotated around how perfect she was. And in the end, when she went with Neall, I can't really see why she did that. Okay, so he's a good friend, but it seemed mostly like she was leaving because everyone wanted her too. She just never seemed to do anything for herself. Lucian, on the other hand, I found fascinating. He seemed to constantly waver between being on the verge of self-discovery to being an entirley self centered prick. I thought his sister Dianna was a spoiled brat, but Lucian was so unpredictable he was incredibly intriguing. Morag, also, was very interesting. She has an interesting profession, that one. She is pretty perfect, but she is in an unusual enough position to be compelling. Merle and Darcy also lit up the story. One thing I'll say for Ann Bishop- she sure does know how to write good animals. The weakest thing about this book it that it is very obvious, with the exception of Lucian and possibly Dianna, who the author likes and who the author doesn't like. The villians are really evil and there's nothing good about them. The heroes (fae, witch, and human) are paragons of virtue who have no flaws and laugh at the drop of a hat. Yes, sometimes the story is funny, but sometimes it is a little forced. Yes, I hated Adolfo, but he wasn't particularly compelling- he was too evil. It was satisfying though, that he was so deathly afraid of Morag. Overall, Pillars of the World is a good book. It is entertaining and well-developed. The characters are a little one-dimensional, but it does not ruin the book. I will definatly read the other two books in the series.
Rating:
Summary: Fairy Tales
Review: I love Anne Bishops writing and this book is just another example of why. Her Dark Jewels Trilogy is the best fanatsy I've ever read and this book encompasses many of the wonderful things from that series. As a stand alone book, it doesn't have the detailed plot intricacies that a series would have but it is definitely involved and has a very fairy tale like quality about it. It is light hearted for the most part, being about a girl trying to cope on her own, attracting the eye of a Fey Lord, and trying to keep herself out of the hands of the witch hunters. A very good book if you like fantasy and romance combined in equal parts
Rating:
Summary: All about Love
Review: I loved this book. It is all about love in all its forms. What it is and specifically, what it is not. It is a large departure from her last series, and the writing isn't quite as dark. I hope she writes more of them.
Rating:
Summary: Simple, shallow characterization.
Review: I picked this book up because it was by Anne Bishop, and I had read and liked the Black Jewels Trilogy (with some reservations about the ending). I did realize it was set in a different world, though, and since it involved elf-like creatures, I was more than willing to give it a try. Unfortunately, problems that were minor in the Black Jewels Trilogy crop up here and overwhelm the whole of the storyline. First is villain trouble. The villains in 'The Pillars of the World,' and in particular the main one, are displayed as evil and irredeemable. But the main sign of a villain is this: He hates women and witches. Anyone in the book who expresses a less than positive opinion of either- even the Fae, who hold themselves above mortals in general and not just witches- are proven wrong, wrong, wrong, and humbled and humiliated. This is irritating, and especially because the main 'good' male character, Neall, is apparently good because he loves Ari, the main witch character. That's it. There is no other standard for judging good or evil in this book. It's extremely disappointing that anyone could be judged entirely for a prejudice they hold, and which is certainly not the whole of his or her character. Even granting that fictional characters are supposed to be less complex than real people, there can be attempts to show that they're not really evil, just biased, and the heroes can show them the errors of their ways without crushing them. However, that doesn't happen here. The moment anyone expresses suspicion of or contempt for witches, you know he's going down, with no chance to catch himself. Second is hero trouble. I've already mentioned how it seems that Neall is only a hero because he loves Ari. Ari herself is extraordinarily vague, much like the most flattering teen Wiccan stereotypes distilled. She values only true love, is perfectly in touch with the earth, is respectful of all animals, and so on and so forth. The crying that she does about how the village treats her and about how lonely she is could be an interesting flaw, but the narrative never indicates any disapproval of this weepiness; far from it, Ari is exalted as passionate and sensitive for her teenage angst. I did like Neall in the beginning, but as the story went on, I wondered how anyone could love Ari. Third is language trouble. When the characters speak of love, they speak like modern men and women influenced by feminist concerns. Unfortunately, this is supposed to be a fantasy novel, and moreover, one based on a medieval world where the feminist movement has not happened. It strained credibility to hear how love is always a woman's choice, or how what women want more than anything else is respect and love, not admiration of their bodies, when the society has little basis for this. More, this standard was applied to all the people who acted a lot more like people in a medieval society would have acted, and they were punished when they fell short of it (read: whenever they said something offensive about a witch). The world was apparently only created to propagate this message. I did give the book two stars because of two Fae characters, the Bard and the Muse, who actually might have a chance at an equal male-female relationship, instead of the debased one that Neall has with Ari. Of course, the Muse is hurt because of the straying of the Bard character, even though she has never told him that she wants them to be exclusive lovers- but at least the Bard character doesn't drop everything because a woman is angry at him. It's a shame. I really wanted to like this story. I'm female, and like to find readable female fantasy authors. But this strained credibility far too much.
Rating: 
Summary: so, so
Review: i picked this book up on a whim and was enthralled with it...to a point. i will not deny that anne bishop is a wonderful author and the writing in this book is superb but there was little to no plot. the fae world is disappearing as the shinning roads to the human world close. the only clue as to why this is all happening are vague mentionings of the pillars of the world. the story more acutely centers around ari, a young witch trying to live by herself near a road to the fae world. though i love the characters i found the story flat. while promising an interesting story in the beginning "pillars of the world" fizzles out as page after page describes horses and the mundane tasks every single character preforms. i kept reading, wondering when the action would start, when the intrigue, when anything would start but every conflict is solved quickly, wrapped in a nice, neat little package that left me feeling cheated. There were struggles all over the place; between ari's lover and potential lover, between the witches and the witch's hammer, between the fae and the humans etc. but nothing ever happens.
i liked this book but it would not rate on my list of the greatest ever written. if you need alittle more meat in your reading check to her other books.
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