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Queen of the Darkness

Queen of the Darkness

List Price: $6.99
Your Price: $6.29
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: It's about Jaenelle (and Daemon) not the Three Realms!
Review: Firstly, I would like to defend the ending of the book since I note that a lot of reviewers have complained about it. Well, I think the ending is fine. A little abrupt but it suits the tone of the book. I think if we just judge the book on the basis that it is a sword and sorcery book i.e. quest to save the world etc, the ending frankly sucks. However, this trilogy is the story of Jaenelle and how she grows and matures and finds true love. It is more of a fantasy of a girl who grows up to find acceptance after a harrowing childhood ( in the most ostentatious way possible; being all powerful.) Hence the ending (which I shall not spoil it for would-be readers), is an ending quite like, Gone With the Wind which pretty leaves the ending to the reader's imagination. On the other hand the action in the book is pretty choppy and we never quite delve into the other characters' psyche like we had in the earlier books. The tone is suitably dark, gory and morbid, but the reader gets the feeling that the story strongly revolves around Jaenelle (and her relationship with Daemon) and hence the writing uses her as a focal point. Any other plot/subplot that does not directly affect her is cursorily dealt with and then we return once more to her (and Daemon). Thusly, we do not see much action. Still, on the whole, the strength of the book lies in the fact that it is part of a trilogy. The series is entertaining and I would strongly reccommend it to anyone who likes a rather original dark-toned series.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Unbelievable
Review: The Black Jewels Trilogy is most definitely one of the best series I have ever read-and I have read a lot. Anne Bishop did a wonderful job at creating an alternate world full of diverse characters and fascinating plot twists. Nowhere in the three books does Bishop fail to surprise and captivate. Two points of advise for future readers: 1) have an open mind for subjects spoken about, and 2) begin with the first novel, Daughter of the Blood, so that you can fully appreciate all the elements of the story.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Lovely end to the trilogy, but a bit of a cliffhanger...
Review: Anne Bishop is a marvelously gifted writer, and I recommend this entire series to any who enjoy the fantasy genre. Predictably fascinating, Queen of the Darkness is an intriguing conclusion to the tale woven by her two previous novels. However, the end was rather puzzling: the entire reconstruction of the three realms in a reformed Blood society was left off the end of the story. I have no room to criticize, as I have not written anything even remotely as worthwhile myself, but I don't believe the tale has truly ended. Perhaps this merely encourages the reader's private imagination, allowing each individual to draw his or her own conclusions. Regardless, the book was magnificent, and I recommend it highly.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Loved it
Review: This book is one of the best I've ever read, along with the first two in the series. Suspenseful, fulfilling, perfect. I look forward to more books on this wonderful world. I absolutely recommend, even urge everyone to read this trilogy.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: kewlbeanz
Review: oh, the book was wonderful! I laughed and cried and I truly wished the book would have never ended. I loved the book dearly and I am going to have all of my friends read it. Anne Bishop is a wonderful author and I hope she receives the kind of attention she deserves and i'm eagerly lookin' forward to her next book.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: I love this trilogy: Where's the rest of it?
Review: I found this book just as absorbing as the first two. I wish that the maelstorm could have been described more rather than escape from Hekatah and, boom!, wake up, save Jaenelle. It's wonderful that Jaenelle and Daemon are together at the end, but what about everyone and everything else? What exactly is Twilight's Dawn? This can't be the end!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: More than Enough
Review: Unlike some of the other reviewers, I found _Queen of the Darkness_ to be a perfect ending for Ms. Bishop's breakthrough series. Ms. Bishop knows better than to give a pat, "And they lived happily ever after". The characters all have relatively murky futures - Daemon and Janelle, Saetan and Sylvia, Surreal, they are all questions. Their future is as unknowable to them as to us, and that's the perfect way for it to be. While the aftermath of the novel would certainly fill another trilogy of its own, I hope it's never written (though a few short stories would not be unwelcome). The question, "What happens next?" is vital for the book to work. Life is never certain, just as Witch's future was never certain.

The characters are all well-represented - which is remarkable, given some have only brief but nuanced roles which gives a clear indication of their lives. Beyond Jo (who has all of two or three lines devoted to him in the first two books) and Hepsabah (who disappears entirely from the second book), I can't think of anyone who wasn't, in some way, referred to (even if all it is is a reference to a meeting of the First Circle) and given a context in the story. The silence on Cassandra's whereabouts is a particularly brilliant descision. By saying practically nothing, Bishop manages to speak volumes about what's happening in that area of the story.

Unless it was missed, a slew of new characters were introduced in the second novel, and not all of them could take center stage for any span of time. It's a testament to the author's skill that a generally clear picture develops about everyone of importance. Slipping in references and nuances throughout the story, the plot remains tight and paced precisely without lacking reminders that there are more than a handful of lives in the balance, and that some of those are friends (even if little-seen.)

What Bishop manages is a terrific combination of breathtaking plot, complex character interaction, and not a few charmingly humorous scenes to balance the great weight of destiny that rushes the reader forward. She should be commended for this.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Not enough...
Review: The first two books of the series were captivating - and impossible to put down. The third book was equally captivating, but several hundred pages too SHORT! If the author intends to follow this trilogy up with another one, then leaving so much dangling might be a good idea.

However, if this is the last we will see of the characters in the series, then this book was a terrible dissapointment. Perhaps the "Twilight Jewel" series is upcoming?

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: wonderful conclusion
Review: I read the first two books in the series three time and lived them. This last one lived up to my expecations of the triligy. It took me by suprise. I had no idea how it was going to end. It was so nice to see Daemon and Jaenelle finally get together after so many years of being apart. The ending of the book is one that I would have never thought of. I would highly recomend this series to anyone who is interested in Fantasy. There is only one problem, I wish there was more.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Not enough
Review: I loved the first 2 books, but Queen Of The Darkness left my "cold".

The book was written well, all in all, but I noticed quite a few story lines that were simply dropped, storylines that could have been expanded to create a much more interesting and well-rounded book.

I didn't get to see as much of the Sadist as I would have liked, and, although I appreciated his more sensitive behavior, Daemon's character stuck me as rather weak, exactly the opposite in the first two books.

I also had a problem with the way she handled her more minor characters. Some of them she introduced well, and some of them just appeared, forcing me to have to look back in the first two books to see who she was talking about. (Not that I minded having to reread Daughter of The Blood, and Heir to the Shadows!)

I would have been much more forgiving, had the ending had not been such an anti-climax. With such great first two books, one would expect the ending of the trilogy to be something spectacular, but at the conclusion of Queen of The Darkness, I was left on the edge of my seat, so to speak.

I did love Lucivar and his family, and I had always wanted to see more of Surreal. I liked the way Briarwood was handled, and the development of Daemon and Jaenelle's love (especially the first kiss!) was great. I think that the clues found in the first two books were skillfully incorperated into the ending, even though I thought that they could have been a little more complex.

I definatly think that the trilogy should be expanded. There is still so much to be done with these characters. What happens in the Dark Court after Dorothea and Hekatah are killed? How much of the blood survived? What will happen with Daemon and Jaenelle's union? How will this torn and bleeding world pull itself back together? As you can see, the ending of the trilogy left me with many questions.

Overall Review: If you read the first two books of the trilogy, then definatly read this one, but don't expect too much.


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