Rating: 
Summary: Anne Bishop crafts dark fantasy into a literary art form
Review: I can't help but compare author Anne Bishop with this novel's main character Jaenelle, a long-awaited dark queen possessing a power no queen has ever seen the likes of before, and I would gladly serve in any literary court Anne Bishop chose to form. Just as Jaenelle establishes herself as the Queen of the Darkness in all her glory over the course of these pages, so Anne Bishop stakes a rightful claim to the title of Queen of Dark Fantasy. Heir to the Shadows accomplishes the impossible: not only is it a more impressive novel than Daughter of the Blood, it blows that first novel right out of the water with its intensity and extraordinary vision. I only wish I could convey in words the originality, genius, emotion, power, and literary magic that is Heir to the Shadows. You really must read Daughter of the Blood before immersing yourself in this second novel of the trilogy. The realms of Terreille, Kaeleer, and Hell are not fictional worlds you can just drop in to visit, nor are the characters in this story at all comprehensible without your having made the journey to this point alongside them. The "good guys," by way of example, include Saetan, the High Lord of Hell, and his half-demon sons Daemon and Lucivar, as well as Jaenelle who is "dreams made flesh," Witch herself. The final set of events closing out Daughter of the Blood reach in and squeeze your heart dry, as you watch a beautiful and innocent young girl suffer dreadfully, and it is this emotional crescendo that breaks across the very first pages of Heir to the Shadows and carries you along with it, breathless, for close to 500 pages. You would think that such a powerful young queen as Jaenelle would lead a charmed life, but let there be no doubt that Jaenelle has suffered and continues to suffer terribly. As this novel opens, Jaenelle's guardians do not know if Jaenelle will even return to them. The horrors committed upon her body and mind, orchestrated by a malevolent witch queen and the power-hungry High Priestess of Hell, have forced her to retreat deep in to the black abyss; Daemon, an incredible character I cannot even begin to describe here, is himself lost to the alliance of protectors, having pushed himself too far in his effort to call Jaenelle back. Daemon towered above the pages of the original novel, but he is soon trapped in the Twisted Kingdom, tricked into believing he killed Jaenelle. Fortunately, another son of Saetan emerges to protect and guide the future queen, Daemon's brother Lucivar, a winged Eyrien who is himself initially tricked into believing Daemon guilty of killing the queen both brothers pledged themselves to serve. In this novel, we witness Jaenelle grow and mature through her teenaged years and develop into full womanhood. We see traces of the Jaenelle who charmed us into loving submission in the first novel, but the intense suffering she has endured has irrevocably changed the young maiden. For a long time, she has no memory of the trauma that almost destroyed her, but she is terribly withdrawn and touched with a darkness her soul should never have had to endure. Now under the official guardianship of Saetan, she picks up the broken pieces of her life. She is greatly helped in this regard by the assembly of a number of her childhood friends: future queens of nearby lands as well as creatures previously known only in legends and myths. Jaenelle breaks down the magical barriers separating the world Saetan knows from the hidden realms of unicorns, centaurs, wolves, dream-weaving spiders, and other creatures known as the kindred. The kindred are also children of the Blood, but the Dark Council, under the control of Jaenelle's enemies, refuses to recognize this fact and begins a terrible campaign that forces Jaenelle to take steps she doesn't really want to take. There is much misery and sadistic exploitation in this story, but there is also great hope inspired by Jaenelle, Saetan, and the members of what will become Jaenelle's Dark Court. The forces of evil never rest, never stop scheming, and the amount of shed innocent blood is exceeded only by the impact of the continuing emotional and physical hardships inflicted upon Jaenelle. I was almost moved to tears by the powerful climax of this novel. Plenty of unresolved problems and critical plot elements remain, and I can scarcely imagine the dark power that Queen of the Darkness, the third and final novel in The Blood Jewels Trilogy, must contain. I marvel somewhat at those who dismiss Bishop's work as romantic drivel. While this is dark fantasy of a sensual nature, there is more horror to be found in these pages than in many a standard horror novel; sex is in fact the ultimate weapon by which perverted women of the Blood control the Blood males and rule the lands. The romantic elements are actually rather subdued in this novel, largely due to the nature of Jaenelle's most hideous sufferings. There is no ambivalence on my part: the books of The Black Jewels Trilogy are the most impressive works of dark fantasy I have ever read.
Rating:
Summary: An Extraordinarily Rich, Magical, Riveting Fantasy!
Review: "Heir To The Shadows" is the second book in Anne Bishop's extraordinary "Black Jewels Trilogy." I would advise reading the books in order, beginning with "Daughter of the Blood," to best appreciate the intricate story, characters and unique world that Ms. Bishop creates. This second part of the trilogy is a strong novel that really enhances the material in the first book. In the world where Darkness rules, an ancient prophecy becomes reality. Jaenelle Angelline is born Witch. She is the "dream made flesh" and the hope and light of the future. There is a caste system in the Realms of this world where the powerful reign and power is determined by the Jewels one wears - the darker the Jewel's color, the more powerful its owner. Saetan, the High Lord of Hell is Jaenelle's adopted father. He and his Blood allies and Kindred are determined to protect the young Witch and nurture her until her majority when she can make the Offering to the Darkness and become a true Queen. Jaenelle is now coming into womanhood and must be guarded or she will be captured and used as a pawn by Dorothea, the High Priestess of Hayll, and Hekatah, the self-proclaimed Dark Priestess of Hell. Both women were created to be noble caretakers of the Realms. They each have perverted their Craft and their purpose, infected those who serve them, and threaten to destroy the Realms to fulfill their insatiable greed for power. "Heir To The Shadows" continues the young Queen's story, taking her through the perils of adolescence. Jaenelle had been shattered by heinous crimes perpetrated at the asylum where her birth family had her institutionalized periodically, believing her to be mad. Daemon, her consort-to-be, sacrificed himself to rescue her. Jaenelle remains deeply wounded and remembers nothing of the horrors she experienced. The process of her physical and spiritual recovery is a slow one, as is her gradual acceptance of her role as Witch. "Heir To The Shadows" is also the story of the creatures sworn to protect their chosen Queen - the Warlord Princes, Black Widows, Priestesses, Kindred and Saetan. This superb fantasy, adventure, magicical romance of a novel is one of a kind. I am not a fan of science fiction or fantasy but became immediately absorbed in Book 1, and before I had completed it, I ran out to buy Book 2. Ms. Bishop's prose is beautifully crafted, and her wry wit and sense of drama are exceptional. She upends the stereotype of Darkness and shows the reader, time and again, how exquisite the Dark can be. Highly recommended!
JANA
Rating:
Summary: Not that this book needs any more reviews but. . .
Review: Heir to the Shadows would be worth reading, I think, entirley for the scene when all of Jaenelle's friends from the various places she's traveled show up on her birthday. Anne Bishop has an extraordinary talent for creating supporting characters. All of them have a personality all thier own, and it is utterly charming. The book takes up three years after Daughter of the Blood left off, although not much has changed. Fortunatly, quite near the beginning of the book, Jaenelle pulls out of the Twisted Kingdom, and Lucivar is reunited with Saetan. The confrontations between the male characters are fascinating. Bishop has drawn the characters of Saetan, Daemon, and Lucivar with such grace, it is painfully clear that they are family, but each is so distinctive. Jaenelle continues to expand as a character as well, and she only grows more interesting with age. The relationship that develops between her and her family is humourous and heartbreaking as all our relationships with our parents and siblings are. Heir to the Shadows was a lovingly written book, it is engrossing, funny, tragic, and it will twist your heart and make you laugh all in one page.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent fantasy book
Review: Heir to the Shadows is (as you probably know) the second book the Anne Bishop's excellent Black Jewels trilogy. I would definately recommend that you read the books in order, because if you don't
a)you won't understand what's happening
b)you won't know who everyone is
c)you'll miss out on the first book
While Daughter of the Blood was a bit confusing, and dragged a bit as the plot was set up, it was still a good book. Heir to the Shadows is even better. The world is now familiar, and the plot moves along nicely. Characters develop further, and we get to see some more of Lucivar, who wasn't doing much in the first book.
In short, I thoroughly recommend this book. The writing is well done, the characters steal their way into your heart, and you'll be unable to put it down! I can't wait to read the third book in the series.
Read it! You won't be disappointed.
Rating: 
Summary: A worthy continuation.
Review: Heir to the Shadows, the second of the Black Jewels trilogy, successful sequel to Daughter of the Blood. In some ways it improves upon the first book. Highly enjoyable to any lover of fantasy books. This second installment takes place just after the events of the first book. After escaping the "uncles," everyone is weary and battered from the ordeal, especially Jaenelle. The book revolves around Saetan, his sons, and Jaenelle's friends from all over Kaeleer trying to help Jaenelle recover from her emotional trauma and get her ready to take her place as Queen. This, in and of itself, causes some problems. Firstly, there is never a sense that the plot is going anywhere, just day-to-day life of Jaenelle's adopted family with little direction. The SaDiablo household, however, is far from ordinary, and that alone makes things interesting. One major complaint of mine are the villains. Hekatah in particular is one of the cheesiest villains I've seen. In nearly every scene she's in, she flirts with some male conspirator or other, spilling out the latest version of her "master plan" to overthrow her arch nemesis (Saetan) and gain control of the realms. I swear, all she needs is a sinister evil cackle and a trite phrase like "the world will soon be mine" and she could be in a comic book. Most of the conflicts in the book are the result of Hekatah carrying out her evil schemes---after giving you every last detail of it in a previous chapter---and Jaenelle and her friends dealing with the aftermath of said schemes. It feels like Bishop writes these "villain scenes" just to remind you that her villains are still in the book and to throw some conflict into an otherwise conflict-deprived story. Aside from that, there are some improvements in this book over the last one. Firstly, Heir to the Shadows is easier to get into that Daughter of the Blood due to less back story about the characters and more tame subject matter. The book retains its dark, sensual edge. It just employs less shock value than before. There are lots of lighter moments in this book too. I truly watching the various characters interact with Jaenelle. It comes to the point that whenever Jaenelle walks into the room (and is in a good mood), you know she's going to say something incredible and you'll be treated to some delightfully light-hearted dialogue. All in all, Heir to the Shadows is a worthy continuation of the Black Jewels trilogy, though not without faults. Lack of direction, poor villains, and blatant abuse of the "destiny" plot device drags the book down, but it is so well written that I doubt you'll mind too much.
Rating: 
Summary: Awful
Review: The only reason I read this book is because I had already bought it. Save your money, it's not a keeper. It's a Fantasy written with too many modern romance moments that just kill the atmosphere. Not at all dark or sensual, just annoying. Too bad I can't give it zero stars.
Rating:
Summary: Dark, rich, compelling
Review: Dark, rich, sensual, touching are but a few of the epithets I would use when refering to "The Black Jewels Trilogy'. I've read a few pages on amazon and i was hooked. A witch of words telling the story of a witch of darkness. What can be more seductive?
I'm hoplessly in love with all the characters: Jaenelle, the most powerfull witch ever, but still vulnerable, still easy to hurt; Saetan - The High Lord of Hell, A 50.000 year old Guardian who is just, kind and obeys the rules of the Blood; Lucivar and Daemon, sons of Saetan, Warlord Princes brutally tortured by cruel queens for more than 700 year - both in love with Jaenelle, but only Daemon destined to be her Consort. (i won't say more as i don't want to spoil the fun of reading the books).
All I can say is if you love books where everything is upside down, where demons are good and humans are bad; if you love book with a touck of supernatural then read Mrs Bishop's books. You're in for a big treat. But, a piece of advice: start with the first book 'Daughter of the Blood", otherwise you'll not understand much!
Rating:
Summary: Just as good...!
Review: 'Heir to the Shadows' is just as good as the first book in the Black Jewels trilogy. Except for die-hard Daemon fans (like me) who might just feel a tad disappointed that his appearance in this book is so limited, due to the fact that he is still stuck in the Twisted Kingdom. The second book in every trilogy tends to be more focused on the development of characters, rather than the continuation of the plot. The same can be said for this book. Jaenelle has since grown up and cannot remember anything about what had happened in her childhood..including Daemon. However, at the end of 'Heir to the Shadows', we are rewarded with Daemon walking out of the Twisted Kingdom. After I finished this book, I cannot wait to start on the final book in this fantastic trilogy. However, here's a note for virgin readers of Anne Bishop: Do remember to start from the first book, or you might just find yourself totally lost.
Rating:
Summary: The Enchanting Story Continues...
Review: The story continues on to book 2... and I always get a little nervous with the middle book... but my anxiety was soon clamed as I fell into this book as fast as the other, and came out of it the same: reading the last page and grabbing for my copy of the third book, Queen of the Darkness, and starting it right away. This book, though one of my favorite main characters is caught outside of reality for its entirely, was wonderful. By now the world, titles and jewels come even easier to understand. The book is just as enchantingly dark and beautiful as the first one. The writing keeps the same pace, there are no over drawn out scenes to prolong the trilogy, and it leaves you wanting more. I do NOT recommend reading this book first, even though it does do a little bit of 'reminding' of what happened in the first book, I think a reader starting with Heir to the Shadows will be confused.
Rating:
Summary: A satisfying sequel to "Daughter of the Blood"
Review: The second novel in "The Black Jewels Trilogy" will not disappoint fans of the first! Daemon, Lucivar, Jaenelle, and Saetan all return in "Heir to the Shadows". Lucivar is still imprisoned in the salt mines, and Dorothea drags him in front of her court to infuriate him with the news that Daemon has raped and killed the Lady. When Daemon makes the voyage to Pruul, Lucivar is blinded by his rage, and rather than help fight for freedom, he pushes Daemon into the Twisted Kingdom. When he later escapes, only to find Jaenelle, he is ridden with guilt. He agrees to take up residence with Jaenelle and Saetan at the Hall in Kaeleer, and he is determined to serve Jaenelle. When Jaenelle announces that she does not want to serve as a Queen and will not be setting up a court, Saetan, Lucivar, Andulvar, and Janelle's friends and family are crushed. She is Witch, she is dreams made flesh, and the Blood that remain loyal and honest are expecting her to rule the realm and restore Blood Law to the land. But, a Queen needs a consort, and Jaenelle's true love has been lost to the Twisted Kingdom. When the corrupt Blood from Terreille begin to brutally invade Kaeleer, Jaenelle will have to make a choice. Will she serve as Queen, in order to protect the ones she loves? And if she serves, who will be her consort? Just as exciting and well written as the first, "Heir to the Shadows" will leave you desperately wanting to read "Queen of the Darkness."
|
