52 in 2011

[lumineaux]

22. Treachery in Death by J.D. Robb
The next installment in my guilty pleasure of book series.   This volume is a procedural's procedural, focusing on how Dallas and company go about proving the guilt of a band of dirty cops.


23.  Twilight's Dawn by Anne Bishop
Also known as the moment when Bishop officially milked the last drop of life out of the Black Jewels characters.  It's a collection of short stories about Jaenelle, Daemon, Lucivar & Co. in the years after the original trilogy.  The book is incomprehensible to anyone who hasn't already read all the Black Jewels books, so don't bother picking it up if you haven't. 

The collection is a mixed bag: the story about Sylvia is interesting, poignant, tragic and happy all at once; the short story "Winsol Gifts" is a pleasant diversion but doesn't tell us anything we didn't already know about these characters.  It's other two stories that have aroused the wrath of fans:  "The High Lord's Daughter" is about how Daemon handles Jaenelle's death of old age and his life without his great love.  I think the path Bishop chose makes sense -- it really is the only sensible way to give Daemon something like a happy ending after Jaenelle.  But the fan girls are up in arms in the Amazon reviews.   

"Shades of Honor" is the story of what happened to Falonar.  Personally, I liked the notion that Falonar and Surreal were two reasonable people who just weren't right for each other.  Bishop succumbed to the need to make him a villain, which I find unfortunate.   She also layers on Surreal and Rainer's PTSD from the events of "Tangled Webs" a little too thick.  Bishop has a keen understanding of trauma that makes me wonder what this poor woman has dealt with in her own life.  But by the time the heretofore unperturbable Surreal cracks, enough really is enough.  I read the stories out of order, and I wonder whether "Shades" is as rough on Surreal as it is in order to justify some of the events in the later stories.  Nevertheless, I would have liked at least one main character not to be tormented into a complete breakdown. 

If you're a medium to big fan of the characters and the world, you'll want to pick up this book for the completeness.  If you're a less than enthusiastic fan, don't bother either.

Comments

[jenaiabird.livejournal.com]

i picked up "Daughter of the Blood" during the infamous "Sharc Christmas Bookswap" at Rhi & Diegos quite a few years back... and was maddened at the fact that it was the beginning of a series... but I absolutely fell in love with the characters.

I really enjoyed the "Dreams Made Flesh" collection, but I thought Tangled Webs was an "eh" effort

From what it sounds like, it really is time to retire the original characters. I'll still pick up "Twilight's Dawn" tho (and if I hadn't already been spoiled by the book description I read off of Bishop's Website, I would have whined about "The High Lord's Daughter.")

I will say, tho... I did enjoy "The Shadow Queen" and am looking forward to reading "Shalador's Lady"

I like going back and re-reading these books... I still tear up at the right parts and laugh out loud and such... the characters are like old friends...