Book One of the Black Jewels Trilogy, Daughter of the Blood, by Anne Bishop is an amazing tale of magic and dark fantasy where women rule the lands and the men serve. But not everything is that picturesque. Seven hundred years ago, a Black Widow witch saw an ancient
prophecy come to life in her dazzling web of dreams and visions. Now the Dark Kingdom readies itself for the arrival of its
Queen, a Witch who will wield more power than even the High
Lord of Hell himself. But she is still young, still open
to influence--and corruption. Whoever controls the Queen controls the Darkness. Three men,
sworn enemies, know this. And they know the power that
hides behind the blue eyes of an innocent young girl. And
so begins a ruthless game of politics and intrigue, magic
and betrayal, where the weapons are hate and love--and the
prize could be terrible beyond imagining.
The novel opens with an a first person POV from a former Black Widow called Teresa. She foresees the coming of the Queen. She tells her son, Daemon and his Eyrien half-brother Lucivar that she's coming. Fast-forward 700 years and Lucivar is chained to a corrupt and evil Eyrien Queen and meets an extraordinary girl. He finds out what and who she is and tells her to stay away, no matter what thoughts she hears from people across all the realms. In Hell, the High Lord Saetan SaDiablo meets this child as well and tries to train her but she proves to be unable in Basic Craft, the lowest form of magic. Meanwhile, Daemon is sent away from the evil Queen Dorothea to an out of the way territory called Challiot where the little girl lives. We also meet an assassin named Surreal who was trained by the women of Red Moon houses and from Daemon. She helps Daemon when she can, even though she fears him and learns from Jaenelle that her mother is in Hell and is queen of the harpies, witches who died at a male's hand.
Daemon finds out about her and resolves his vow to become Witch's lover by helping Saetan guide her and shield her from harmful influences. It isn't an easy task, since all of Jaenelle's (the extraordinary child) family believes her to be insane and unable to perform Basic Craft. They don't recognize that she was born with 13 uncut black jewels, jewels that are the darkest form of power and ones that no one is ever born with. To get black jewels, one must be born with a red jewel. But Jaenelle was Dreams Made Flesh, a person who was created by the wishes of the downtrodden and the bullied. Jaenelle's family sends her to a "medical" place known as Briarwood where a select group of sick (read: perverted) men rape young girls. During the Winsol holidays, Jaenelle seemingly becomes complacent. In reality, and after Daemon told her not to dream weave unless she learned from the best (the best being the Weaver of Dreams, who is a large spider), Jaenelle has weaved a life-like mold of herself so that she can find solitude with her friends in the Shadow Realm (Kaeler). Daemon notices this and, secretly alerts his father, Saetan, to this fact. Saetan is non too pleased but is overjoyed with the amazing things that she can do.
Jaenelle is sent to Briarwood for the final time after she turns 13 and causes an incident at a final Winsol party. Daemon breaks free of the male-control ring known as the Ring of Obediance and shatters his mind in the process of freeing her. He uses his friend, Surreal, to help him,and Surreal kills the man who killed her mother. Jaenelle is healed but has not returned to her body. He professes his love for her and secretly vows to wait until she comes of age to be her lover. Cassandra, the previous Queen of the Darkness, takes her across the borders into Hell, where Saetan waits for her. He intends to help her and his son but Daemon seals the gate and is left with a damaged mind while Surreal takes him and flees to safety.
All in all, despite having come out in 1998, it still remains a powerful book that has a couple of erotic scenes and richly dark tales of magic and lore woven in. Anne Bishop is simply the best when it comes to fantasy.
The novel opens with an a first person POV from a former Black Widow called Teresa. She foresees the coming of the Queen. She tells her son, Daemon and his Eyrien half-brother Lucivar that she's coming. Fast-forward 700 years and Lucivar is chained to a corrupt and evil Eyrien Queen and meets an extraordinary girl. He finds out what and who she is and tells her to stay away, no matter what thoughts she hears from people across all the realms. In Hell, the High Lord Saetan SaDiablo meets this child as well and tries to train her but she proves to be unable in Basic Craft, the lowest form of magic. Meanwhile, Daemon is sent away from the evil Queen Dorothea to an out of the way territory called Challiot where the little girl lives. We also meet an assassin named Surreal who was trained by the women of Red Moon houses and from Daemon. She helps Daemon when she can, even though she fears him and learns from Jaenelle that her mother is in Hell and is queen of the harpies, witches who died at a male's hand.
Daemon finds out about her and resolves his vow to become Witch's lover by helping Saetan guide her and shield her from harmful influences. It isn't an easy task, since all of Jaenelle's (the extraordinary child) family believes her to be insane and unable to perform Basic Craft. They don't recognize that she was born with 13 uncut black jewels, jewels that are the darkest form of power and ones that no one is ever born with. To get black jewels, one must be born with a red jewel. But Jaenelle was Dreams Made Flesh, a person who was created by the wishes of the downtrodden and the bullied. Jaenelle's family sends her to a "medical" place known as Briarwood where a select group of sick (read: perverted) men rape young girls. During the Winsol holidays, Jaenelle seemingly becomes complacent. In reality, and after Daemon told her not to dream weave unless she learned from the best (the best being the Weaver of Dreams, who is a large spider), Jaenelle has weaved a life-like mold of herself so that she can find solitude with her friends in the Shadow Realm (Kaeler). Daemon notices this and, secretly alerts his father, Saetan, to this fact. Saetan is non too pleased but is overjoyed with the amazing things that she can do.
Jaenelle is sent to Briarwood for the final time after she turns 13 and causes an incident at a final Winsol party. Daemon breaks free of the male-control ring known as the Ring of Obediance and shatters his mind in the process of freeing her. He uses his friend, Surreal, to help him,and Surreal kills the man who killed her mother. Jaenelle is healed but has not returned to her body. He professes his love for her and secretly vows to wait until she comes of age to be her lover. Cassandra, the previous Queen of the Darkness, takes her across the borders into Hell, where Saetan waits for her. He intends to help her and his son but Daemon seals the gate and is left with a damaged mind while Surreal takes him and flees to safety.
All in all, despite having come out in 1998, it still remains a powerful book that has a couple of erotic scenes and richly dark tales of magic and lore woven in. Anne Bishop is simply the best when it comes to fantasy.
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