Book Review: Honor Harrington: Echoes of Honor SPOILERS!

In 1998, David Weber returned once more to the Honorverse, this time to get Honor Harrington off Hell while the war takes an interesting turn of events. Synopsis: Back from Hell. For eight bloody years, the Star Kingdom of Manticore and its allies have taken the war to the vastly more powerful People's Republic of Haven, and Commodore Honor Harrington has been in the forefront of that war. But now Honor has fallen, captured by the Peep Navy, turned over to the forces of State Security . . . and executed on the interstellar network's nightly news. The Manticoran Alliance is stunned and infuriated by Honor's death and grimly resolved to avenge it. Yet their military is over-extended and the People's Republic is poised to take the offensive once more, this time with a new strategy, new weapons, a new command team, and a whole new determination to win. The war is about to enter a phase of unprecedented ferocity . . . and the Alliance is on the short end of the stick. But even as powerful Peep fleets hurtle towards their objectives, neither they nor the Alliance are aware of events occurring on a distant, isolated, inescapable prison planet called Hell. For what no one knows, not even State Security, is that Honor Harrington is not dead. She and a handful of her people are trapped on Hell, and determined to disprove the Peep boast that no one can ever escape it. Honor Harrington is going home, and taking her people with her . . . even if she has to conquer Hell to do it.

Prologue: The novel opens with the Harrington family, on Grayson, watching an HD of Honor being hanged for crimes committed in On Basilisk Station.

Book One (Part One): Turns out the entire Star Kingdom of Manticore is reeling from the loss of Honor Harrington. The people of Grayson aren't taking this lightly and Hamish Alexander expects them to no longer take prisoners. He also believes that he's the one who led Honor to get herself killed. In the People's Republic of Haven, Ester McQueen continues her plot to bring Oscar Saint-Just and Robert S. Pierre down. Everyone on the Manticoran front is gearing up to resume hostilities. Protector Benjamin Mayhew IX, Henry Prestwick, and Howard Clinkscales (reluctantly) ask Allison and Alfred Harrington to produce a child to claim the Harrington Steading Key. Allison points out to Jeremiah Sullivan that the Graysonite genome was altered 1000 years ago and that given some time, she will be able to reverse it, allowing for more male children births. She invites Benjamin and one of his three wives, Katherine, to the Harrington Steading and talks about her discovery, and breaks protocol that hasn't been done in 250 years.

Book Two (Part Two): On Hell, Honor Harrington and the survivors find ways to hack into the StateSec base, Camp Charon, and glean information. Turns out that other prisoners are there, around a half-million. They also discover, thanks to Scotty Tremaine, that Camp Inferno isn't on the map for "security reasons." Honor and company meet with two prisoners named Harriet Benson and Henri Dessouix who take them to Camp Inferno where they meet Commodore Jesus Ramirez--who's supposed to be dead after the Peeps took Trevor's Star. Together, they decide to take Camp Charon.

Book Three (Part Three): McQueen and others talk about Operation Icarus. The war is brewing up to another round of fighting. The Graysonites name their newest ship the GSN Honor Harrington.

Book Four (Part Four): Honor and Ramirez begin the assault by taking one supply ship and them storming Camp Charon. They take Charon and try their superiors under the People's Uniform Code of Conduct, which scares a few Peeps. Rear Admiral Harold Styles opposes this and constantly berates Honor. Turns out former Citizen Admiral Amos Parnell is still alive and agrees to sit in on the hearing so long as he can go to the Solarian League and tell all that Pierre, Ransom, and Saint-Just performed the coup.

Book Five (Part Five): Saint-Just and Pierre talk about squashing McQueen. The war rages on. Several worlds are hit: Basilisk, Zanzibar, Yeltsin's Star, and others. Rear Admiral Elvis Santino, paranoid of losing command, relieves Commander Andrea Jaruwalski from the Battle of Seaford 9, citing cowardice, when it's really Santino that's too stupid to follow the original plan. He gets himself killed, leaving Andrea in hot water. At Basilisk, Admirals Hamish Alexander and Judah Yanakov stave off the battle; Yanakov tells everyone in the Manticoran fleet "Honor Harrington and no mercy." Despite winning, Hamish is pissed about Yanakov's order.

Book Six (Part Six): One of many trials comes to a close. Honor is woken up because of an incoming Peep ship. Honor's company takes the ship. Commander Victor Ainspan updates Honor with the news of Honor's execution and the war. Honor tells her company how she intends to get her people off Hell and Styles erupts in anger. Honor charges Styles with insubordination and has armsman Andrew LaFollet place him under arrest. Honor and company claim two more ships for their plan. Because Citizen General Prestwick Thornegrave took too long to answer, Honor demands that all his ships surrender over an all ships comms channel. One of his ships is destroyed and Thornegrave and his task force surrender. Most of the ships, loaded with prisoners that wanted to leave, head for Trevor's Star. Citizen General Seth Chernok arrives with another task force. Honor ambushes him and destroys the task force. Honor and the remaining ships, using the name "Elysian Space Navy," leave for Trevor's Star.

Epilogue: At Trevor's Star, Hamish Alexander, depressed, ponders over the events of the last couple of months when Lieutenant Nathan Robards tells him that several unidentified hyper-footprints were detected and that they belong to Peep ships. Upon listening to the automated message--which Hamish thought was impossible since he'd seen the execution two years ago--of Honor Harrington requesting aid and that she and her task force, plus several unarrived ships were finally home.

All in all, a well-paced, easy read with great prose and wonderful character arcs that detail just how the Manticorans are doing without Honor and what the Peeps do when they believe themselves invincible. David Weber outdid himself in this 569 (hardcover) page novel. It's also the only novel of the series where both the Prologue and Epilogue are written in italics. This is a must-read for fans of sci-fi military and fans of the series in general.

Book Review: A Black Jewels novel: Tangled Webs SPOILERS!

In 2009, Anne Bishop published the next installment in the Black Jewels series, Tangled Webs. It's a story about Surreal, mostly. About her and how she survived a death trap set for her and the SaDiablo family. Synopsis: The invitation was signed Jaenelle Angelline, she who had been both Witch and Queen. Surreal SaDiablo, former courtesan and assassin, is the first to arrive--only to find herself trapped in a nightmare created by the tangled webs of Black Widow witches. And if she uses Craft to defend herself, she risks being sealed in the house forever. But Jaenelle did not send the invitation. Now Jaenelle and her family must rescue Surreal and the others inside without becoming trapped themselves--and they also must discover who designed such an evil place as a way to kill members of the SaDiablo family. Only one of the Blood could have created the trap...

The novel opens with a prologue from the villain. He's an author who's constantly being made fun of by the Blood for his errors about their kind in his books. He's also recently discovered he is one of the Blood. He hatches a plan to study the Blood, in particular, the SaDiablo family. Jaenelle wants to open a spooky house for the children and landen. Daemon, Lucivar, and Saetan don't want anything to do with it, but help them because Jaenelle promises that one room in the house will show the landen what it truly means to be Blood. She and Marion have picked the place and are designing it. A few weeks later, Surreal gets an invitation written by Jaenelle to tour the spooky house. She goes with her friend Rainier. At the house, they encounter a group of children and all of them enter. As they explore, the children start dying and the "ghosts" and creatures are actually demon dead Black Widow witches and other deadly traps laced around the house. As they enter the basement to try and exit, they find themselves in the same house, but in another replica with even more deadly surprises. Daemon and Jaenelle arrive and study the place.

 A young boy hadn't gone in with Surreal and tells them everything that he knew, even that a half-blood girl had been kidnapped and disappeared. Daemon and Jaenelle suspect the house is spelled once they arrive and it's confirmed by Yuli, the boy. Yuli says a half-sane woman was helping the man who built the place. Daemon suspects his mother and asks her. She says it was a surprise for the boys, an entertainment. Since Tersa walks the Twisted Kingdom, Daemon knows she thought that he was helping Jaenelle. Surreal and Rainier being to suspect the same thing, but must protect the remaining children. Daemon learns from Khary that Jarvis Jenkell found out her was a Blood member when he mimicked going through the Offering. He came away with a Jewel. Khary also tells him that Jenkell built the house that Surreal is trapped in. After Daemon talks to Tersa, Tersa becomes angry at Jarvis for he tried to hurt her boy. Another child dies in the spooky house. Apparently, Jarvis is watching them and finds their hatred for his work to be insulting. Daemon tells Jaenelle that Jarvis is Blood and Witch becomes angry.

Rainier and Surreal are injured and losing blood. Lucivar finds out about the spook house death trap and demands that Daemon and Jaenelle stand aside and let him handle this. He enters and hacks and carves up anything in his path. He meets a young cildru dyathe. The boy, unlike the rest of the dead, is pleasant and tells Lucivar everything. Lucivar threatens Jarvis, promising to "make him pay" for his crimes. Jarvis, watching the whole thing, begins to understand why people fear Lucivar. Tersa heads for Jarvis' spooky house, to make him pay. Jarvis sends everything to kill Surreal and Rainier and the kids. Lucivar arrives and cuts everything up. He uses his Ebon Gray power and blasts a hole in the house and gets the kids and Surreal and Rainier to Daemon and Jaenelle. Lucivar reenters the hole and finds Jarvis and drags him out. Tersa arrives, demanding to kill Jarvis, but Daemon asks her to let him deal with this. Surreal realizes that everything that Daemon is didn't all come from Saetan. Daemon and Jaenelle open the door to the spooky house and toss Jarvis inside, but not before making sure there are only two exits left. Daemon and Jaenelle take Yuli back to SaDiablo Hall and one of the kindred Sceltie claims Yuli is his. Yuli goes back to the orphanage but this time with Lord Socks, the kindred Sceltie, and the owners learn that they'll have regular visits from the rest of the kindred and not all of them canine. Days later, Daemon reenters the spooky house and kills Jenkell, who has been panicking and is now bleeding. Daemon takes the young cildru dyathe to Hell where Saetan welcomes him. Surreal and Rainer, along with several other people visit Jaenelle's spooky house and see everything, including the subtle message she and Daemon leave the landens.

All in all, a very fast-paced novel and a great read on Halloween. Anne Bishop still has it when t comes to magic and fantasy. Recommended for any fan of fantasy and the series.

Book Review: Black Jewels II: Heir to the Shadows SPOILERS!

Book 2 of The Black Jewels Trilogy: Heir to the Shadows by Anne Bishop, continues the story of Jaenelle, Daemon, Lucivar, Saetan, and Surreal as they struggle against Dorothea, Heketah, and Kartane as they prepare for domination over the Shadow Realm (Kaeleer). The Blood have waited centuries for the coming of Witch, the living embodiment of magic. But Jaenelle Angelline, the young girl singled out by prophecy, is haunted by the cruel battles fought over her--for not all of the Blood await her as their savior. Some dismiss her as a myth. Some refuse to believe. And still others look forward to using her, making her a pawn in their shadowy devices. Only time and the love of her guardians have healed Jaenelle's physical wounds. But her mind is still fragile, barely able to protect her from the terrible memories of her childhood. Nothing, however, can keep her from her destiny--and the day of reckoning looms near. When her memories return...when her magic matures...when she is forced to accept her fate. On that day, the dark Realms will know what is means to be ruled by Witch.

HotS picks up where Daughter of the Blood left off: Saetan becomes Jaenelle's guardian via the Dark Council, though not all are happy about it. The book then divides itself into five acts, each one chronicling a part of Jaenelle's life. Though never once does Anne cross into Jaenelle's POV, she does show us the young heroine's journey through her guardians and friends. Lucivar is summoned before Zuultah and Dorothea; they demand to know where Daemon has gone. He refuses to answer and, cruelly, tell him Daemon is wanted for the murder of Jaenelle Angelline. Lucivar vows to kill his half-brother when and if he next sees him. In the Keep, Saetan tells Heketah's agent, Greer, that Jaenelle walks among the dead children, hiding the fact that she survived. Somewhere in Terreille, Surreal and Daemon land. Daemon leaves her behind to get Lucivar and find away across the barriers of the Realms. Lucivar threatens Daemon, who still hasn't fully healed from his mind being shattered, and believes that he killed Jaenelle. In anger and sorrow, Daemon's mind shatters completely and he flees into the unknown. Back in Hell, Saetan longs and hopes that Jaenelle will come back, even telling her that its safe to come home. Saetan is greeted by Surreal's mother, Titian, who promises to keep "trying" to kill him to further deceive Heketah (Harpies, especially Dea al Mon, children of the woods, never miss). Back at Briarwood, Surreal learns from the ghosts that Jaenelle wove a trap for the men: "Briarwood is the pretty poison. There is no cure for Briarwood." and "To each will come what he gave."

Act II: In Kaeleer, a Glacian witch named Karla and her cousin Morton hope Jaenelle will come back. Karla doesn't feel fully safe living with her uncle since he tried to come on to her. Morton takes a letter to Saetan and the High Lord tells Morton that Jaenelle still lives, but not to tell anyone except Karla and that if her uncle should make another forceful pass, they have his protection in Kaeleer and Hell and can use the SaDiablo Hall should they need to. Daemon descends further into the Twisted Kingdom, the inner mind. Heketah demands that Char bring Jaenelle forth. Char summons Saetan, but before Saetan can do anything, a violent storm rages across Hell and kills Heketah's guards. Saetan recognizes the power as being Jaenelle and falls into the psychic mind and brings her forth and back into her body. Her powers are coming back fast, but her mind shields itself from the last few years; Saetan notes that she's forgotten his son. After a terse conversation with Draca, Saetan refurbishes the Hall in Kaeleer and he and Jaenelle go to live there. Saetan hears whispers of dark deeds being done in the nearby town, Halaway. He finds the source and kills him. Saetan takes Jaenelle to Lucivar's mother for training in Basic Craft and she learns that Jaenelle is Saetan's daughter of the soul and that she can't perform basic magic without looping it through an entire room before summoning something as simple as shoes. Greer, on Heketah's orders, tries to find out why Saetan came back to Kaeleer. A wolf attacks him. Greer escapes and tells Heketah that Jaenelle lives. The wolf reveals himself to be a Prince and able to use magic. Jaenelle promises that these humans are good and before long, they move his den near the Hall so Jaenelle can have friends and protection, even after hunters kill a few and harvest them. Another friend, this time a unicorn, arrives and wants to see Jaenelle while Titian kills Greer. Several invitations are sent out across Kaeleer and all of Jaenelle's friends show up. They stay the summer and Saetan watches them grow up. The Dark Council wants to take Jaenelle away, so she stops time. After several "days" the Dark Council backs off and time resumes, but she has to do social things in Little Terreille.

Act III: Lucivar breaks free and tells Daemon that the death he's been waiting for won't come. Lucivar leaves and tries to kill himself. Prothvar rescues him and for the next several months, Lucivar lives with Jaenelle in her cabin. He finds out that some boys want her for pleasure and she's starving herself to near-death. He also learns, from Jaenelle talking in her sleep, that Daemon saved her. Lucivar tearfully and silently vows to protect her for Daemon's sake, because he feels guilty over what he said to his half-brother. Daemon meets up with Surreal and agrees to stay, since she's the only one he trusts. Geoffrey, the Keep's librarian, informs Lucivar the Saetan formally registered him and Daemon in the Keep they day they were born and that they weren't bastards. Lucivar meets his mother and doesn't get along well with her. Jaenelle takes him to meet his father. Privately, Lucivar tells Saetan that Daemon is in the Twisted Kingdom and that he pushed his half-brother in. Lucivar tells Saetan that it was Greer who raped Jaenelle and Saetan nearly loses his calm. Saetan tries to reach Daemon in the Twisted Kingdome believing he can reach his son. Daemon mind-yells at him and all attempts are withdrawn, leaving Saetan broken-hearted. Jaenelle returns with an orphan Arcerian cat named Kaelas and a Scelt (Sc pronounced Sh) puppy named Ladvarian. Tersa notes that everything is in place and wants to find Daemo. Jaenelle finds out and becomes angry with Saetan for abandoning him all those years ago. Saetan protests that he hadn't known where Daemon was till Lucivar arrived but Jaenelle, despite Lucivar telling her the truth, doesn't hold his half-brother accountable as anything would've set him down that path. Jaenelle, after talking to Lorn, agrees to stay in Kaeleer and use a Shadow to search for Daemon. Her Shadow meets up with Surreal and learns that, a few months ago, Kartane showed up and she and Daemon fled, but when she came off the Webs, he'd vanished. She's been living in secret since Kartane now knows Surreal is his daughter. She promises to help look for Daemon.

Act IV: A few years later, Lucivar feels something wrong with Jaenelle through his Ring of Honor. He rushes to her aid and finds that the man who, using a drug and compulsion spell, she married has been torn to shreds during their consummation. Lucivar notes she's been drugged with safframite, a powerful addictive. He takes her blood-letting in the forests with a few of the kindred. Saetan, in anger, purges Hell of Heketah's minions. Lucivar and Jaenelle feel a fight happening beyond Ebon Rih. They race there and find the small city under attack by the Jhinka. After several days of fighting, Jaenelle saves all but one person and unleashes her anger on the Jhinka, wiping this group out. A few days later, Jaenelle hears from Surreal that she's been able to find Daemon. Jaenelle want to get to him and heal him before they lose him again. Lucivar, concerned for her health, refuses to allow her to do anything until she's recovered. Lucivar offers to go and get him but Jaenelle demands to know why Daemon would trust him. Ladvarian and Kaelas demand to know why she isn't doing as she promised and Saetan informs them that her promise to Daemon was made before her promise to them. She finds Surreal and Daemon and kills his doubts and shows him the path back. Because her body is weak, she marks the trail and leaves him. Daemon ascends slowly. Kartane is on the war path, but Jaenelle fogs the area while Surreal gets Daemon to safety.

Act V: Heketah convinces Jorval, a councilor, to grant land to Queens from Little Terreille that belong to the kindred. These people begin slaughtering the unicorns of their land. Meanwhile, Jaenelle, having turned 18, is presented with her own house. The following day, she flees for the unicorn's territory while everyone else struggles to chase after her. The unicorns greet them all with hostility. Lucivar learns from a dying man that they were given permission to settle here and that the "beasts" should clear off. After several hours, Saetan finds Jaenelle while Lucivar finds Moonshadow, the Queen of the unicorns. Jaenelle sings the dead kindred to the Darkness and demands that the Dark Council recognize the kindred as Blood. They refuse and Jaenelle makes the Offering to the Darkness and comes out with one Ebony jewel (make from five of her 13 Black jewels). She calls all her friends together, each of whom is either a Queen and ruling over a territory or a warlord prince married or serving them, and asks them if they will serve her. Saetan notes that that can't happen but all of the Queens and Warlord Princes who watch over a territory yield their lands (Glacia, Dea al Mon, Scelt, Nharkhava, Dharo, Tigrelan, Centauran, Sceval, Arceria, The Fyreborn Islands, Dhemlan, Askavi, and Arachna) to Jaenelle, to Ebon Askavi: the Black Mountain and Keep. She goes back to the Dark Council and presents her ultimatum as well as a map with her recently established lands marked on it. Everything BUT Little Terreille belongs to Jaenelle. The novel ends with Daemon stepping out of the Twisted Kingdom.

All in all, a decent, lengthy novel that vividly captures the imagination and wonder of a pure fantasy realm. Props to Anne Bishop.

Book Review: The Black Jewels I: Daughter of the Blood

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.