Book Review: Black Jewels: Dreams Made Flesh SPOILERS!

Anne Bishop's first anthology for her Black Jewels saga was published in 2006 and features four new tales set in Anne's vivid fantasy world. Synopsis: Jaenelle is the most powerful Witch ever known, centuries of hopes and dreams made flesh at last. She has forged ties with three of the realm's mightiest Blood warriors: Saetan, the High Lord of Hell, who trains Jaenelle in magic and adopts her as his daughter; Lucivar, the winged Eyrien Warlord who becomes her Protector; and the near-immortal Daemon, born to be Witch's lover. Jaenelle has assumed her rightful place as Queen of the Darkness and restored order and peace to the realms... but at a terrible cost. Collected here are the beguiling stories about the origins of the mystical Jewels, the forbidden passion between Lucivar and a simple hearth withc, the clash between Saetan and a Priestess, and the choice Jaenelle must make between her magic and happiness with Daemon...

The first story is called Weaver of Dreams. It's about an Arachnid spider who finds the dying remains of Draca's original dragon body. Draca gave her life to spread her Gift to all of the females in the realms of Terrielle and Kaeleer. The Arachnid earns the Gift and becomes the first Weaver of Dreams.

The second story (more like novella) is called The Prince of Ebon Rih. It's about Lucivar and a hearth witch called Marion. Jaenelle finds Marion about to be raped by twisted Eyrien males and rescues her. Luthivan, Lucivar's mother, demeans Marion and Jaenelle over hears this and gets fed up with her. She takes Marion to Lucivar, who everyone agrees needs a hearth witch to keep the place clean, and over the next few months, Marion and Lucivar start ot fall in love, despite ploys from Luthivan. The ploys remind Saetan of Heketah's scheming to break apart Peyton SaDiablo from his lover and separate him from his father. Saetan threatens Luthivan but she continues anyway. Lucivar teaches Marion how to fight like an Eyrienwarrior. Throughout the novella, an aristo witch named Roxi tries to seduce Lucivar . He threatens to kill her if she breaks into his house one more time. She gets angry when Marion starts to become the focus of Lucivar's life and threatens Marion that, after she and Lucivar get married, she'll have Marion disposed of. Marion asks how he'll do anything for her and Roxi replies that she'll tell the Queen of Ebon Rih that Lucivar tried to rape her and, as punishment, he should serve her for a year. Marion attacks her and, after Lucivar breaks it up and Jaenelle says she'll tear Marion and Roxi up if either one is lying, Lucivar has Roxi exiled. Luthivan, unhappy that Lucivar is paying Marion so much attention, casts a spell on her and tries to break them up. Saetan, furious, descends on Marion but learns about the spell and breaks it. Marion and Lucivar get married while Luthivan storms off.

The third story is called Zuulaman. Saetan and Heketah are expecting another child and the islands of the Zuulaman nation are badgering Saetan for more control in Dhemlan, Terreille. Heketah, who wants the trade to go through, goes to Zuulaman and has the Zuulaman ambassador say that until Saetan signs the papers, they're going to kepp Heketah. Saetan holds his ground, but he walks the Twisted Kingdom when, under Heketah's orders, the Zuulaman kill the newly born child. Saetan, mad and insane, uses his entire power and wipes out the Zuulamn islands, including their art, history, culture, everything. Andulvar Yaslana hears about this and asks Geoffry and Draca how it's possible and they tell him that the former Zuulamans shouldn't have provoked Saetan, as he is the High Lord of Hell. Heketah is scared of Saetan and Andulvar needs some time to consider all of this. (This is of note because Lucivar asks Andulvar about Zuulaman in The Prince of Ebon Rih when Saetan refuses to tell him why Dorothea and Pruul's twisted queen wouldn't kill Luciavar or Daemon and, if Saetan should find out that his children were killed, he'd wipe out Hayll and Askavi in Terreille).

The fourth and final story (again, more like novella) is called Kaeleer's Heart. Daemon struggles to grasp that Jaenelle, for all that she was, chose to give up her ebony power. A scheming aristo witch known as Lektra (who want's Daemon as her lover) tries to kill Jaenelle to free Daemon from her. Lektra is revealed to be working with Roxi, who wants revenge on the SaDiablo family for her exile. Surreal and Lucivar get involved when things take a turn for the worse. After a few weeks of rumors, secretly stared by Lektra, the town of Dhelman talks about it. Daemon is angry, but doesn't care what others think. Lektra is the lone voice, or so she thinks, that these rumors are false and that everyone knows how much he loves Jaenelle. She's doing this in a vain attempt to win his love. Daemon and Jaenelle secretly get married in the unicorn's territory, and spend a day or so at Khary and Morghann's place. When Lektra tries again to attack Jaenelle, Daemon becomes enraged. He and Jaenelle stage their anger at a ballroom dance where the two of them are pretending to be angry at each other in an attempt to draw the would-be killer out. Daemon learns about Lektra being behind the attacks from Lektra's cousin and Daemon kills him. He pays Lektra and Roxi a visit and kills Roxi. He slowly poisons Lektra in an orgasm and then burns her house. Daemon learns that Jaenelle still is Witch and that she herself dreamed of having a normal life and was granted Twilight's Dawn, a Jewel with the powers of all the Jewels. At the end, Daemon and Jaenelle get married before everyone in a big celebration, days after the Dhemlan queens beg Daemon to be the ruling Warlord Prince of Dhelman, a title Saetan had previously had.

All in all, a great collection of stories by Anne Bishop. She's clearly shown how rich and exotic her world is and how much the story can continue for her main cast. Very rich character development and a rich use of dark seductive scenes that make you want to root for the main characters.

Book Review: Star Wars: Republic Commando: Hard Contact SPOILERS!

Star Wars: Republic Commando: Hard Contact was the first Star Wars novel by Karen Traviss. It's about a recently formed squad called Omega and all about the beginnings of the war, especially a Jedi dealing with the Republic having its own army of clones and how she deals with that. Synopsis: As the Clone Wars rage, victory or defeat lies in the hands of elite squads that take on the toughest assignments in the galaxy--stone-cold soldiers who go where no one else would, do what no one else could... On a mission to sabotage a nanovirus research facility on a Separatist-held planet, four clone troopers operate under the very noses of their enemies. The commandos are outnumbered and outgunned, deep behind enemy lines with no backup--and working with strangers instead of trusted teammates. Matters don't improve when Darman, the squad's demolitions expert, gets cut off from the others during planetfall. Even Darman's apparent good luck in meeting a Jedi Padawan vanishes once she admits to her woeful inexperience. For the isolated clone commandos and stranded Jedi, a long, dangerous journey lies ahead, through hostile territory brimming with Trandoshan slavers, Separatists, and suspicious natives. A single misstep could mean discovery...and death. It's a virtual suicide mission for anyone--anyone except Republic Commandos.

The novel opens with a first-person account of the last time Darman hears from his squad in the Battle of Geonosis. After evacuation from the planet, Darman is assigned to a new squad called Omega. He's not the only one: there's Atin from Prudii Squad, Niner from an unknown squad, and Fi from another dead squad. Jedi Master and General Arligan Zey assigns them to the planet Qiilura, where the nanovirus research facility is. Apparently, a Separatist scientist named Ovolot Qail Uthan, is developing a nanovirus that is aimed at clone troopers. She's guarded by a True Mandalorian mercenary. Zey tells Omega that there's a Jedi Master and his Padawan, Etain, are on the planet and haven't reported in since before the Clone Wars kicked off. Etain, meanwhile, is on the run from a Weequay mercenary working for the True Mandalorian, who's name is Ghez Hokan. The local human farmers take Etain in and hide her from Hokan, despite the fact that she's a Jedi and beings on the Outer Rim heavily mistrust Jedi.

Omega heads for Qillura and when they get there, they paratroop down when their transport is blasted out of the sky. Niner, Fi, and Atin land near each other but Darman gets separated and tries to find his squad. Instead, he meets a local shape-shifter called Jinart, who lures him to Etain. It's there, during their initial meeting, that she shows she doesn't have knowledge that the galaxy is in a war and that she was unaware that the Republic had an army of clones. After days of travel, Etain becomes more and more confident in becoming a commander while learning tactics and military strategy from Darman. Ghez Hokan has not only killed Etain's Master but has also removed a Neimoidian for incompetence and gets an army of Battle Droids to help him secure the base. The Weequay gets captured by Niner and the others and within days, the meet up with Etain and Darman.

Using the Force, Etain learns that Hokan has hidden Dr. Uthan in one of two buildings. They devise a strategy to infiltrate both places at once and locate the doctor. Things don't go as planned. Hokan, though expecting an army of clone troopers, beings to sabotage the base except for the research lab. The virus is their last defense against the clones but circumstances force them to flee the base. Hokan is killed by Fi while Darman brings Uthan down. They rendezvous in a field where Master Zey shows up and stays on Qiilura with Etain to train the locals in self-defense. Darman and the rest of Omega leave Qiilura as hey head back into the war.

All in all, a very good first novel for Karen Traviss to explore the Star Wars galaxy. Well crafted, great character arcs, and a strong, believable cast kept my interest. It lagged a bit in the middle where the only action is both groups planning to take each other down and with the members of Omega Squad searching for one another.

Book Review: A Black Jewels Novel: The Invisible Ring SPOILERS!

In the 1990s, Anne Bishop blew our minds away with her stellar Black Jewels Trilogy and in 2000 she returned with another tale set in her world. That novel was called The Invisible Ring, and it featured Daemon when he was still a prisoner of Dorothea SaDiablo. But he's just a side character here. The main hero is a Red-Jeweled Warlord called Jared and tells his tale of how he met the last of the Gray Lady's and how her power was used to wipe out a Terriellean army (yes, this is the book that Daemon brought Jaenelle in Queen of the Darkness). Jared is a Red-Jeweled Warlord bound as a pleasure slave by the Ring of Obedience. After suffering nine years of torment as a slave, he murdered his owner and escaped--only to be caught and sold into slaver once again. Purchased by a notorious queen, Jared fears he will share the mysterious fate of her other slaves--never to be seen again--and so prepares himself for death. But the Gray Lady may not be what she seems, and Jared soon faces a difficult decision: his freedom... or his honor.

Dorothea assigns her new Master of the Guard, Krelis to kill the Gray Lady at a slave auction. It's there that the Gray Lady buys Jared and puts the Invisible Ring on him. Jared is mortified by this. He's heard tales of what became of her slaves, that they've all been killed on the journey back to her territory of Dena Nehele. In the group of slaves that she's purchases is an insane man, several kids, and a "broken" Black Widow. During an attack, Jared saves the Gray Lady's life and learns that she's not an old woman, but rather the granddaughter of the real Gray Lady. Jared is furious with her for putting her life in danger and nearly getting herself killed. Lia, the Gray Lady's granddaughter, tells him that after the last assassination attempt, her grandmother and Queen wouldn't risk it and that they've been using the salve market auctions to buy slaves and free them once they return to Dena Nehele. Days later, another attack occurs and Jared takes Lia, who's wounded, to a hotel off their traveling path. Daemon meets Jared there and, after healing Lia, demands to know why Jared is traveling with a young woman. Jared tells Daemon everything that happened once he was purchased. Daemon reveals that he used his Black Jewels to plant a persuasion spell on the "Gray Lady" to buy Jared.  Daemon pays for jared and Lia's room and tells Jared he wears the "Silver" Ring. Puzzled by what this means, and after Lia's several denials that the Invisible Ring is real, he begins to question whether or not he's a free man. He takes her back, days later, to the group and they continue their travels to Dena Nehele. Meanwhile, it appears the Krelis has been following a trail left by a spy in the Gray Lady's slave group.

Days later, and after Jared, with the Warlord Prince Blaed, convince Lia and the Black Widow Thera to take their coaches through the Shaladoran Territory as it's in front of the mountains that ring Dena Nehele. In truth, Jared wants to see his family again. When they arrive, they find the whole territory in ruins. Apparently the Queens of Shalador refused to bow down before Dorothea and she had her army slaughter everyone. Only a handful remain. It's revealed then that Lia is a virgin and doesn't have the Gray Jewels. She still has her Green ones and is vulnerable to her enemies. Jared sets aside his anger and, after talking with a rogue Warlord named Talon, forms a plan to help her reach safety. Lia asks Jared to see her through her Virgin Night and makes the Offering to the Darkness and comes out with the Gray Jewels. Jaren learns from Talon that the Silver Ring stands for Honor and the Gold for Lover, and that they are very real. They prepare to leave but the path is blocked by Krelis and they learn that the spy among them is Brock and his brother is the insane Garth (who was a Master of the Guard at one point). Lia connects everyone to Jared as he wears the Red Jewels. The Hayllians attack and during the fight, Lia panics and is killed. Jared roars in anger and the connections flare with Gray Power and wipe out the Hayllian army. It turns out that the witch that was hit was Thera with a sack of pig ofals and that Lia was in a safe Gray bubble. A day later, they arrive in Dena Nehele and Jared leaves with Talon to "shed my slave skin." In spring, Jaren meets Daemon in an inn and Daemon tells him that he's heard about Witch and how he was born to be her lover. They part ways after Daemon says that Jared now wears the Gold. In Dena Nehele, Jared runs into Grizelle, the Gray Lady who wants to know if he's there to put more hurt into her granddaughter's heart. He says he isn't and that he wears the Gold and goes to kiss Lia.

All in all, a great prequel to the whole series. A wonderful tale of magic and adventure and love. Anne Bishop was at her best and continues to be so throughout the whole series and her other fantasy novels.