Twilight's Dawn: A Black Jewels Book (Black Jewels Trilogy) (edition 2011)

I picked this up last night, at the store, read a few pages of the last story "The High Lord's Daughter" and quickly put it back on the shelf to avoid looking like a idiot for crying.

I bought it in ebook form later in the evening; then I spent a good hour crying as I read the story. Ok, yes, I read the last story first. So sue me.

Anne Bishop is as powerful as ever. Her Black Jewels characters are real enough to make me cry and mourn and hope there will be more stories. ( )

Rather disappointing sequel to Black jewels story. I hoped that she will add more explanations and fill-up some plot holes that are left, not run trough 70-90 years of story and throw a lot of more things at us. ( )

I was a bit concerned when I finished the first of the four stories in this book... it wasn't a bad story, but it didn't have any angst or darkness or threat or suspense... it was just a glimpse into the (somewhat mundane) lives of the Black Jewels' characters.

The darkness and stress (will everything work out okay?) picked up in the following three stories. It seems that many people were disappointed in how some of the characters were "resolved" at the end, but I thought it was very fitting, believable, and had just the right level of heart-broken-ness.

It was as well written as the rest of the books in this series. Even the characters felt like they really were the "same" people as in the earlier books, without being repetitive about how/why they behaved the ways they did. ( )

When I marked this book as read, I actually mean I read the first 3 stories of the 4 that are in Twilight's dawn. The reason is that a friend warned me about the fourth story: it completely ruined all the Black Jewels books for her (see this review). So I didn't risk reading that one. As for the first three, they are similar to the other short stories in the series: in essence not really very special, but satisfying nonetheless, due to the incredibly sympathetic and engaging characters and the intricacy of the Black Jewels world. ( )

This review maybe controversial for some, but I really liked this book.

Of course I cried, of course I said WTF when the Surreal/Daemon connection appeared. But I got it because it was real. He didn't forget the love of his life, he struggled, but loved. He loved because the love of his life healed him in a way.
I think what iludes some readers is that they forget that Surreal really loved and felt devastated, also about Jaenelle's death. She didn't sit in the sidelines waiting for her turn. She was Jaenelle's closest female friend, a sister, she was instrumental in getting Jaenelle and Daemon to finally wed. She named her daughter after her.
Surreal and Daemon's love wasn't cliché or based in some pseudo fantasy we harbor about being the only thing the other wants or needs. She wasn't second best. She was loved and loved and it was all thanks to Witch.

I will never be a fan of killing off characters in a book. Mostly its done as a quick way to give drama to a plot (I'm looking at you J.K. Rowling!). But none of the deaths were really a surprise. We have been hearing about them coming. Perhaps Jaenelle's death deserved the gravitas that was bestowed upon Saetan's but maybe Ms. Bishop thought we had cried enough...

The thing I liked more about Anne Bishop's fantasy is that it seems real. They are real people who shop, read books, eat, take naps, etc. Often fantasy characters live only for the quest and their lives and day to day are only important when they are doing something other worldly. The insight into the mundane (which isn't that mundane) gives depth and sets Ms. Bishop's work apart.

In the end, this is the conclusion of a saga that is really close to my heart and it was a worthy ending. If you are a fan, but want to stay in the illusion that life isn't as unstoppable as the tides, then don't read it. ( )