Queen of the Darkness

This is definitely a darker, more complex read -- but not The Silence of the Lambs or Hannibal dark. I've had books make me laugh and cry, but I don't think I've ever had a book leave me with a lump in my throat for the last 20 pages or so. Ever read something you KNOW has to turn out good, but you are still pleading with the author to let the end be the one you really want? Trust me, I keep re-reading the last page...just to be sure I read it right.

I love these books, really! I like the intricacy of the world and the magic, the darkness of it, and most of all the characters. In this book, Daemon Sadi was my favorite. I liked how Jaenelle's territories are introduced to the newcomers. And when things get tense, I really liked how dark Daemon got. The ending could have been a bit more extensive for me. Instead of a lot of worrying if everything is going to be ok, I would have liked an account of the final 'battle' from Jaenelle's point of view, and perhaps a bit more detail about where it's going from there. But perhaps that is saved for one of the next books... Overall well worth five stars!

Uma das razões que me levou a demorar tanto tempo a escrever esta opinião, foi que fiquei extenuada depois de ter terminado o livro. Outra foi os sentimentos contraditórios que senti quando o terminei. Olhando para a trilogia como um todo acho que é das melhores que já li até ao momento: bem construída e pensada, um mundo maravilhoso criado com todas as suas particularidades físicas e sociais, que ficará na minha memória por muito e bom tempo. Como um todo. Este Rainha das Trevas peca, no entanto, por entregar demasiado depressa (e demasiado pouco) determinados desenvolvimentos que eu esperava com alguma ansiedade desde o primeiro livro. Fez-me um pouco de confusão todo aquele desenvolvimento desde a chegada de Daemon, que show more não atava nem desatava, precisar ali de um empurrão da Surreal e após a conversa… pimba, já está. Humm?! Que romântico… ou não.
Compreendo porque o Daemon seja um personagem favorito de tantos, no entanto achei-o com demasiadas características femininas para o meu gosto, com todas as suas dúvidas e indecisões. Como é que alguém com 1700 anos e considerado um dos homens mais belos de sempre pode ter dúvidas?? Não compreendi, lamento. Redimiu-se na cena de salvamento de Lucival e Saetan, e, essa foi inclusive, uma das cenas mais empolgantes do livro.
Lucivar, um dos meus favoritos da trilogia foi infelizmente remetido para papel de irmão mais velho. O que significa que tudo aquilo que imaginei que iria acontecer (na minha mente perversa) acabou por não acontecer.
Surreal, outra personagem que tanto me prendeu, com a premissa de prostituta assassina, foi outra que ficou aquém das expectativas. Corajosa e forte acabou por não ter um papel nada de extraordinário no enredo.
E por fim, Jaenelle, o personagem no centro de toda esta história. Se inicialmente gostei e compreendi não haver um ponto de vista dela, acabou por ser algo que me frustrou bastante ao longo da leitura. Queria saber mais sobre o que se passava, o que ela sentia e pensava e não haver isso fez-me muita falta.

Pontos positivos: O papel definitivo dos Parentes no enredo, a construção do mundo em todos os seus detalhes, assim como o desenrolar de eventos.

Pontos negativos: Andulvar, Lucivar, Daemonar, e mais uns não-sei-quantos-“ar”, credo!! Que confusão. Detesto nomes inventados, a comichão continua.

Fez-me reflectir sobre: Que é realmente difícil perceber porque é que há livros que funcionam bem para umas pessoas e não para outras, mesmo quando têm ingredientes que à partida parecem que iam funcionar assim como é difícil terminar esta saga pensando “Gostei muito mas…” porque não consegui aceitar bem o que a história me deu, porque desejei mais do que a história me veio a dar. show less

I cannot imagine what it must have been like to read these books when they were first published and you couldn't read one after the other, within days. They are delightfully delicious reads, with incredible world craft and characters that make you care. I loved book 1, loved book 2 even more than I read book three--The only proper expression here is, of course, "Mother Night." I love the kindred characters, the way we finally got to understand why Daemon is the Sadist. The intrigue in this book is so wonderfully intense! I think the point if view jumping was completely masterful. The last 50 pages made me cry and smile too. So great.

And this concludes my Black Jewels trilogy reread. Finished the book in 2 days. That was quite satisfying. While I think I'm about ready for the new release I'm not sure I'm ready to leave this world yet. Review from 2016 is below.

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Jeanelle has made her Offering to the Darkness and accepted her fate to rule as Queen and protector of the Shadow Realm. The taint from Terrielle continues to spread. Even Witch cannot stop it alone. Somewhere, lost in the madness of the Twisted Kingdom, is Daemon, her promised Consort. Yet even their combined strength may not be enough to secure the Realms from their enemies. A final sacrifice must be made for Jeanelle to save the Realms and her loved ones and to cleanse the Blood.

Queen of the show more Darkness is the third in the Black Jewels trilogy by Anne Bishop. The final installment picks up 5 years where the second book leaves off. War is brewing. Hekatah and Dorothea's scheming knows no bounds and won't stop until all the Realms are brought under their rule or are left in ruins.

All of the main characters arcs are nearly done. Jeanelle has transitioned from a young, shy, unsure girl into a confident and powerful young woman. She rules in Kaeleer with her court full of powerful Queens, Warlords and Kindred. Jeanelle feels keenly the responsibility she has shouldered, that she never wanted, to take care of the Blood and the land. Saetan has settled into his role as family patriarch and court Steward. Luciver, freed from the corruption and slavery he was trapped in, has found peace in his life. He has become a loving husband, doting father and his joy comes through on the page. He has also accepted his role as the Warlord Prince of Ebon Rih and takes his duties very serious. And then there's Daemon. Lost in the Twisted Kingdom he has finally started to find his way out and is faced with the challenge of finding out exactly what happened that night seven years ago. He still has a long way to go and I don't want to say too much more for fear of major plot spoilers.

This was the most emotional of the three books for me. To see the characters fight so hard for happiness, get to taste it for a moment and then have it ripped away was heartbreaking. It is a dark fantasy series so there is some collateral damage expected. Bishop doesn't pull any punches.

The action is fast paced and the gore factor is higher in this book than the last. The final 100 pages of the book were hard to put down.

The only draw back in this series in general, and why I can't give any of the books five stars, is the repetitive descriptors that Bishop uses. You get "sapphire voice" and characters "snarling" at each other constantly. It was particularly bad in the second book and still there, but less glaring, in the third.

I thoroughly enjoyed my return to the Black Jewels trilogy. Bishop has gone on to write other stories in the Black Jewels world, but the trilogy is where it's at for me. I know I will return again some day when I need that dark fantasy fix that is unique to Bishop's writing. show less

“Know this,” she said. “I will use every bit of Craft I have learned, every drop of strength that I have in me to defeat this monster. But if I stand alone, I will surely be defeated. If we stand and fight together, we have a chance to rid ourselves of the High Lord and those who serve him. Many of us won’t survive this fight, but our children – ” Her voice broke. It took her a moment to continue. “But our children will know the freedom we paid so dearly to give them.”

Thus does Dorothea open this final round of the Black Jewels Trilogy, with a call to arms for all of Terreille to rise up against Kaeleer and the Dark Court which Jaenelle has established there. As immigrants flood into Kaeleer looking for a brighter future show more and an escape from the corruption Heketah and Dorothea have brought to the Craft in Terreille, secret armies amass waiting to claim Kaeleer for themselves, and still the Dark Priestess and her puppet scheme to bring Jaenelle under their own influences.

The weakest of the three novels, Queen of the Darkness still packed a good punch. Most lacking from this episode was Bishop’s tendency towards insightful character development: Throughout the trilogy, Heketah and Dorothea had both felt incredibly one-dimensional, and this novel – by pushing them to the forefront of the action – really brought that out. The complexity and depth which characterizes the rest of the main cast just wasn’t there for these two, and it made them stand out as the least believable characters in Bishop’s world.

I nevertheless couldn’t put the book down, wanting so badly to know what would happen to this great cast of characters that I’d come to know and love. Even at the trilogy’s finish, I was saddened to not have more to read. I really enjoyed these books, and will almost certainly be tracking down more of Anne Bishop’s work. show less

Beautiful. Lavish. Stunning.

I just can't find the words to describe that emotional surge and hopeless dreaming Anne Bishop has inspired in me.

This dark fantasy has taken over my life during the time I was reading it. Even knowing that the fantasy would end sooner, I couldn't help but feverishly flip through the pages of all three books.

Anne Bishop knows how to pull all your heart strings, making you laugh, love, live in the world she has created. Even with the story ended, I have a hopeless longing to continue living in its pages. The characters are so real you can't help but fall in love with them. Innocent Jaenelle, with all her dark power. Ravishing Daemon, fierce and sadistic, with a noble heart beneath his fearsome reputation. I've show more gone to sleep mooning over these characters, and dreaming of the tantalising dark world.

Bishop doesn't waste time explaining. She plunges you right into the middle of the Dark Kingdom, with its three Realms, races and magic abounding everywhere. As a result, the world, so different from ours, can seem a little confusing at first, but you quickly catch on, and soon it's like you've always lived in those pages.

You flow with all the moments. Your heart breaks for the characters, and you emerge triumphant with them. I've had to restrain myself from laughing aloud during the witty bits, littered throughout the series. I've flexed my fingers, so fired by the way Bishop portrays the antagonists that I've wanted to rip through something.

The first few blatant uses of magic, such as vanishing an object, annoyed me, but I quickly accepted that it was the Blood's way of life. Magic ran so deep in them. Another thing didn't sit well with me was, if the protagonists were the most powerful people in all three Realms, why couldn't they just blow up the antagonists and have done with? They were clearly capable of doing it, and had even considered it during the course of the story.

Nevertheless, it was such a beautiful story, its splendour overshadowed whatever tiny flaws there were. I'm still hungry for more, and Anne Bishop does satisfy her readers' cravings. There are other novels outside of the series that feature the dark Realms and the beloved characters. I myself have scurried down to my bookstore and procured a copy of Tangled Webs. A brief flick through has already set my heart beating, and I've fallen in love with the characters all over again.

I look forward to exploring the dreamscape with Jaenelle, Daemon, Luciver, Surreal and other characters again. Anne Bishop and her Black Jewels Trilogy has easily risen to the top of my favourites list, closely followed by George R.R Martin and his Song of Ice and Fire.

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It doesn't stop at Heir to the Shadows. The excitement continues in Queen of the Darkness. The masterful writing and splendid characters are still there, but a few things detracted from it, pulling it down half a star. For one, Dorothea's and Hekatah's scheming and the reappearance of Alexandra grated on my nerves. Perhaps that was intended, but I was so tempted to skip the scenes which featured Alexandra and her stupidity. Another thing, towards the end, Daemon's act as The Sadist to buy Jaenelle time seemed a little flat. Not flat as in it's not interesting, but there was a lack of peaks and falls in climaxes. It just seemed to rush along at a fast pace with constant intensity.

Near the beginning, it was hinted that Jaenelle would survive her sacrifice. Although references to the attempt to save her were written through the story, I feel it would have been better if it had been left to readers to worry anxiously over her fate till the end.

An excellent novel, one that I will be eager to reread again. I wish the story never had to end. But alas I am left to my own imagination to continue dreaming about the Dark Realms. show less