Review - Murder of Crows by Anne Bishop

Murder of Crows by Anne Bishop
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Much like the first book in this series, I started by feeling a little... off about this book. It seemed too contrived, too naive-girl-falls-for-clueless-alpha-male (that's a category, right?). But. Somewhere about halfway through this book I realized that what I was actually reading was a book about culture clash. About Us versus Them and how we get there and how very, very hard it is to back away from that. Bishop's character work is subtle here... although you're rooting along the way for the main characters, you begin to realize that the Others are clearly not in the right here, although neither are the humans who are violently targeting the terra indigene or the blood prophets. One reviewer described the romance line in this book as a slow burn but I think it's a solid description of the series as well.

I still had a few qualms with this book. For instance, Bishop hasn't fully explored how the Others' inconsistent and strangling treatment of humanity, a sentient species, is directly related to the justified resentment of humanity and thereby the uprising of humans against them (although from the tone of this book, I expect this won't be long in coming). Some descriptions are too much tell instead of show (e.g. Tess seemed permanently pissed off, so the continuing descriptions of her red, coiling hair weren't really helping me get a feeling for the dynamic tension ). And it really is a little too much naive-girl-falls-for-clueless-alpha-male at the beginning, with some campy moments that were more cringe-inducing than funny for me. However, the world-building was excellent: the introduction of the Intuits, seeing other Courtyard Others, hints of a larger conflict brewing overseas. I'm still having trouble connecting emotionally with Meg but really enjoyed the parallel internal conflicts of Simon and Monty as they try to reconcile radically different ways of life and justice. I get jumpy just thinking of Monty's daughter Lizzy and the anticipation of trouble brewing there, so Bishop has clearly succeeded in getting me to invest in this world.

Ultimately, this is a in-it-for-the-long-haul style series with steady, subtle development of themes of how we treat the Other, how conflicts escalate, and the tremendous vision and courage it takes to alter the seemingly inevitable without destroying the touchstones of identity. I'm more excited to read the third installment in this series than I've been for a new Bishop book since the publication of the last Black Jewels book. Highly recommended for fantasy fans.

Review - Written in Red by Anne Bishop

Written in Red by Anne Bishop
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a novel which benefits from a patient reader who is willing to suspend early judgement. I had my doubts about it for a bit. The story is slow to become detailed enough for my enjoyment. There were times that I felt the internal "rules" of the Others weren't clear enough or followed consistently. For instance, early on we see the Others attack and eat 3 men who trespass, with no chance given for an explanation. Yet they tolerate Asia Crane's meddling with nothing more than snarls till she knowingly breaks a rule, at which point she is only banished. And in they meantime, the human employees come and go with no sense of terror. I feel like any sentient species should have worked up a consistent justice system, even if it is a violent one, in order to prevent complete anarchy from taking over. There must be some rule system that is not well shown.

However, as always, Bishop's characters shone through. While I wasn't a huge fan of the lead character, Meg, the secondary characters really pull you into the alternate world story that the author has built. There are many tales hinted at and left to explore in this world, which could easily surpass her Black Jewels series in complexity, if Bishop will stretch her authorial wings a bit. Sam was a particular favorite of mine, as Bishop uses him to let you get comfortable with the Others and then reminds the reader rather forcefully that he is a Wolf, not a dog. Her representation of two cultures at a crossroads of change was interesting; I was originally a little vexed with what appeared to be inconsistencies until I realized that two cultures starting to reach out to each other would be very hit-or-miss in their understanding.

Definitely recommended for fans of Bishop's previous work, who will find commonalities from earlier series amongst the newer elements of this setting. This would also make an excellent entry novel into alternate-world fantasy for a new fantasy reader, as it is not heavy on alternate vocabulary or magic rules which might be offputting to a novice reader. I am very much looking forward to the sequel, due out in about a year.