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153 of 157 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Avid Reviewer and Reader, April 28, 2005
Dreams Made Flesh is a wonderful addition to the Black Jewels Trilogy by Anne Bishop. The four stories contained in the anthology are "Weaver of Dreams," "the Prince of Ebon Rih," "Zuulaman," and "Kaeleer's Heart."
"Weaver of Dreams" is a brief history of the creation of the Spinner of Dreams, spiders. The evocative, rich, mythological inspiration for Draca's relationship to the spiders is fascinating to read about.
"The Prince of Ebon Rih" is Lucivar Yaslana and Marian's story. Many of the customs of Eyrien race are explored along with the intricate love between Lucivar and Marian. This story takes place at the conclusion of Heir to the Shadows.
"Zuulaman" is the story of the lengths Hekatah went to try and control Saetan. We learn a great deal about Hayll's Hundred Families and how Saetan became the ruler of the Dhemlan Territories. This story of treachery shows just how far Hekatah was willing to go to get her way.
"Kaeleer's Heart" is the long awaited story of what happened after the conclusion of Queen of Darkness. Janelle is healing, but not fast enough for Daemon. The real question is if Janelle wants to be all that she once was. Also addressed is the significance of Twilights Dawn, the jewel Janelle now wears. Many of the vibrant characters seen in the Black Jewels Trilogy make appearances in the story.
Dreams Made Flesh is a nice addition to the Black Jewels Trilogy. "Zuulaman" explains much of Saetan and Hekatah. "Kaeleer's Heart" puts a wonderful spin on the ending to the Queen of Darkness and gives a much more satisfying end to the series. The weakness of this anthology is that is not a stand alone. This book is primarily for fans of the series.
Anne Bishop is the author numerous fantasy books, the Black Jewels Trilogy; Daughter of the Blood, Heir to the Shadows, and Queen of Darkness. Invisible Ring is set in the same world as the Black Jewels Trilogy. She is also the author the World of the Fae series; Pillars of the World, the Shadows and the Light, and the House of Gaian. Bishop won the William L. Crawford Memorial Fantasy Award for the Black Jewels Trilogy. Please visit her website, http://www.annebishop.com/ for more information.
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51 of 55 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great romantic fantasy, November 20, 2004
"The Prince of Ebon Rih". Since his return from the sadistic court in Terreille, warlord Prince of the Blood Lucivar wants nothing to do with women. His sister Jaenelle prevents the rape of a hearth witch by five aristos; then tells the woman that she will be Lucivar's new housekeeper. When Lucivar realizes he has feelings for Marian, he woos her but his mother wants him to marry an aristo and will do whatever is necessary to end this relationship. This absolutely riveting romantic fantasy will appeal to readers of both genres.
"Zuulamam". Saetan's wife is pregnant and asks him to help her family out of their financial difficulties. When he refuses, she goes to Zuulamam where she pretends to be a hostage to get what she wants. She and the Zulamam do something horrific that pushes the Lord of Hell into a killing rage. This short story is a great character study that shows the many different faces of Saetan.
"Kaeleer's Heart". To save the realm of Kaeleer against its enemies, the witch Jaenelle with her lover Daemon worked their magic; Jaenette almost died. When she came out of the healing webs, Daemon worried that she no longer loved him just as she feared that she changed too much fro Daemon to love her anymore. A witch of the Blood who covets Daemon tries to break the lovers up. Daemon, more powerful than his father Saetan, unleashes his wrath on the realm seeking the person responsible for the attempts on Jaenette's life. This is a beautiful adult fairy tale.
These three novellas and the very short story " Weaver of Dreams" are exciting, entertaining and exotic tales in the "Black Jewels" Universe.
Harriet Klausner
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30 of 33 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
!!!!!!!, February 3, 2005
I honestly think 7 exclamation points is a perfect title for this review. Finally we have an ending to the Black Jewels Trilogy (sorry if that killed it for those who haven't read it yet, but at least you won't have to wait as long as those who read it did to get a real ending). And what an ending it is! I loved it!
Ok, so this book is actually comprised of four stories. The first, in all honestly, I completely didn't understand. One of the things I disliked about the BJ Trilogy was that I totally didn't understand the whole threads and webs thing. But hey, thats just me, maybe you got it and you'll like this story. For those who didn't, well luckily its short and you don't need to understand it.
The next story is about how Lucivar met his wife. Ahhhhh what a beautiful story. Some parts are sad, some super happy, some anger, etc. I promise its not cheesy though (well, maybe not too much). There were some parts that made me laugh my butt off too, much more than most of Bishop's work (good stuff, I promise). You get to see more sides of Jaenelle as well; more of her human-like qualities are shown, but she's still a pretty fierce chick. After this story, Lucivar really grew on me, much more than in the trilogy.
The third story is basically what happens when you piss Saetan off. It goes back in time, previous to the whole trilogy (if this sounds like it'll throw you off, I promise it won't). You learn more about Saetan's character here, and it explains a few things you might have not understood before.
Last, but not least, is the addition to the ending of the BJ trilogy (I guess its technically not the ending, but feels more like an ending than the last one). Those questions you had when you finished the trilogy will all be answered, thank god. Definetly much more satisfying, as well as a great story in itself.
One thing I must point out- the cover art is so much better on this book. Its so lame, I know, but I really hated those covers. I'll even look past the fact that Jaenelle is blond, not a brunette, but oh well.
If you haven't read the Black Jewels Trilogy, you will not understand this book. It is specifically meant to add on to the original trilogy, so if you try to read it you will be sufficiently lost. But if you have read the trilogy, PICK THIS UP! Even if its been a while since you read them, do it. You can go ahead and re-read them, but its really not necessary. It had been a while since I read them, and I managed just fine. I found this book 50 times more engrossing than the trilogy, and I loved the triogy too. The stories flow better, the characters are more in depth, and finally you can rest easy in regards to what happens to everyone.
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