The Invisible Ring (Black Jewels, Book 4) [Mass Market Paperback]

Anne Bishop (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 3, 2008

A prequel set in the ?dark and sensual world?( 11th Hour) of the national bestselling Black Jewels Trilogy.

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 slavery once again. The notorious queen who has purchased him, known as the Gray Lady, may not be what she seems. Soon, Jared faces a difficult choice: his freedom, or his honor.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

In this engaging story of Jared, a Red-Jeweled Warlord and unwilling pleasure slave, Bishop returns to the world of her Black Jewels trilogy (Daughter of the Blood, Heir to the Shadows, and Queen of the Darkness). Jared, who has murdered his owner and attempted escape, is recaptured and sold to the mysterious Gray Lady. It soon becomes clear that Jared's new queen is not what she seems to be, and he joins with his fellow slaves--all of whom hide their own secrets--to protect the Gray Lady. During her desperate flight from Dorothea SaDiablo, the Black Widow intent on destroying her and claiming her territory, Jared comes to terms with his own demons and discovers what it means to be truly bonded to a queen.

Bishop uses her usual skill to move interesting, rounded characters through a well-drawn world. Although this is a standalone book, there are ties with the events of the trilogy, most especially the appearance of the compelling Daemon Sadi. The author still pulls no punches in describing the sexual violence and misery that are as much a part of this intricate world as the gender role-reversals and the often-agonizing demands of honor and magic. A pleasurable read for fans of emotionally charged fantasy who enjoy both complex characters and societies, and who are not averse to following characters through their struggles and achievements. --Luc Duplessis --This text refers to an alternate Mass Market Paperback edition.

About the Author

Anne Bishop made her first short fiction sale in 1988. Her most recent work has appeared in White Swan, Black Raven and 365 Scary Stories. She lives in upstate New York.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Roc Trade (June 3, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451462068
• ISBN-13: 978-0451462060
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (70 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #331,792 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Anne Bishop is a winner of the William L. Crawford Memorial Fantasy Award, presented by the International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

43 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent dark fantasy!, October 20, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Invisible Ring (Black Jewels, Book 4) (Mass Market Paperback)

I read the Black Jewels trilogy when it first came out and thought it was about the best thing I'd read in a long time. Now Ms. Bishop comes out with The Invisible Ring, a story set in the same world as the trilogy, but hundreds of years before.

What some of the other reviews have suggested is that the characters weren't as well developed and they felt a bit "let down". Keep in mind that this is a *standalone* book and so Ms. Bishop did not have 3 books to develop characters. Also, only 2 of the same characters from the trilogy show up in Ring, and I think some were expecting something along the same thing. Don't listen to them! This book takes place essentially over a few weeks or months, NOT many years as the trilogy.

Others have already written about the plot, so I won't go into that here. Ms. Bishop has a website that has an excerpt of The Invisible Ring posted, so I suggest that you go read that for yourself!...

34 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thoroughly Enjoyable Prequel, December 16, 2001

By 

mayfayre "mayfayre" (New Jersey USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Invisible Ring (Black Jewels, Book 4) (Mass Market Paperback)

Having read Ms. Bishop's Black Jewels Trilogy (and loved it), I thought that this book worked well as a prequel, and is probably the best way to introduce a new reader to the Black Jewels realms. I thought that the whole society was more concisely explained in this book. It also gives the backstory about the Grey Lady mentioned in the Trilogy.

This storyline is more straight-forward than the Trilogy. The characters in this book would seem to be easier for a new reader to understand (in that they're less exotic, everything being relative of course) and the realms are presented in a less complicated fashion, yet the book still gives an intriguing hint of of the depth and complexity of the Trilogy books. There are enough teases about Daemon Sadi, Lucivar Yaslana, Surreal, and the rest of the Trilogy characters to make reading the other books inevitable - even just to find out the outcome of Dorothea SaDiablo's machinations, not to mention learning whether or not Daemon Sadi's true love is ever born. And for the readers who've already read the Trilogy, the teases were nice reminders of what makes the Trilogy so special.

Even if you've stayed away from fantasy, this book is a good introduction to the genre, since there are enough points of familiarity for a new reader to feel confortable with. Best of all, if you enjoy this book, you have the three books of the Trilogy to look forward to!

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars good follow-up to series or stand alone, June 6, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The Invisible Ring (Black Jewels, Book 4) (Mass Market Paperback)

This book is a nice follow-up to Bishop's first three books. I liked that Daemon made a couple of cameo appearances in this book. As I had already read the first three, I understood a lot more about what that character was about and about Bishop's style. This also helped me to understand the protagonists of this book. The plot was predictable, mostly because book 3 of the series hints at it. That's okay, though. I prefer a book that I can count on to take me where I expect the story to go. In comparison to the other three, this book discusses more "average" characters, while the series discussed characters of extraordinary ability. I found their lack of abilities and having to resort to their wits on occasion to be refreshing.

I will be looking for future books by Anne Bishop and I hope she writes more books about Daemon's and Lucivar's adventures - pre-Janelle or post-Janelle.

By the way, Anne Bishop's strength is her character development. They are all outstandingly written and now that I'm finished reading all the books, I am finding that I miss the characters.