Customer Reviews

The Invisible Ring (Black Jewels, Book 4)

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(26)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

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!...

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!

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.

Fantasy novel THE INVISIBLE RING by Anne Bishop is a prologue to her beautiful and moving BLACK JEWELS TRILOGY, where powerful female witches rule the land and dangerous warlords serve them, in the bedroom and out.

In the INVISIBLE RING, Jared is a warlord who was tricked into serving as a pleasure slave for 9 years. Unable to bear the abuse any longer, he kills the queen witch who has enslaved him and is now sent to the slave auctions. There, the infamous and dreaded Grey Lady purchases him and several other slaves, and they begin a journey filled with mistrust, danger, upheaval, and deceit. Yet, they learn to work together, and Jared soon discovers that the Grey Lady is not what she seems.

This was an engaging story, and it was fantastic to revisit Bishop's world of dark-jeweled witches and warlords. I also enjoyed learning a little more about gorgeous, wicked Daemon Sadi (of THE BLACK JEWELS TRILOGY), who pops up here and there in several scene-stealing moments.

The only thing I didn't like is the rushed feel of the novel. For one, it briefly introduced the numerous slaves and other characters, who I couldn't always keep track of or distinguish from one another. That was distracting. I also felt some scenes were skimmed over, especially the final battle scene. But those aren't terrible flaws, and they didn't prevent me from enjoying Jared's story, which revolved around him earning his freedom, falling in love, and learning the secret of the invisible ring.

I'd definitely recommend this book for those interested in THE BLACK JEWELS TRILOGY and its follow-up, DREAMS MADE FLESH.

I loved this book. From the time I started it until the time I put it down, I was drawn into its web.

The book takes place before Jaenelle's birth (and the Black Jewels trilogy) yet after Tersa's promise of Witch's coming.

It is the story of the witch and warlord who first devised the style of web described in the Queen of the Darkness. The web Daemon remembered from his past.

This book had a nice appearance from Daemon Sadi, mentions of other characters from the Black Jewels triology. It was also a wonderful story. It came from the point of view of the "normal" Blood of the land. These Blood do not all wear dark jewels, do not know if Kaeleer and Hell exist, do not know Witch is coming. It tells of the final Queen who resists Dorothea's taint in Tereille. Plus, it gives some nice background on the culture of the Blood.

Once again, Ms. Bishop has created a spellbinding story with wonderful characters who you love to love and love to hate.

i read the trilogy first, and i picked this up because of that. While i understood the trilogy, this book did spell out the in's and out's of the fantasy world. The people in this are more normal for the land rather than being the most powerful as the Trilogy is. Overall, this was a great book the base is very welcome, and i LOVED this book.

When I choose to read this book I picked it up already knowing the future of the story. (from the Black jewels trilogy) So keeping this thought in mind I read the book as a story onto itself, and I was not dissapointed. The Invisiable Ring has much of the same wit, charm, and darkness in it that the Black Jewels has. In this story we met some new friends but also we met up Sadi again as well. While for me Sadi was a major player and love of the Black jewels his is truly not the only story in the realm. Here we meet a new queen tring to stand against Dorthea and we meet the Warlord that is tormented by the twisted ways of Hayel. We learn more about how they use the jewels, how the offering works, and the virgin night and why it can break a witch.

So while the book my not be as stong as the Black Jewels it is still a strong story by a very talented author. If you pick up the book remembering that you know the future and take the story on it's own you will not be dissapointed. As with the Black Jewles Trilogy this one is a keeper.

A strictly occasional fantasy reader, I picked up this book when my husband--who reads almost nothing but--brought it home from his favorite used bookstore. Out of boredom as much as anything, I began to read one night...and very quickly found myself slipping into Anne Bishop's world of Queens, Warlords, and Jeweled Magic. I stayed up most of the night reading, and I'm sure my coworkers wondered what had me so distracted the next day! I couldn't wait to get home and finish it, almost as if I was under...a spell? I fell in love with Jared, was drawn to Daemon Sadi, and found myself rooting passionately against Dorothea and her Captain of the Guard. Bishop's strong characterizations and richly detailed universe make this novel compelling. I did not want the story to end. Unlike many reviewers, I came to Invisible Ring without having read the Dark Jewels trilogy (it appears this is its prequel); needless to say, it's the next thing on my reading list! ONE CAUTION: this book contains some pretty graphic sex and violence and is not for those whose sensibilities are easily offended. In fact, the first two or three chapters may make you think you have picked up a so-called "adult" novel. Hang in there...the rest of the book is definitely worth it.

THE INVISIBLE RING is a nice adventure/love story expanding on Anne Bishop's BLACK JEWELS world. It's a fairly pleasant but average story about a slave, male, being used as a pleasure slave who 's journey it is to regain his honor and self respect, oh and yes find true love on the way.

The story itself is fairly pedestrian but the world Ms. Bishop has created is anything but. It's a fascinating mixture of magic, caste social structure and firm if not unbreakable gender roles. The characters are interesting and well developed, the plot somewhat predictable but with enough twists and turns to make it interesting.

This is a good story but not a great one. But so what. How many really great stories are there? It is not the caliber as her Tir Alainn books but still not bad. It's a relatively short, pleasant read and I certainly RECOMMEND it.

This is the first Anne Bishop book that I've read, but I thought it was fabulous! One of the other reviewers made a comment calling her Eddings' daughter, but I feel that statement to be more of a compliment than anything else.

These authors are rare. They involve un in a universe where the author actually likes his or her characters. We are immersed into a world where I really want to know Jared or Garion. The plot may have been a little thin, but I really enjoyed the read.