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26 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Stunned and awed, February 8, 2006
This review is from: Queen of the Darkness (Black Jewels, Book 3) (Mass Market Paperback)
Mystifying, sensual and radiating with dark magic, tests of faith and compassionate love. This book just lungs for your heart, rips it apart, just to put it back together on the very, very last page.
I admit I havent been stunned and awed over a sci-fi/fantasy novel since the first coming of G.R. Martin. And I havent ached, fought, hoped and feared for a character like the one of Daemon Sadi since I read the first chapters about Tyrion "The Imp" Lannister in Martin's Game of Thrones. I mean, how can one writer catch her reader's uninhibited emotional attention, like Anne Bishop did with this last book of her terryfic Black Jewels Trilogy?
So, let's take a closer look. Queen of Darkness actually is neatly divided in two parts. In the first two thirds it's a - sometimes a bit slow - dance of longing, hope and finally passion. As Daemon Sadi, sworn consort to Jaenelle, the powerful Witch queen who rules the Shadow Realm, reenters the stage, he not only has to overcome his own fears: Would his beloved lady still want him after all that happened before? He also has to overcome her youthful uncertainties: Will she be enough for a man who has lived for 1700 years? Or will she break him apart if she claimed his heart, like those other witch queens tried by forcing him into a slave's service? Of course love prevails - that was never in question.
Had the story ended at this point, I would have considered QoD a good fantasy romance coming to a long awaited conclusion. But Anne Bishop got me there. She really tricked me into believing, that the rest of this novel would be a swift clean-up. Many otherwise good SF&F stories tend to conlude with a good deal of disappointment when the main protagonists become too strong and powerful (I just name Eddings as the master example for way too omnipotent leading characters). But in QoD all of sudden Jaenelle and her friends really face destruction of everything they treasure. And I swear, it's not some deus et machina out-of-nowhere threat, but some evil developments of ongoing machinations and a few well-placed twists of fate. When it seems as if even the greatest sacrifice wouldnt be enough, Daemon Sadi and Jaenelle come up with a devilish plan. And betraying those who trust the most is just a minor part of it. What follows is as mind-blowing as anything I've ever read. It's phenominal in detail, painful in execution and exhilarating in conclusion.
Anne Bishop - you've really crowned yourself as one of the gendre's best with those last 150 pages of Queen of Darkness.
> "Daemon?" There was so much uncertainty in her voice.
> "Hi, sweetheart" he said, his voice husky from the effort not to cry. "I've missed you."
> Her hand moved slowly, with effort, until her palm rested against his face. Her lips curved into a smile. "Daemon."
> This time, when she said this, it sounded like a promise, like a lovely caress.
Oh, what a jewel of beauty!
Thank you, Anne Bishop. Thank you very much for this lesson about pure and unconditional love. And if it comes to that, no sacrifice can be too big. No price too high. And no faith too deep.
So, after I read the last page, it was way past midnight. I went to my beloved wife who was already sound asleep and held her tight, so tight.
What more can I say?
I'm still weeping.
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20 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
With both a bang and a whimper., May 11, 2003
This review is from: Queen of the Darkness (Black Jewels, Book 3) (Mass Market Paperback)
This novel occupied me. I read it very quickly, in about twelve hours, wanting to know what happened after 'Heir to the Shadows.' It made me very emotional in places. All of those are supposedly the marks of a great novel. And yet... I rated it three stars when all's said and done. The good first: Daemon Sadi is back. And his character has gotten a reworking that wouldn't have been possible if not for the traumatic events that happened to him in the first two books. I see now some of the reasons for his absence in 'Heir to the Shadows,' and they are good ones. He is the bang in the book, his insecurity and returning confidence great conduits for the reader's emotions. And his actions near the end of the book really deserve the name of the novel's climax, rather than what Jaenelle does. I have rarely seen such a skillful evocation of a character dancing on the line between good and evil. I won't reveal what it is, not wanting to get into spoilers, but this is the part in all the books that most played with my emotions, and yet left me breathless and happy afterward, instead of irritated that I'd been toyed with. The other parts of the book were the whimper. When the book begins, we have leapfrogged several years in time, and I will reveal this, since I don't think it spoils much of the plot of the book: Lucivar is married. This abruptly appears, and we don't get to see much of his wife or son, which makes the transition appear pointless. Lucivar was developed as a deep character in 'Heir to the Shadows,' and there seems no reason to abandon that. I never quite learned what the author was doing here. The minor character problem has continued to pile up, so that I often flipped through the pages trying to reconcile a scene that didn't seem to make sense. Was this person the son of this woman, or her brother? Why was Character A so upset about Character B's action? One skill that Bishop does seem to lack is introducing large numbers of characters all at once. The book as a whole seems rushed, but the introduction or reintroduction of the characters especially so. The problems with Jaenelle have deepened and intensified. I could accept her characterization through Daemon's point of view, since he is in love with her and not seeing her realistically. But the other characters continue to stare at her with religious awe. It is very strange. I still had the feeling that most of their awe was for her potential powers, rather than what she had actually done. What Jaenelle actually does ends the book, and it was very disappointing to me. Where Daemon's ending kept me entranced, this made me almost close the book. Where I admired the emotions that Daemon's ending evokes, here I thought it was tears for the sake of tears. And the very, very last pages of the book seemed to be a shaky compromise between 'happy ending' and 'angsty ending.' Perhaps I'm alone in preferring one or the other, but if there's a compromise, let it be well-done. This didn't strike me that way. It's hard to say whether I'm disappointed with the trilogy or not. I would definitely recommend reading it. However, I can't recommend it wholeheartedly, and especially not to people who need to sympathize with a female character to keep the plot moving forward. I've heard the series touted because of Jaenelle, but I don't think she ever achieves the status of real heroics; those are reserved for Saetan, Lucivar, and Daemon. So if you don't mind male characters in the lead, love odd societies and dark fantasies, and can deal with an ambivalent ending, I would say go for it. If not, perhaps best to leave these on the shelves.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Oh - to have a fourth book!!, July 5, 2003
By A Customer
This review is from: Queen of the Darkness (Black Jewels, Book 3) (Mass Market Paperback)
To put it bluntly- this book ROCKS! It is the third in a trilogy about Jaenelle Angelline and what happens to her and the people around her after she has made the Offering. She has also become Queen of Ebon Askavi to save the Kindred from being slaughtered by the corrupt Blood who try to steal the land from them. Daemon returns in this book to be the consort of the new Queen. Along with his love and loyalty to her, she is protected by the three: father Saeten, brother Lucivar, and lover Daemon.(Don'tcha just love those names?)Many characters in these three books have names and places that play off the biblical and Shakespearean. This will become very important as the book draws to a close. This triangle of four will be the only thing that can save her as she attempts to save them all from their corrupt enemies loyal to Dorothea and Heketah within the Blood realm.
The development of the relationship between Daemon and Jaenelle is heart wrenching and several facts come to light which totally surprised me. You will have to read it to find out for yourself. I was absolutely delighted with the 'edge of your seat' ending. BUT I don't want it to be the end. I want to know what happens to the characters. Yes the war is fought but what happens when they go to pick up the pieces? It is rumored that there will be a fourth book offered and I pray there will be. Queen of the Darkness had a great ending but left me wanting more. Characters are so well developed, the plot flows, and it is a real page turner. You have to get this book.
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