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"Prick." "Bastard."
Am I the only person on the internet that honesty, unironically, loved the Black Jewels Trilogy?
It seems like it has become popular to diss this series, to read it because "omg so bad it's good!" and I'm a little tired of hearing it.
I honesty adored this series. I remember reading the ending of the last book hunched over with a flashlight in the front seat of the car, because I couldn't wait until I was at home to read it and later, practically trembling as I finished because it was so graphic and intense.
I ordered these books on interlibrary loan and was counting the minutes until I go the next one. I almost missed class because I misread the clock and was reading the "Heir of the Shadows".
It took me 2 hours to do 50 minutes of math homework the day that I got "Queen of the Darkness."
I remember all the hoops I had to jump through to order these books from amazon.com before I had working internet in my house, and I never for a minute thought they weren't worth the money or the effort.
Am I the only person who thought and still thinks Lucivar Yaslana is just about the hottest character ever written?
Who enjoyed the reversals of the good guys all being demons and living in hell?
Who didn't have a problem with the hero meeting the heroine when she was quite young because Daemon was freaking out enough for the both of us?
Who categorizes Saeten with Keith Mars, Iroh, and Mr Bennet - all men who I would crawl over broken glass to be their daughter?
Sure, you can step back and it's an overwrought fantasy gothic, but it's supposed to be. It's like reading Bronte and bitching about all the running around in the rain and madwomen in the attics.
Looking back, especially when I've read the entire series from cover to cover approximately six times, not counting the times I skipped to my favorite parts, yes, the prose gets a bit repetitive, and it's not on the same level as Patricia K McPhilip's, but whose is?
And if we're criticizing this series, could we please focus on some of the things that I found annoying, such as the fact that the tart girls (personality-wise) never get a happily-ever-after?
And if we're criticizing Anne Bishop, instead of vilifying her for writing a series that her id was clearly passionately involved with, could we be sorry that nothing she wrote afterwards had the passion of this series, and that she ended up rewriting less-interesting versions of the archtypes in her head? (And if she's going to be rewriting characters, why has a second Lucivar not shown up?)
I've never understood the concept of 'so bad it's good' but I know that some people enjoy ripping apart trashy books. However in-my-not-so-humble-opinion The Black Jewels Trilogy deserves better than to be fandom's latest punching bag.
Sure, I look back at all the sexual magic, and the incest (sub and textual) and the dramatics of it all, and sure, I see where you're coming from, I really do.
But It gets hard reading over and over how something I love is only enjoyable if you hate it.
It seems like it has become popular to diss this series, to read it because "omg so bad it's good!" and I'm a little tired of hearing it.
I honesty adored this series. I remember reading the ending of the last book hunched over with a flashlight in the front seat of the car, because I couldn't wait until I was at home to read it and later, practically trembling as I finished because it was so graphic and intense.
I ordered these books on interlibrary loan and was counting the minutes until I go the next one. I almost missed class because I misread the clock and was reading the "Heir of the Shadows".
It took me 2 hours to do 50 minutes of math homework the day that I got "Queen of the Darkness."
I remember all the hoops I had to jump through to order these books from amazon.com before I had working internet in my house, and I never for a minute thought they weren't worth the money or the effort.
Am I the only person who thought and still thinks Lucivar Yaslana is just about the hottest character ever written?
Who enjoyed the reversals of the good guys all being demons and living in hell?
Who didn't have a problem with the hero meeting the heroine when she was quite young because Daemon was freaking out enough for the both of us?
Who categorizes Saeten with Keith Mars, Iroh, and Mr Bennet - all men who I would crawl over broken glass to be their daughter?
Sure, you can step back and it's an overwrought fantasy gothic, but it's supposed to be. It's like reading Bronte and bitching about all the running around in the rain and madwomen in the attics.
Looking back, especially when I've read the entire series from cover to cover approximately six times, not counting the times I skipped to my favorite parts, yes, the prose gets a bit repetitive, and it's not on the same level as Patricia K McPhilip's, but whose is?
And if we're criticizing this series, could we please focus on some of the things that I found annoying, such as the fact that the tart girls (personality-wise) never get a happily-ever-after?
And if we're criticizing Anne Bishop, instead of vilifying her for writing a series that her id was clearly passionately involved with, could we be sorry that nothing she wrote afterwards had the passion of this series, and that she ended up rewriting less-interesting versions of the archtypes in her head? (And if she's going to be rewriting characters, why has a second Lucivar not shown up?)
I've never understood the concept of 'so bad it's good' but I know that some people enjoy ripping apart trashy books. However in-my-not-so-humble-opinion The Black Jewels Trilogy deserves better than to be fandom's latest punching bag.
Sure, I look back at all the sexual magic, and the incest (sub and textual) and the dramatics of it all, and sure, I see where you're coming from, I really do.
But It gets hard reading over and over how something I love is only enjoyable if you hate it.
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http://www.amazon.com/Daughter-Blood-Black-Jewels-Trilogy/dp/0451461487/ref=si3_rdr_bb_product
That's it's amazon page, and read the blurb. If that sounds like the kind of book you'd like, I'd suggest reading it.
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and...err...I have no idea if all that made sense, so I'll just say "I think it may be a personal context thing."
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It is, and I know it is - Bishop is clearly writing to her kinks, and if those kinks work for you (the gender reversals, the s&m subtext, the way the magic works, some classic fantasy [as in genre] tropes in general) the series works for you and if you step back and look at it from a more distanced perspective, it doesn't.
That said, those write ups are, in my humble opinion, the facts of the series but not the spirit, if you know what I mean. I remember reading them and going, 'this is all true, but you are clearly not reading the series I read.)
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And now I wish I'd brought them back to school with me because I really want to read them again.
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Oh, sweet god, the relationships in those books - yeah, that was what held the whole trilogy together - how much these people loved each other, when it was hard and hurt and they kept trying.
I love that Jaenelle could do all sorts of new and fantastic things with her magic, but was still terrible at the basics.
Yes! And how excited Jaenelle was when she was finally able to do what everyone else could was freaking awesome.
Marion was actually one of the things I loved less - by the time she was introduced I had already had an idea of who I thought Lucivar would be attracted to, and shipping him a Karla, and then Marion was the exact opposite of that. That said, I could see why he would love her, and be attracted to that type of women.
Also, I'm kind of annoyed at the fact that Karla and Surreal are both snippy and both don't get the lover of their dreams at the end of the series or in the post-series book.
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That was one of the things that drew me in, in the first chapters, the obvious love between Lucivar and Daemon. I'm kind of a sucker for strong sibling relationships. And in the second book, when Jaenelle's friends still come visit even though they haven't heard a word from her in years? I may have actually squealed with joy.
I can see the tension between Lucivar and Karla, but I always sort of thought he saw her more like a female, less polished version of Daemon. They both have similar sorts of edges on them. Marion, on the other hand, isn't any sort of weakling, but she's softer enough that he can relax with her. After having to deal with Daemon for however many centuries, and then Karla and the rest of the coven, and Saeten, I think he would appreciate being able to let down his guard a little more.
I actually don't remember if they ever significantly interact in the series, but in my head, I like to imagine that Karla and Surreal hooked up after the entire thing was over, and ruled Karla's kingdom together more-or-less happily for many years.
Wait, there was another book? How did I miss that? What's it called?
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Karla and Surreal don't really interact, but they are enough alike that they'd either love each other or hate each other. Actually, now that I think about it, I'm tempted to ship Surreal/Saetan.... hmmmm....
There was a book with several long short stories called dreams made flesh, and there is another that came out recently called "tangled webs" that I haven't read yet.
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JOHN RINGOANNE BISHOP NO reviews.I must admit I'm a little curious now, though. It sounds like it might push some pet kink buttons, and I can certainly deal with over-the-top-gothic -- my Tanith Lee collection, let me show you it!; but at the same time I'm a wee bit dubious, as the naming and the comments about the prose style all sound like warning signs of things that tend to make me bounce off fantasies in particular.
(Still, it's not like BookMooch doesn't make gambling on dubious propositions damn near painless...)
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Anne Bishop's work really screams kinktastic, and I do have problems with the Black Jewels Trilogy. These problems could most likely fill an LJ entry, and probably have, and mainly deal with characterization and character roles and general morality of the main characters and such. That aside, I loved the books on a whole through the first read. LOVED. I also enjoyed her sense of humor, which was snarky without being laden with bitterness, and just...fun. And varied from character to character, which means Lucivar did not make the same cracks Daemon did, and Surreal and Karla could probably outsnark them all. I adored Mrs. Beale. (Of course, the characters I really felt for and bonded to were all of Jaenelle's original family with the exclusion of Uncle Robert, and I was kind of annoyed with the Blood's black-and-white personally biased sense of justice with no middle ground. Honestly, those characters were some of the deepest she had.)
All in all, I characterize these books as fluff reading, great when I'm not thinking about it and I want something like chocolate for the soul, bad to go in depth on.
And yeah, none of her books after the trilogy even come close to the level of storytelling she shows. Even her characters aren't as compelling- the worldbuilding in the Tir Alain series isn't as complex. As someone who has three very careworn copies of the black jewels trilogy (And who skipped to Queen of the Darkness without reading Heir to the Shadows because I couldn't find that book anywhere where I was and waiting for the shipment would take, like, FOREVER in my mind), cheers to you.
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Anne Bishop's work really screams kinktastic, and I do have problems with the Black Jewels Trilogy. These problems could most likely fill an LJ entry, and probably have, and mainly deal with characterization and character roles and general morality of the main characters and such.
I can't argue with that. And if you ever write that entry, I would LOVE to read it. I have to problem critiquing a work I love, I just hate how it's become in fashion to just rip the books apart with no awknowlagement of what made them good. And there are some really good aspects to those books.
That aside, I loved the books on a whole through the first read. LOVED. I also enjoyed her sense of humor, which was snarky without being laden with bitterness, and just...fun.
*nods* I think I was on my second read before I realized how much humor is in those books. Actually Heir to the Shadows is my favorite both because of all the Lucivar, and because it's the most humorous, imho.
And yeah, none of her books after the trilogy even come close to the level of storytelling she shows. Even her characters aren't as compelling- the worldbuilding in the Tir Alain series isn't as complex.
*nods* The goddess of death, (Morgan?) came close, but by that time I was a little irritated with her perfect innocent heroine, and when the witch who could control all elements showed up in the second book I rolled my eyes a bit.
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Exactly. You'll also not that in the BJT, Janealle was NEVER a pov character - she was always shown from other people's perspectives, which I think lessoned the 'super special awesome heroine girl' factor.