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A review by sueread2030
The Black Jewels Trilogy by Anne Bishop
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I am telling you, Something was in the waters back in the 90s
because when we got A Game of Thrones (first book in A Song of Ice and Fire series) in 1996
and Daughter of the Blood in 1998, both books are deranged, incestuous, dark, and pedophilic
And I loved every minute of reading them.... so sue me!
I mean take a minute and think! Every.thing.is.allowed and the high.Blood.Powers are not punished
Anne Bishop in her introduction said that she thought about this story using the "what if" questions and switching the societal roles. What if some of the social and sexual mores that had applied to females in our world were applied to the males in this world?
⚜ rating: easy 5 stars 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
⚜Genre: High Fantasy
⚜Theme: The Chosen One Romance Fantasy
⚜Targeted audience: Adults, definitely adults
⚜Characters: Deamon (Sadi), Saetan (High Lord of Hell), Lucivar (winged Warlord), Surreal (assassin/whore witch) and many many side characters. There is also the main focus, Witch Jaenelle, though she does not get a POV
⚜Representation: I think there are POC characters
⚜Pace: fast - so fast that if you miss a line a lot goes by
⚜TW: a lot! A whole fucking lot! think of every TW and CW there are and they are in the book but the most obvious ones are Incest and Pedophilia
⚜ tropes: the chosen one, I'd die for her, Prophecy, Age-gap
⚜ POV: third person multiple/alternating
⚜ spice 🌶🌶 🌶🌶 very dark
⚜standalone: No, part of a trilogy
⚜Ending: cliffhanger
The realm and magic system
the world is a Matriarchy ruled by immoral and ruthless Queens.
Your power level is determined by the Jewels you are bestowed on upon reaching a certain age in a night called Virgin Night.
there are 13 jewels intermediate by the Opal. the darker ones are stronger than the light and the Black is the most powerful.
The realm used to be ruled by Witch, an all-powerful female, but it has been centuries since Witch ruled.
They are immortals who could heal themselves however they could be killed. When they die, they reside in Hell.
Children are the weakest amongst them since they are jewel-less, and even though there are no laws of protection, there is a conscious understanding among the citizens of the realm that children are off-limits. That, however, does not stop some derailed Blood from taking advantage of helpless children.
Non-Power people (humans in other words) are called Landens. Landen children, upon their death, go to a place in Hell called cildru dyathe
All this info is not dumped upon you, you have to catch it while reading. I loved that the author did not bother with detailed page-long descriptions. As an involved reader, you have to catch these yourself.
Meet the characters
Saetan SaDiablo: High Lord of Hell, Daddy of the underworld. He becomes Jaenelle's mentor and forms questionable father/lover feelings for her. He has many sons, but the main ones are Daemon and Lucivar, each from different mothers. Both are captured young and forced to become sex slaves.
Saetan is a very powerful Black Jeweled Warlord who was once the original Witch consort. He is 50.000 years old but still retains his powers.
Daemon SaDiablo: son of Saetan, mother thought to be Hespathah at first. She helped separate Daemon from his father when he was a child and along with Queen Dorothea put a Ring of Obedience around his penis to make him a sex slave. Daemon is a Black jeweled very powerful Warlord Prince who is described as extremely beautiful.
He is a Black Widow meaning he has venom under one of his finger nails. He has the power of seduction and can bring pleasure and destruction to a woman with his "PHANTOM" hands. Because of the Ring, he cannot "insert himself (had to use that)". He is 1700 years old. According to the prophecy, he is to be the lover to the future Witch. He has waited for her for 700 years. Daemon is madly in love with Witch even though he hasn't seen her and has proclaimed his life for her. SO imagine his surprise when he meets 12-year old Jaenelle 🤣🤣
Lucivar SaDiablo: son of Saetan though he does not know. He was also separated and enslaved. He is described as extremely handsome with "BAT-LIKE WINGS".
He and Daemon did not know that they are brothers and at some point they were lovers (don't ask, just move on). When Lucivar and Daemon are together, they can rake havoc like no other. That is why Queen Dorothea separated them.
He is the first to meet Jaenelle at 5 years old. She came to him because at a moment of desperation, he prayed for a friend. He made her promise not to come back until she is at least 17.
Jaenelle Angelline: 700 years ago, a Black Widow witch prophecied the coming of WITCH (not a witch or the witch). Although Jaenelle has no POV in the book, everything revolves around her. Saetan is mentoring her, Daemon is living and preparing for her, Lucivar maintains his will to live for her. Even Cassandra, the original Witch, faked her death to become Guardian for her.
she has already all the jewels' power and her birth jewel is Black, something that has rarely been seen for thousands of years. She is innocent, loving, and caring trying to protect the children around her. We first meet her when she is 5, but most of the book is when she is 12. Something awful happens to her by the end
There is a mention in the book of triangles having four sides: "body, chalice and jewels surrounded by the fourth side, the Self So meet our four-sided triangle
I absolutely adored this book. I can see and understand completely that it is not going to be for anyone. In fact, many will find it disturbing and bordering on distasteful.
But, as I said, If you are a fan of George RR Martin's ASOIAF, then the book will be a breeze for you.
The language is plucked from our time. I felt like Anne time-traveled to the future and came back to write in a style understandable to 21st-century fantasy lovers. The book felt like playing jigsaw puzzle with the reader as if Anne puts a piece and you put a piece.
I loved how every single character in the book was Morally Grey if not Black.
I loved Daemon's dedication to Jaenelle. I think this is where the concept of "mates" sprang from. Remember when Jacob in Twilight said that imprinting means you be whatever she needs you to be? well, Daemon took that further. He is not shy of saying he loves Jaenelle and will be her lover one day for ever, however, being a child, he will wait.
I even loved the deranged twisted themes in the book. They reminded be of watching episodes of Gladiators.
I especially loved how the book addressed how different each react to being broken. Daemon was raped and assaulted by his supposedly mother but he still maintained limits to what he is willing to do. Kartane was raped by his mother but he turned his brokenness towards children.
I think I am going to seek out all fantasies written before 2000 because honestly, the oversensitivity modern fantasy is having is boring.
ACOTAR and ToG were inspired by this
I am 99.99% sure SJM read this book. There is no way the similarities are coincidental. Please note that I am not saying there was plagiarism. On the contrary, I know that writers are influenced by others and immitate their concepts. The story in DoTB is very different than those of SJM.
1- Daemon/Rhysand/Dorian: An all-powerful High lord Prince who is captured because he was protecting his brother/people, possesses shadow/phantom hands that could bring pleasure and destruction. He is forced to be a whore to a powerful Queen Witch. He is destined to be with the chosen one.
Tall, dark hair, dark complexion, extremely handsome and deadly.
2- Lucivar/Lucian/illiryans/Aeline: Lucivar has bat like wings. He is tall dark and handsome. He is "An Eyrien" warrior who was nothing without his "wings". As punishment, he was sent to the "salt mines of Pruul" and whipped daily.
3- Arachnians/Kharankui: Spider-like creatures who weave webs for dreams. they resemble Black Widows. Their webs are very powerful and expensive.
4- Sadistic Queen
and this is just from book 1, let's see if the rest of the trilogy hold any more :)
because when we got A Game of Thrones (first book in A Song of Ice and Fire series) in 1996
and Daughter of the Blood in 1998, both books are deranged, incestuous, dark, and pedophilic
And I loved every minute of reading them.... so sue me!
I mean take a minute and think! Every.thing.is.allowed and the high.Blood.Powers are not punished
Anne Bishop in her introduction said that she thought about this story using the "what if" questions and switching the societal roles. What if some of the social and sexual mores that had applied to females in our world were applied to the males in this world?
⚜ rating: easy 5 stars 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
⚜Genre: High Fantasy
⚜Theme: The Chosen One Romance Fantasy
⚜Targeted audience: Adults, definitely adults
⚜Characters: Deamon (Sadi), Saetan (High Lord of Hell), Lucivar (winged Warlord), Surreal (assassin/whore witch) and many many side characters. There is also the main focus, Witch Jaenelle, though she does not get a POV
⚜Representation: I think there are POC characters
⚜Pace: fast - so fast that if you miss a line a lot goes by
⚜TW: a lot! A whole fucking lot! think of every TW and CW there are and they are in the book but the most obvious ones are Incest and Pedophilia
⚜ tropes: the chosen one, I'd die for her, Prophecy, Age-gap
⚜ POV: third person multiple/alternating
⚜ spice 🌶🌶 🌶🌶 very dark
⚜standalone: No, part of a trilogy
⚜Ending: cliffhanger
The realm and magic system
the world is a Matriarchy ruled by immoral and ruthless Queens.
Your power level is determined by the Jewels you are bestowed on upon reaching a certain age in a night called Virgin Night.
there are 13 jewels intermediate by the Opal. the darker ones are stronger than the light and the Black is the most powerful.
The realm used to be ruled by Witch, an all-powerful female, but it has been centuries since Witch ruled.
They are immortals who could heal themselves however they could be killed. When they die, they reside in Hell.
Children are the weakest amongst them since they are jewel-less, and even though there are no laws of protection, there is a conscious understanding among the citizens of the realm that children are off-limits. That, however, does not stop some derailed Blood from taking advantage of helpless children.
Non-Power people (humans in other words) are called Landens. Landen children, upon their death, go to a place in Hell called cildru dyathe
All this info is not dumped upon you, you have to catch it while reading. I loved that the author did not bother with detailed page-long descriptions. As an involved reader, you have to catch these yourself.
Meet the characters
Saetan SaDiablo: High Lord of Hell, Daddy of the underworld. He becomes Jaenelle's mentor and forms questionable father/lover feelings for her. He has many sons, but the main ones are Daemon and Lucivar, each from different mothers. Both are captured young and forced to become sex slaves.
Saetan is a very powerful Black Jeweled Warlord who was once the original Witch consort. He is 50.000 years old but still retains his powers.
Daemon SaDiablo: son of Saetan, mother thought to be Hespathah at first. She helped separate Daemon from his father when he was a child and along with Queen Dorothea put a Ring of Obedience around his penis to make him a sex slave. Daemon is a Black jeweled very powerful Warlord Prince who is described as extremely beautiful.
He is a Black Widow meaning he has venom under one of his finger nails. He has the power of seduction and can bring pleasure and destruction to a woman with his "PHANTOM" hands. Because of the Ring, he cannot "insert himself (had to use that)". He is 1700 years old. According to the prophecy, he is to be the lover to the future Witch. He has waited for her for 700 years. Daemon is madly in love with Witch even though he hasn't seen her and has proclaimed his life for her. SO imagine his surprise when he meets 12-year old Jaenelle 🤣🤣
Lucivar SaDiablo: son of Saetan though he does not know. He was also separated and enslaved. He is described as extremely handsome with "BAT-LIKE WINGS".
He and Daemon did not know that they are brothers and at some point they were lovers (don't ask, just move on). When Lucivar and Daemon are together, they can rake havoc like no other. That is why Queen Dorothea separated them.
He is the first to meet Jaenelle at 5 years old. She came to him because at a moment of desperation, he prayed for a friend. He made her promise not to come back until she is at least 17.
Jaenelle Angelline: 700 years ago, a Black Widow witch prophecied the coming of WITCH (not a witch or the witch). Although Jaenelle has no POV in the book, everything revolves around her. Saetan is mentoring her, Daemon is living and preparing for her, Lucivar maintains his will to live for her. Even Cassandra, the original Witch, faked her death to become Guardian for her.
she has already all the jewels' power and her birth jewel is Black, something that has rarely been seen for thousands of years. She is innocent, loving, and caring trying to protect the children around her. We first meet her when she is 5, but most of the book is when she is 12. Something awful happens to her by the end
There is a mention in the book of triangles having four sides: "body, chalice and jewels surrounded by the fourth side, the Self So meet our four-sided triangle
I absolutely adored this book. I can see and understand completely that it is not going to be for anyone. In fact, many will find it disturbing and bordering on distasteful.
But, as I said, If you are a fan of George RR Martin's ASOIAF, then the book will be a breeze for you.
The language is plucked from our time. I felt like Anne time-traveled to the future and came back to write in a style understandable to 21st-century fantasy lovers. The book felt like playing jigsaw puzzle with the reader as if Anne puts a piece and you put a piece.
I loved how every single character in the book was Morally Grey if not Black.
I loved Daemon's dedication to Jaenelle. I think this is where the concept of "mates" sprang from. Remember when Jacob in Twilight said that imprinting means you be whatever she needs you to be? well, Daemon took that further. He is not shy of saying he loves Jaenelle and will be her lover one day for ever, however, being a child, he will wait.
I even loved the deranged twisted themes in the book. They reminded be of watching episodes of Gladiators.
I especially loved how the book addressed how different each react to being broken. Daemon was raped and assaulted by his supposedly mother but he still maintained limits to what he is willing to do. Kartane was raped by his mother but he turned his brokenness towards children.
I think I am going to seek out all fantasies written before 2000 because honestly, the oversensitivity modern fantasy is having is boring.
ACOTAR and ToG were inspired by this
I am 99.99% sure SJM read this book. There is no way the similarities are coincidental. Please note that I am not saying there was plagiarism. On the contrary, I know that writers are influenced by others and immitate their concepts. The story in DoTB is very different than those of SJM.
1- Daemon/Rhysand/Dorian: An all-powerful High lord Prince who is captured because he was protecting his brother/people, possesses shadow/phantom hands that could bring pleasure and destruction. He is forced to be a whore to a powerful Queen Witch. He is destined to be with the chosen one.
Tall, dark hair, dark complexion, extremely handsome and deadly.
2- Lucivar/Lucian/illiryans/Aeline: Lucivar has bat like wings. He is tall dark and handsome. He is "An Eyrien" warrior who was nothing without his "wings". As punishment, he was sent to the "salt mines of Pruul" and whipped daily.
3- Arachnians/Kharankui: Spider-like creatures who weave webs for dreams. they resemble Black Widows. Their webs are very powerful and expensive.
4- Sadistic Queen
and this is just from book 1, let's see if the rest of the trilogy hold any more :)