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Murder of Crows (The Others, #2)

Anne Bishop

Start date: May 1, 2014

Finish date: May 31, 2014

Discussion: Book of the Month

Why we're reading this: Voted as our "Most Popular Books Published in March 2014" May BOM (Two Book Tie)…more
[close] Voted as our "Most Popular Books Published in March 2014" May BOM (Two Book Tie)

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What Members Thought

Jun 26, 2015 Kelly (Maybedog) rated it really liked it

Shelves: what-modern-fantasy, where-grr-mine, what-female-protagonist, how-series

There was danger and action and Meg in trouble and Simon terrified and riled up about it and still not understanding why. That's my favorite part.

Meg isn't really the protagonist. True a lot of the story revolves around her but it's not from her POV very often and she's not even in the vast majority of the scenes. This is really Simon's story. He's in most scenes and the center of those. In fact, as a protagonist, Meg is kind of barely there. In this book things happen to her rather than her ma There was danger and action and Meg in trouble and Simon terrified and riled up about it and still not understanding why. That's my favorite part.

Meg isn't really the protagonist. True a lot of the story revolves around her but it's not from her POV very often and she's not even in the vast majority of the scenes. This is really Simon's story. He's in most scenes and the center of those. In fact, as a protagonist, Meg is kind of barely there. In this book things happen to her rather than her making things happen. Merri Lee is actually more take charge in this than Meg and I recall her being a bit timid in the last book. I don't think this is the most feminist series as most of the leaders are men, the police are male, the guards of all the species are male, and even the powerful women tend to be in traditional jobs. But the most powerful people--Tess, the elementals, and theoretically Meg, are all female. And on this book we learn more about how helpless and needy the women like Meg are.

Simon and Meg's interactions are still adorable and Simon's thoughts about those times are quite funny as is his discomfort she he's caught in unseemly behavior by his brethren. But it would still work better for me if Meg were a little more forthright and a little more proactive than she is in this one. I'm glad she's not "kickass" as we have plenty of those, but I want her to be more than she is here, at least like the first book.

I still love Vlad and there're are a couple of new characters that I'm hoping will be in like going forward. There's a musician and a writer who are cool, and of course men. Generally only if there's a teacher or a caregiver or a couple or a human who works for the Others is someone female. Tess is the one exception as she is terrifying and dangerous supposedly (Um not so much) but she runs a cafe, a female "appropriate" business and her emotions are visible in her hair. While that is cool, it's also something I can't see the author having for a male character.

The world building is still what makes this a standout story. It's unique and nothing like anything else out there really. The sociological a aspects of how the different cultures behave, how the humans react and act, the Others reactions to the humans, feel spot on.

I'm hoping in the next one something finally happens between Meg and Simon. It's getting close. The romance is really what's keeping me reading because otherwise, Meg's blandness and the traditional roles of some. would have me bowing out at this point. But their budding romance intrigues me--okay it makes me giggle--so I need to read more.

5 stars for world-building and storyline
5 for characters except gender roles and Meg
1 for gender roles/sexism
3 for Meg
5 for Simon
3 for danger and action

4 stars overall ...more

6 likes · Like · see review

Oct 03, 2013 D.G. rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: reviewed, audiobook, urban-fantasy

Murder of Crows was a very enjoyable read. It didn’t have the same oomph as the first – after all, the world was not as new to me – but like the last book, there was a seriously nasty villain and lots of nuanced issues that made me think: the validity of taking over a person’s life for ‘their own good’ and how little misunderstandings can drive a wedge among cultures and eventually start a war. This book also answered one of the questions from my past review: will there ever be a relationship be Murder of Crows was a very enjoyable read. It didn’t have the same oomph as the first – after all, the world was not as new to me – but like the last book, there was a seriously nasty villain and lots of nuanced issues that made me think: the validity of taking over a person’s life for ‘their own good’ and how little misunderstandings can drive a wedge among cultures and eventually start a war. This book also answered one of the questions from my past review: will there ever be a relationship between Meg and Simon? Yes, I think it definitely will.

The main conflict starts with a mortal attack against the crows – thus the play on words in the title because a ‘murder’ is also the collective way to describe a group of crows. But the Others (and Meg) quickly realize this is just the beginning of a bigger threat against the Others, with cassandra sangues as the weapons. Together with Monty, the human police officer who understands why fighting with the Others is not a good idea, they embark in a search for the man behind Meg’s former imprisonment.

After Meg returns from the hospital, her relationship with Simon changes. Something happens that throws Meg for a loop and requires them to redefine their friendship. Ms. Bishop did an amazing job portraying Simon’s bafflement at Meg’s behavior – if I hadn’t understood before that Simon wasn’t human, his reaction to Meg’s attitude brought the point home like no other. And it wasn’t a man-woman thing (as most men profess never to understand us) but just the viewpoints of two races who see things in completely different ways.

The issues between Simon and Meg showed the way for more dangerous misunderstandings between humans and Others. How little things can be misinsterpreted in two cultures that don’t think alike and how this first mix-up can lead to suspicion, distrust and eventually hatred. And when you are dealing with such powerful creatures as the Others, any conflict can only end badly for humans. This made me wonder if humans would be as entitled if they had evolved surrounded by more powerful beings. Could you imagine if the Earth could purposely strike back? (I know that sometimes it feel like it does…just look at this winter!) But would we react differently if we knew that bad behavior could lead to anihilation? But then I remembered our history (weapons of mass destruction, genocides, decimation of the environment) and I think perhaps we are doomed by our nature. But going back to the book (and avoid excessive pessimism), the story also introduced a group of humans who have learned to leave peacefuly with the Others. So maybe there’s hope for us all.

The narration by Alexandra Harris was competent but not inspired. There’s a certain YA feel to it (which can be understood because Meg is described as innocent many times) but I could still feel a mismatch with the overall tone of the story. Also, the pronunciation of some terms was changed from the the first book which is extremely annoying. I don’t know why this happens but it needs to stop – narrators, producers and authors, get your shit together and decide how terms are pronounced BEFORE you start the audiobook. Changing pronunciations mid-series is aggravating and pulls the readers out of the story.

Overall though, this was a really good sequel which set the stage for an exciting end to the trilogy. I can’t wait for the end!

Reviewed at Badass Book Reviews. ...more

5 likes · Like · see review

Apr 18, 2013 D rated it it was amazing

I've been "retired" from writing book reviews for quite a while now, so getting me to dust off the old keyboard to write a review is somewhat momentous. I'm lying. My keyboard could never get dusty. I'm too busy pounding out grad school essays.

Some books are enjoyable but ultimately forgettable. You find yourself forgetting the plot details and/or the names, personalities, and even existence of major characters. For this reason I like to give myself some time to "let it soak" before committing t ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Aug 04, 2014 Logan rated it it was amazing

Shelves: urban-fantasy, own-bought-ebook, paranormal, meet-greet-read, 2015-books-read

I can't get over how amazing this series is. I just adore Meg and Simon, and although I find they are being a teensy weensie bit too obtuse about their feelings, I still like the slow burn. This world is scary and dark, but also fun to inhabit. I dove into this and just wanted to live there. I wish I hadn't waited so long to read this after finishing Written in Red, as Bishop does not give us much recap at the beginning. Eventually it came back to me, but I am moving right along to the next book ...more

1 like · Like · see review