Daughter of the Blood (The Black Jewels, #1) in Building a SciFi/Fantasy Library

Sep 06, 2008 Stephen rated it really liked it

Shelves: dark-and-gritty, award-nominee-locus, audiobook, fantasy

For her virgin effort at novel-crafting, Anne Bishop has laid down a strong piece of dark fantasy that is richly drawn, psychologically savage and dripping with THROB. I am suffering severe mind-boggle that this is really her first published work as this story has a high quality quotient and prose that displays real polish.

This first installment of the Black Jewel’s Trilogy introduces us to dark, sexified fantasy world called “The Three Realms” which are known individually as Terreille, Hell an For her virgin effort at novel-crafting, Anne Bishop has laid down a strong piece of dark fantasy that is richly drawn, psychologically savage and dripping with THROB. I am suffering severe mind-boggle that this is really her first published work as this story has a high quality quotient and prose that displays real polish.

This first installment of the Black Jewel’s Trilogy introduces us to dark, sexified fantasy world called “The Three Realms” which are known individually as Terreille, Hell and Kaeleer. The Realms are not a place full of warm and fuzzies. All power in The Realms is concentrated in those “of the Blood” that you can basically think of as witches and warlocks. Each person born to the Blood is born to a particular color of “jewel” which determines their relative strength as well as their societal status. The darker the jewel, the greater the strength.

The power structure is matriarchal, with Blood males serving/servicing Blood females...and this leads me right into the sex. Sex is an essential aspect of how the Blood to gain and maintain political power and so is a critical part of the plot. If you are squeamish about sexual content, you may want to fantasy elsewhere. Though very little of the “doing the nasty” is explicit (this is NOT erotica), sex and sexual politics pervades every aspect of the Three Realms, and it is not the pleasure pumping kind of sex. It is dark, gritty and should only be practiced with a safety word. It’s absolutely essential to the plot and I thought the strong sense of the sensual without the need for explicit sex scenes was very well done.

Over time, the Blood has become corrupted and a scheming harpy of a witch-bitch named Dorothea now holds the position of Queen. Dorothea has systematically killed or destroyed all those who could challenge her power and has fostered an atmosphere of plotting and mistrust among the rest of the court which keeping all of the stronger Blood males in line by....well, you’ll have to read for yourself.

But Dorothea and her brood are running scared because young Jaenelle has been born and has the power to become the most powerful member of the Blood. Of course, she needs to survive long enough to come into her power.

This is dark fantasy done well. The writing is vividly descriptive and very evocative. It oozes lush. The characters that populate this tale are original and great a strong sense of connection with the plot. I especially liked two of the stronger Blood males: (1) Saetan Daemon SaDiablo, the High Lord of Hell, High Priest of the Hourglass and Warlord Prince of Dhemlan and (2) Daemon Sadi (aka the "Sadist") SaDiablo. Both of these characters just engulf the page when they are present and loom over every scene they are in. The title character, Jaenelle, is also terrifically drawn, but the reader is not allowed inside her head as a POV character so the connection is not as immediate.

In addition to the characters, I thought the magic system was very interesting and quite unique. I do hope that the rules, scopes and limits of the magic are explored in more detail in future novels as I am interested to learn more. What we get in the first one is quick flashes and teases that make you crave more.

Finally, I thought the multi-leveled plot was very well done. It was both complex, yet understandable and so you never felt like you were getting lost in the various changes of direction. Without going into detail, I do want to point out that there are significant portions of the story that can make you cringe (e.g., scenes of systematic rape and torture for both male and female characters). It is quite dark. However, in the hands of a writer as gifted as Anne Bishop, it is amazing to read.

4.0 stars. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!

Nominee: Locus Award for Best First Novel. ...more

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Jun 22, 2008 Liz rated it really liked it

Shelves: 20th-century, fantasy, romance

Moving on in the realm of my ever so sophisticated literary taste, I recently reread Daughter of the Blood, by Anne Bishop. Something that is very clearly not children's literature. I would certainly not recommend it for anyone under sixteen (though I'm sure a select few precocious and gruesome thirteen year old girls would get a kick out of it). The plot is nothing new - the chosen one is born and must be helped to achieve HER destiny by a supporting cast including aged (50,000 years, give or t Moving on in the realm of my ever so sophisticated literary taste, I recently reread Daughter of the Blood, by Anne Bishop. Something that is very clearly not children's literature. I would certainly not recommend it for anyone under sixteen (though I'm sure a select few precocious and gruesome thirteen year old girls would get a kick out of it). The plot is nothing new - the chosen one is born and must be helped to achieve HER destiny by a supporting cast including aged (50,000 years, give or take) mentor, snarky friends and gorgeous love interest. What makes this book so special, at least in my eyes, is a combination of two things. Firstly, it is a very well handled reversal of the fantasy norms. And secondly, it is unpretentious.

Daughter of the Blood is the first book in the Black Jewels Trilogy, which already sets the tone for the rest of the series. Bishop has created a world with the usual roles of light and dark are reversed, where darkness implies more power and, as we all know, with great power comes great responsibility. The magic users, called "The Blood" have been misusing their power and unbalancing the semi-precarious relationship between the genders; using men to dis-empower women and women to keep men on a tight leash.

Into this world is born "Witch", the most powerful of all the Blood. It is up to her to save the realms, assuming she lives long enough. This first book is our introduction to the ways of the blood and to some of the main characters, including Daemon Sadi, who is destined to be witch's lover; Lucivar Yaslana, Daemon's half brother and Saetan SaDiablo, the High Lord of Hell. I'm sure you're groaning by now, but don't be fooled by the names. These men are deadly, but follow a code of honor as strict as any knight. And they are, without a doubt, drop dead gorgeous.

Bishop is not trying to create a realistic cast of characters and, if that is something that bothers you. don't read the book. However, if you're willing to acknowledge her characters as some sort of (specifically male) ideal, then you're good to go. And the story itself is quite creative and fun to follow, especially for those of us who enjoy a good fantasy, but have had our fill and then some of the Richard Rahls, Rand al Thors, Aragorns and even Harry Potters that populate the literature. The Black Jewels trilogy is high fantasy geared towards women, with the goal of providing enjoyment. As a professor of mine once said, Romance Novels are pornography for women. We'll call this softcore for geek girls, then.

Part of the appeal of this book is how Bishop deliberately twists her Universe to make women the dominant sex. This is another lovely genre reversal and much of the book seems to be based on the premise of men deferring to women. Women have a higher caste and queens rule the territory, not kings. However, it is made clear that men, being the physically stronger sex, are there to protect and serve the women. So these blood males are bred to have all the qualities that females instinctively look for in a mate: good genes, commitment, protection, etc. Bishop might not have originally had this in mind, but she created the perfect male...from an evolutionary perspective. And, while that certainly goes a long way in explaining Lucivar and Daemon's appeal, the complex world she creates from the simple reversal of one gender role and the rule of light and dark is astounding.

Daughter of the Blood is only the first book and much of it is really focused on building this universe and examining how things can go terribly wrong with the system, in a manner reminiscent of some of the gender problems in our own. The next two focus on how "Witch" needs to set things right. This book receives such a high recommendation from me because I do find myself going back to it and rereading it. Is it great literature? No. But it sets out to accomplish a certain task and it does so masterfully, if in a little bit more gory detail that I could write with a straight face. Oh, and once again, rated R for the amount of sex, violence and combination of the two. ...more

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Jul 06, 2009 Sara rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy

I did have a little bit of difficulty getting into this novel, but once I adjusted to the true darkness of this novel, I just could not put it down. Not for the weak of heart, or the gentle minded. It is full of sexual innuendo and actual violent sex scenes make it not a story for youth.

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