Anne Bishop

Epic Fantasy books tend to be the largest number of books published in the genre each year. Some critics say that most of the books are derivative with not much difference from previous books. Newer authors to the genre try different things to give a fresh view to Fantasy. Anne Bishop is one of those fairly new authors. She writes Epic Fantasy with elements different from the standard and not what readers would expect. Her books have intriguing characters, different settings and unexpected plots.

Ms. Bishop sur prises readers’ expectations with her first trilogy The Black Jewels. Not the usual Fantasy, these books tell the stories of demons and humans that are part of the dark realm of their world. Daughter of the Blood tells the story of Jaenelle, a young woman with power. She is prophesied to become the next great Queen. Jaenelle is taught by Saitan who rules Hell, but must avoid the machinations and attempts on her life by a high priestess and others. In the next book, Heir to the Shadows, Jaenelle must recover her memory after a traumatic event that nearly destroys her. Finally, Queen of Darkness has Jaenelle in charge of her realm, but still facing a final conflict to rule in peace. The three books are now available in one volume.

The Invisible Ring is a stand alone novel set in the same world as the previously mentioned trilogy. In this book, Jared is the pleasure slave of a vicious queen. He murders his mistress out of desperation and flees. Eventually he ends up with a mysterious queen known as the Gray Lady. His new life proves dangerous as he goes against the enemies of his new queen in order to help her. Ms. Bishop provides another exciting look into her vivid world of dark magic.

Ms. Bishop’s next trilogy, Tir Alainn, takes place in a new Fantasy world. This world has witches who guard the roads into the fairy realm. These roads are fading out of existence due to a vicious Inquisition destroying magic. The Pillars of the World begins the trilogy with the story of Ari . She has a fairy lover and is unaware of his background. Her magic has her caught between two worlds as the Inquistion closes in on her. The story shifts to two new characters in Shadows and Light. A bard and a muse, Aidan and Lyra, try to thwart the evil Aldolfo from further destroying magic. They must find a Fae that will listen to them and help them. In the last book, The House of Gaian, Adolfo tries to destroy all the magic in the land one last time. He wants to do this by destroying the wellspring of magic. Witches, humans and Fae must band together to stop him from this folly. The author gives readers an entertaining series with strong women characters, adventure and romance.

A new book set in the first world the author created will be coming out soon P. Dreams Made Flesh Is a collection of four stories that explore some of the characters from the first trilogy in greater depth. Jaenelle returns with her lover Daemon in a story where another blood witch tries to break them apart. There is a character study of Saetan as he deals with his pregnant wife’s family. Two other stories round out this new book done with the author’s vivid style and dynamic storytelling.

Anne Bishop is a powerful recent author in the Fantasy genre. She brings to life her various Fantasy worlds with vivid words and a dark edge. Her books are full of adventure, romance, strong women characters and some intense themes. Readers will find her many books interesting and entertaining. Some of her books are not for young readers. They contain violent and explicit sex scenes, so parents should be aware of this.