Written In Red: A Novel of the Others

by Anne Bishop | Literature & Fiction |
ISBN: 0451464966 Global Overview for this book
Registered by k00kaburra of San Jose, California USA on 3/6/2013
Buy from one of these Booksellers:
Amazon.com | Amazon UK | Amazon CA | Amazon DE | Amazon FR | Amazon IT | Bol.com
This book is in a Controlled Release! This book is in a Controlled Release!
1 journaler for this copy...
Journal Entry 1 by k00kaburra from San Jose, California USA on Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Rec'd via the Amazon.com Vine Program.
PAPERBACK ARC.

--

Book Description

No one creates realms like New York Times bestselling author Anne Bishop. Now in a thrilling new fantasy series, enter a world inhabited by the Others, unearthly entities—vampires and shape-shifters among them—who rule the Earth and whose prey are humans.

As a cassandra sangue, or blood prophet, Meg Corbyn can see the future when her skin is cut—a gift that feels more like a curse. Meg’s Controller keeps her enslaved so he can have full access to her visions. But when she escapes, the only safe place Meg can hide is at the Lakeside Courtyard—a business district operated by the Others.

Shape-shifter Simon Wolfgard is reluctant to hire the stranger who inquires about the Human Liaison job. First, he senses she’s keeping a secret, and second, she doesn’t smell like human prey. Yet a stronger instinct propels him to give Meg the job. And when he learns the truth about Meg and that she’s wanted by the government, he’ll have to decide if she’s worth the fight between humans and the Others that will surely follow.

Journal Entry 2 by k00kaburra at San Jose, California USA on Tuesday, April 16, 2013
Read today.

Every time Meg Corbyn’s skin gets cut, she sees a vision of the future. This unique gift, which marks her as a cassandra sangue or blood prophet, makes Meg extremely valuable to the right people, and she has spent her entire life imprisoned. When the chance to escape arrives, she takes it – but once in the outside world, she has no idea how to survive. Luckily, she soon finds a job working as the Human Liaison at Lakeside Courtyard, a business district that belongs to the Others. Who are the Others? They are the non-human creatures – the vampires, the shapeshifters, the elemental beings – who tolerate humans for the goods they can create, but have not completely renounced hunting them as prey. Lakeside Courtyard is an experimental community, allow humans and Others to interact in the shops and café, but the men and women who visit must never forget that H. L. D. N. A. – Human Laws Do Not Apply – whenever they set foot inside. Meg doesn’t even know how to live a normal human life, let alone how to safely live amongst the Others, but these supernatural beings are the only ones strong enough to protect her from her former captors, who search endlessly to recapture her priceless skin and her prophetic powers.

This is one of the most entertaining books I’ve read this year. Where to begin? Let’s start with the idea of the cassandra sangue, which I thought was excellent. If a way to reliably predict the future was discovered, you know that someone would soon figure out how to monetize it. In a world where all major business deals and every military action can be “tested” before acting on them, the organization who controls the prophets has all the power. It’s all too easy to imagine how this would lead to those possessing the gift of prophecy would be kept healthy, well-educated and pampered – but always under the strictest control. It’s a scary idea, but yet it’s also, sadly, completely believable.

The Others, too, are wonderfully well-imagined. Bishop’s werewolves are not humans who occasionally don a wolfskin – oh no. They are bestial creatures who treat humans as little more than meat. They can adopt a human shape and act like one, when the necessity arrives, but it is not what they truly are. Likewise, there are other animal shapeshifters, like crows and bears, and even when they look like humans they retain characteristics of their animal self.

The book is full of dark humor. The butcher, for example, occasionally offers “special meat” for sale – always after a human has disappeared within the borders of Lakeside Courtyard. When Meg innocently calls and asks him what kind of “special meat” werewolf cubs eat, he is understandably freaked out. Time and time again, Anne Bishop strikes that perfect balance between silly and serious.

The secondary characters really bring depth to the world-building. While the exotic world of the Others can’t help but intrigue, the humans more than hold their own. There’s a police officer named Monty, new to town, who is trying to open lines of communications with the Others – who, you’ll remember, proudly ignore human laws. He refuses to bow to the fear and suspicion humans usually reserve for the Others. Another human, Asia, wants to be an actress. She’s convinced that if she becomes part of the Others community at Lakeside Courtyard, she’ll become the celebrity she deserves to be. Every time she appears, the world becomes viewed as if part of a CSI-type TV show, and she’s the star of the show.

I’d say that the book reminds me a bit of the TV series Grimm - great show, by the way - as they are both populated with supernatural creatures that can adopt human skins but are ultimately something very different. The major difference is simply that while the Wesen of Grimm try to blend into human civilization, the Others absolutely refuse to do the same.

Written in Red was a fantastic, suspenseful adventure that I highly recommend!

Journal Entry 3 by k00kaburra at San Jose, California USA on Sunday, September 11, 2016
Started reading yesterday. Finished today.

Journal Entry 4 by k00kaburra at -- Paperbackswap.com, -- By post or by hand/ in person -- USA on Wednesday, December 28, 2016

Released 7 yrs ago (12/28/2016 UTC) at -- Paperbackswap.com, -- By post or by hand/ in person -- USA

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

sent to a swapper on Paperbackswap.com to fulfill a request!

Are you sure you want to delete this item? It cannot be undone.