Saturday 19 July 2014

The World Of The Others

Sometimes it's a good idea to follow the hype. I've heard nothing but praise about acclaimed author Anne Bishop's latest series, The Others. The praise could not be more deserving. This is one of the best urban fantasy series I've ever started, and it completely blew my mind with its uniqueness and attention to detail.

Love both of these covers...
... Though this one might be my favorite.
























The books center around main characters Meg Corbyn and Simon Wolfgard, two people living in an alternate world where humans have begun to exist with werewolves, vampires, and various monsters from mythology. Meg herself is a cassandra sangue, a blood prophet who can see the future when her skin is cut. Recently escaped from her abusive captors, Meg stumbles into a Courtyard run by shape-shifting Wolf Simon, a man with a bad temper and a confusion when it comes to Meg. Together, they have to find a way to bridge the peace between the Others and humans, while protecting Meg from the dangerous Controller, and her obsessive need to use a razor...

The series is absolutely incredible. I was immediately drawn into the world and completely fascinated by it. The amount of detail and consideration is truly spellbinding, and it's obvious that Bishop took the time to create a world unlike any other. The monsters are unique, especially the vampires. They don't drink blood the way traditionally thought of, but you would probably know one the moment you saw it. The shapeshifters all carry unique aspects connected to their animal of choice. The Wolves are aggressive and wild, Bears are spiritual and deep, Crows like shinies. I think my favorite is the blood prophets themselves. They have a unique, terrifying mythology, and I love everything I learn about it.

The stories in both books are fantastic. They're interesting, complicated, and while not action-packed, tense enough to keep you turning the pages. I particularity liked the story of Murder of Crows, which revolves around the dangerous methods assandra sangue can be used. It also had one of the most disturbing murder descriptions I've ever heard, leading to a truly repulsive connection to drugs. It made my skin crawl, and I love it. 

Meg and Simon are strong characters. Meg is believable as a young woman who has so much to learn about the world, and still trying to get used to the idea of making her own choices. Simon on the other hand is one of the most aggressive characters I've ever read, and it's really interesting to watch him soften a little toward and because of Meg, though he doesn't realize why he's doing it. I'm very excited to see where their relationship will go in future novels.

The Others is yet another series I will recommend to everyone I meet, especially urban fantasy fans like myself. It's an absolutely memorable read, and it makes you hope that if there really are monsters hiding in the shadows out there, it might be safer if they stayed hidden for a little while longer...

Amy

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