Title: Daughter of the Blood
Author: Anne Bishop
Publishing Date: 1998
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: A-
Sensuality: It varies. For the H/h I would say mild/kisses. There are however, various scenes of disturbing sexual acts with other characters. Sometimes, it is plainly described other times the reader is left to their own imagination.
Daughter of the Blood is the first book in Anne Bishop's Black Jewels Trilogy. It tells the story of a young girl Jaenelle Angelline, who will grow up to become the most powerful witch the world of Terreille has ever known. She actually is Witch. Untrained in the most basic craft, Angelline seeks out the High Lord of Hell for training. Intrigued by her vast power and open innocence, the High Lord welcomes the distraction and hope Angelline brings to his realm. There are two other powerful warlord princes who have waited for centuries for Jaenelle. In their bleak, tortured existence Jaenelle has been the only hope keeping them alive and sane.
Daughter of the Blood is a fascinating read. It is cleverly crafted with plenty of hidden pockets of information, with innuendos and double entrees. The most noticeable are the names of the main male characters. Saetan is the High Lord of Hell and his two sons the warlord princes, Daemon and Lucivar. The story is set in an alternate world where the women rule and the men are subservient. They ride horses and use knives instead of guns, so it is not a modern world, although they do have indoor plumbing.
The world building is detailed and intricate. More importantly, the reader is not inundated all at once with information. As the story unfolds, so do the pieces of the puzzle the reader is given. Slowly, piece by piece the whole picture begins to form. This is uniquely done by, instead of narrating the story through Jaenelle's eyes, it is narrated through mainly Saetan and Daemon's point of view.
This makes everything about Jaenelle a mystery; what she knows, where she goes, why she does the things she does. The reader gets to experience Jaenelle through Saetan's and Daemon's eyes. Jaenelle is very intriguing. She holds more power than any other Blooded person, including the High Lord himself. She is constantly surprising him and everyone else with what she can do. She is amazing and alluring, yet something very dark lies within her and it is not until the end of this book that the reader understands the cause of that darkness. The clues are there, so an astute reader will pick up on them.
Daughter of the Blood is true fantasy, not romance and ends with certain problems unresolved. Jaenelle's story will continue on in the second book Heir to the Shadows. Be prepared to want to have the second book on hand right away, as to avoid a wait!
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6 comments:
I struggled a little with getting into the world, but the time I finished this book I was very firmly entrenched and ended up loving the whole series!
Jill,
I so hear you on DoB!! I have finished the original trilogy and after that had to devour Dreams Made Flesh for the bit of romantic ending. Now The Invisible Ring is waiting along wit Tangled webs and The Shadow Queen. I'd like to postpone it out as long as I can because then I'll have to wait just like everyone else for the next new novel in the BJ series.
Such a great book and a wonderful Trilogy! Can't wait to hear your thoughts on the next 2 books! Great review Jill!
A dear reading friend of mine gifted this book to me last fall because the trilogy is her absolute favorite. I'm sure I'm going to love it--I feel like a total fool for still not having picked it up!
This series is great, the storyline at least ;) It's very detailed though, so every time I re-read it, I have a bit of difficulty... In addition, the crudeness at certain moments is very hard, but still, an awesome series :D Hope you enjoy the next installments!
Marg, I can see where someone might struggle with all the world building. It is very detailed. But the characters are what sucked me into the story, especially Saetan.
Leontine, I was wondering whether or not Dreams Made Flesh was part of the Trilogy or if it ended with Queen of the Dark. Is Jaenelle in that book too?
Tracy, Thanks! I am working on reading the other books soon. I will definitely be reviewing them too.
Christine, Don't feel like a fool! I know how books can pile up on a person. I am just now getting around to them too!
Nath, Yes the details are many, but I think that is what I like about it. I don't have any problem picturing this strange world. It is interesting about the level of crudness because it is very well balanced with sweetness too.
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