Friday Quick Review: The Black Jewels Trilogy

I’ve decided to try to do a quick review each Friday of something I’ve read recently. This Friday, the lucky winner is Anne Bishop’s The Black Jewels Trilogy (Daughter of the Blood, Heir to the Shadows, and Queen of the Darkness). I got this series as a Christmas gift from my younger brother several years back and it’s definitely worth a read. Set in a universe where there are three realms – Hell, the realm of the dead, Kaeleer, the Shadow Realm, and Teirelle, the Realm of Light, it consists of a matriarchal society ruled by Queens who are born to that caste (meaning that any girl can be born to be a Queen). The Blood — those members of each race who have the ability to use magic by wearing the “blood jewels” — are tasked with acting as guardians and caretakers of the realms.

However, over time, society has become corrupt. Where once there was an intricate balance of power between caste, jewel rank, and social status, things have been twisted so that status trumps everything. Strong men are enslaved and forced to serve tyrannical regimes and war threatens to destroy all three realms unless the prophesied Witch comes to bring back the balance and repay the debts that are owed by all of the Blood.

It’s really a good read. There is a bit too much sensuality in the early parts that can be off-putting for some but the story itself is pretty compelling and once you’ve read the entire thing, you can look back and see that every bit of it was necessary. There’s not a single wasted word. Four rainbow-farting zebricorns, easily. 🙂

— G.K.

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