Murder of Crows (The Others, book 2) by Anne Bishop
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Edition Reviewed: eBook
Amazon: Paperback | Kindle
Goodreads: Murder of Crows
After winning the trust of the terra indigene residing in the Lakeside Courtyard, Meg Corbyn has had trouble figuring out what it means to live among them. As a human, Meg should be barely tolerated prey, but her abilities as a cassandra sangue make her something more.
The appearance of two addictive drugs has sparked violence between the humans and the Others, resulting in the murders of both species in nearby cities. So when Meg has a dream about blood and black feathers in the snow, Simon Wolfgard—Lakeside's shape-shifting leader—wonders whether their blood prophet dreamed of a past attack or of a future threat.
As the urge to speak prophecies strikes Meg more frequently, trouble finds its way inside the Courtyard. Now the Others and the handful of humans residing there must work together to stop the man bent on reclaiming their blood prophet—and stop the danger that threatens to destroy them all.
Review:
Oh, the inner turmoil! Bishop is . . . a boss! Freaking amazing. Other authors should be bowing down in the sheer wonder of how—
No. Really. Only Bishop could make me feel like humans are the villains and that the Others are totally right. That the nightmares of human dreams are actually the good guys. Because she totally did. The guilt comes barreling in because the evil of a few do not make everyone so. No matter how much herd mindset and prejudices make the masses stupid. If, like me, you thought there was no way that Bishop could out do Written in Red. That the feels, confusion, horror, and down right awe-inspiringness couldn't be topped. Think. Again.
The Cassandra Sangue, or Blood Prophets, hands down are my favorite “magical creatures” ever created for any fantasy world. It doesn't hurt that this book is bursting at the spine with amazing magical critters. Some monstrous and others just coming into touch with their humanity. Blood Prophets though, they're so complex. They don't think like the Others or humans. In a lot of ways they are like innocents, and are—from what’s been shown—beautiful souls.
No matter how many times I say it Bishop is a master of dark themes and humanity. She's almost flawless in her ability to show the darkness in humanity. How ignorance and arrogance can easily ruin and get people killed. Thankfully she can show those rare of sunshine moments that make humans so wonderful. Kindness, understanding, hope, and the ability to accept and see reason. Yes, humans look like the idiots here. Only a small handful able to see the big picture. To understand how the actions that humans have taken so far have lead to their own destruction, and how prejudices are leading them all down a path that might very well annihilate them.
The Others might be the heroes, but as it's mentioned they are monsters. They're beings who have taken on human forms because it suits them to interact with humans and they gain some benefits from them. Most are still animals and can't see or think like humans. While I don't think it's played on quite enough. The power the Others have give them the ability to be on top. Might makes right, to justify their means. In a lot of things they're right, and as I've said you'll be rooting for the Others more than for humans. The fact is that they do have human sides and they chose to ignore them. Ignore the ability to understand and think outside their own selves.
As I've said this is the beauty of a Murder of Crows and the series in general. Both races are flawed, no one is right. Gray areas people! Which makes the good guys amazing and the bad guys down right scary as hell. The politics of this world are so real! Humans conniving for more, more, more—yeah that sounds about right. The Others’ might making there side right. (Though as I've said the humans really do come off as the villains, and the Others doing what's right.) All of the view points are well utilized again, Bishop is one of the few authors that seems to able to pull off showing multiple view points down to the bad guys to enhance the read. Making the story amazing, and never dragging it down. It's safe to say this is a must read for every Urban Fantasy fan out there. There's no copycatting, or formulaic anything to the world Bishop is making.
Sexual Content: Dark themes, sexual humor, and such.
5/5- Fabulous, a beautiful obsession!
| Previous book(s) in series: | ||
| Reviewed on BW: | Amazon: | Goodreads: |
| Written in Red (1) | Written in Red (1) | Written in Red (1) |
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