Shalador's Lady by Anne Bishop

[snugglekitty]

Title: Shalador's Lady
Author: Anne Bishop
Series: Black Jewels #8. It is a direct sequel to The Shadow Queen, which in turn was a long-range sequel to The Invisible Ring.
Genre: Dark fantasy.
Setting: Dena Nehele.
Reason for Reading: I really enjoyed The Shadow Queen. Plus, I just like Anne Bishop.
Finished In: Days.
Pages: 476
Copyright Date: 2010
Cover: A slightly gawky amber-haired woman in a red dress that doesn't suit her at all. Behind her stands a fountain.
First line: "Ranon stepped out on the terrace behind the Greyhaven mansion, closed his dark eyes, and raised the wood flute to his lips."
Best part: A plot twist near the end that surprised me.
Worst part: I would have liked to see Cassidy be a little more aggressive.
Imaginary Theme Song: "Home Sweet Home" by Motley Crue
Grade: C+
Recommended for: Fans of the series.
Related Reads: The Invisible Ring and The Shadow Queen by the same author. Kiss of Shadows by Laurell K Hamilton.

Comments

[oddmonster.livejournal.com]

Question! What makes fantasy dark rather than light? Any guidelines?

Great question.

[lady-anemone.livejournal.com]

Easy answer: sometimes they say "Dark fantasy" on the back cover. I think I've seen that with several of Bishop's books.

But, to take it a step further, a few things that I think I associate with dark fantasy include torture, dominance and submission, sudden violent death, abuse, and rape. Explicit death scenes, hard questions, people being haunted by what they've done or what's been done to them. That sort of thing.

If I think something is "light fantasy" then that generally means that it reads like a novel and doesn't have a lot of substance. I would consider romantic fantasy like Sharon Shinn writes to be light fantasy in most cases.

I hope this helps. :)

Re: Great question.

[oddmonster.livejournal.com]

Lovely. Does Meredith Lackey count, what with the whomping, and the whomping, and the angst and the whomping and the dead gay lovers? On the plus side, at least one horse survives that book, or so I'm told.

Easy answer: sometimes they say "Dark fantasy" on the back cover.

Would you mind if I quoted you with this bit over on my journal?

Re: Great question.

[lady-anemone.livejournal.com]

I'm pretty sure you mean Mercedes Lackey, and yeah, I'd argue that at least some of her books count. Definitely the LHM trilogy and Diana Tregarde books, probably the Queen's Own as well. Oh, and madness. Madness is another dark fantasy topic.

She straddles well the line between dark and fluffy.

And sure, you can quote me. Thanks for checking.

Re: Great question.

[oddmonster.livejournal.com]

Oh I am awesome. Yes, I did mean Mercedes Lackey. I just know that the one book I picked up by her was just so unrelentingly dismal; the hero just got beat on so much in the 50 pages I managed to get through, I just wasn't equipped to read more than that. Bah.

Have you read Scott Lynch's "Lies of Locke Lamora"? Would that count, you think?

Re: Great question.

[lady-anemone.livejournal.com]

I would definitely count Lies of Locke Lamora. That one was actually too dark for me, I found it depressing in a way I don't generally find Lackey depressing.

I mean, if a book begins with a protagonist losing everything, and then she gets it back by the end of the story, I'd say it's just fantasy. If she loses it all at the end, if all her friends wind up dead and her childhood home burned to the ground and her family tortured, then it's probably dark fantasy. That's my take.