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Experimental book post: The Black Jewels Trilogy


Clephas

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This is a test post, based on the results of the poll I posted a few weeks back.  The win was borderline, so if I don't get a reasonably large response, I won't continue to post about my conventional reading.

The Black Jewels Trilogy, by Anne Bishop is one of my favorite book series of all time.  It is a dark, sensual fantasy based in a unique universe, where a race of magic aristocrats called the Blood rule three worlds, Tereille, Kaeleer, and Hell.  The main characters of the story are a triangle surrounding one young girl whose very existence is their every hope and dream... for she is 'Dreams Made Flesh', Witch, the Queen of the Darkness.  Those main characters are: Daemon Sadi, a male pleasure slave that has been twisted by over seventeen hundred years of abuse at the hands of the women of Terreille, protecting himself from madness only by the prophecy given to him seven hundred years before, that Witch was coming;  Lucivar Yaslana, a slave and member of the winged Eyrien race, who has lived his entire life being called a half-breed bastard; Saetan SaDiablo, the High Lord of Hell, the High Priest of the Hourglass, who became a half-undead Guardian fifty thousand years before so that he would one day be given the opportunity to serve and protect the 'daughter of his soul'... and the father of Lucivar and Daemon; and last of all, the point around which the three revolve, Jaenalle, dreams made flesh, Witch, a kind-hearted young girl who wanders the Realms and is destined to one day rule from Ebon Askavi.

First, I should note that the Blood are matriarchal, forming circles of obligation centered around natural-born Queens (a cast based on a genetic quirk that isn't tied to magical power but rather the nature of the female), who in turn form circles of males who serve to form a court.  The highest rank of male are the Warlord Princes, primal individuals who possess sharp, murderous tempers and an intense need to protect.  Ideally, the Queens hold their leashes lightly, and the first rule of Blood Protocol is to 'protect', then 'serve', and third to 'obey'. 

Unfortunately, due to the influence of two ambitious Priestesses from the long-lived Hayllian race, the Blood in Terreille have become twisted and corrupt, the good Queens vanishing over the course of generations, leaving only twisted monstrosities of the human spirit in their place, women who know only how to use and enslave men... resulting in the men in their districts becoming ever more twisted themselves, as their experiences warp their reactions to their instincts, breaking them a little more with each generation. 

It is into this Terreille that Jaenalle is born and Daemon and Lucivar have lived.  Saetan, bound by his personal honor, has not been able to protect his sons, and when the daughter of his soul, already wounded by the corruption in Terreille first appears before him, it is only his long experience and iron will that keep him from crossing the final line he has held to for over fifty thousand years.

This series is a story of the trials and travails of the circle of relations that orbit the four points of the triangle, as the outer points try to protect the center, Jaenalle, so that the dream might one day become a salvation to them all. 

Honestly, Anne Bishop's brilliance lies in her ability to intimately portray the emotional travails of the characters, the subtle and not so subtle dance of Protocol and power, and the unique nature of the Blood make this one of the single richest experiences out there for dark fantasy.  In a culture where murder is legal but rape is punishable by death, but where the rules are breaking down, the central characters are a bastion of sanity in a world rapidly heading toward horror and despair beyond imagining. 

As Anne Bishop says in the forward in the omnibus edition, 'I started this world with Daemon, Jaenalle, and Lucivar, but it was Saetan who brought it to life.' She started out imagining a world where Darkness was, from the beginning to end, the dominant force, and in that darkness were both a vicious edge of violence, a terrible gentleness, and a primal, deep sort of love.

The characters in this series are passionate, with deep wells of potential violence and compassion both.  Saetan, Lucivar, Daemon, and Jaenalle are all individuals possessing a near-infinite capacity for both love and violence... and above all, they strive to protect.

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On the one hand it sounds really interesting, on the other hand I'm shuddering from the thought of what a VN a company like Black Lillith would make out of this story. :ph34r:

But the books seem rather popular - I could get them even in my own language.

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I had previously voted no to the book reviews when you brought up the poll, and that was mainly because I already have a good number of recommendations from friends, and my grandma likes to shove books on me too, lol. You're the only one I know that religiously covers untranslated VNs, and I value them as a source of motivation for learning Japanese.

That being said, I haven't heard of this trilogy until now, and it does seem awfully interesting. I've recently started picking up books as part of a nighttime cooldown routine before going to sleep also (it was suggested to me by my insomnia therapist), so it might not be long before I work my way through the bulk of what I've been planning to read.

So, yeah, I've pretty much changed my mind on the vote. Thanks for the review! :)

Edited by Kenshin_sama
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9 hours ago, RedK said:

What's your score on this one? The books are well-rated on goodreads it seems.

I only plan to post on books I would have given higher than a 9 out of 10... This one is at 10.  It is one of about nine fantasy and sci-fi series I think anyone interested in the genres should at least try to read.  The downside of this series is that people unused to the darker side of fantasy might have some trouble with the Blood, because, by nature, they are a lot closer to the 'predator' side of humanity.  This is a story about a world where Darkness is the central force, after all, lol.

Edit: Oh, and if you think that Saetan and Daemon sound scary after encountering them in the story, Jaenalle makes them seem merciful when she 'goes cold', as they put it.

Edited by Clephas
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12 hours ago, ChaosRaven said:

On the one hand it sounds really interesting, on the other hand I'm shuddering from the thought of what a VN a company like Black Lillith would make out of this story. :ph34r:

But the books seem rather popular - I could get them even in my own language.

One reason I'm able to tolerate some of the darker crap in VNs is because I read this series.  Unfortunately, so far I've yet to encounter a VN that handles inhumanity within humanity quite this well... the closest I've seen is Devils Devel Concept, and even that doesn't quite get there.

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