Murder of Crows --by Anne Bishop

Fiction / Urban Fantasy

370 pages / 2874 KB

5 Stars

Having read the second in The Others series, I stand by my first impression that this is one of the finest worlds ever crafted. And some of the most interesting characters.

This book takes up at the end of Written in Red. We already know everyone (there is a 'short history' at the beginning in case you haven't read Written in Red). I believe this could be a stand alone book, and any reader familiar with the genre should be able to read this one, and then pick up Written In Red and make the time shift with little to know problem. Though they read better if read in order.

Someone is after the Crows, and when humans start a war on the Others, there can only be one outcome. A new group has formed, the Humans, First, Last, and Always. It does not bode well for anyone. Unless Meg and the Others at Lakeside Courtyard can gather enough information to stop it before it goes any farther.

Perhaps because I knew the world, and the characters, I found I could, indeed, put this book down, and read just a few chapters at a time. Frankly, I was grateful for that, as I had too much to do to devote an entire day to reading it ;-)

However, that's not to say I didn't enjoy this one as much as I did the first, and I truly look forward to picking up the next in the series and reading it. I rather enjoy reading a book where I already know the main characters. I can spend more time on the story, and less on getting to know my new neighbors.

We do meet some new people, the Intuit. They are not prophets like the Cassandra sangue, but they get feelings about things, and have learned to interpret those. They live in small communities and are closer to the Others than they are to other humans.

How human is Simon becoming? Will he become too human?

While this book may be a bit slower in the reading, it is a very enjoyable read, and I have a feeling it's a great set-up for the next book. Fortunately, both the first and second books have both beginnings and endings, which is one reason I think they can be read out of order.