I have recently been re-reading some of Anne Bishop's Black Jewels novels and decided Tangled Webs, the one I have currently finished would be a good start. If you have not read any of the books and intend to do so, there will be spoilers ahead revealing events in the other books which this one has as established.
Rather than explain the world Ms. Bishop has created, here is a link to the Wikipedia article giving a brief summary of it: The Black Jewels
One of the things I love about Ms. Bishop's books is how she revisits her characters. I have heard others find this to ruin the flow of some of the books, but I always enjoy it, which is why I love books in a series so much. I love being able to revisit those characters and see what they are up to.
Tangle Webs is a story focusing on Surreal SaDiablo. She belongs to the witch caste which is "a Blood female who wears Jewels but isn't one of the other hierarchical levels; also refers to any Jeweled female" (Bishop). She is very strong wearing a Green Birthright Jewel and a Gray Jewel of rank (both are considered dark Jewels on the scale of Jewels. Gray is the third strongest behind Ebon-gray and Black). Add to this strength of Craft (name for the type of power the Blood use) to the fact that she is also a former whore and assassin and related (indirectly) to the most powerful family in the Realms (Kaeleer, Terreille, and Hell) and to one of the most secretive races in those Realms (the Dea al Mon) its easy to figure out she's not someone you would want to mess with. Anyone who did would most likely meet with the men in her family, the three most dangerous men in the Realms: Saetan SaDiablo, Daemon Sadi, and Lucivar Yaslana. One thing to keep in mind in the Black Jewels novels is that Blood males serve. They women mostly are in charge of things and the men do anything to protect them. The 3 men in the SaDiablo family Warlord Princes, the highest and most lethal caste of Blood male. Saetan is a trained Black Widow, Daemon was born a Black Widow and both can weave terrible dreams, webs, illusions and do almost anything else. Luciver is an Eyrien (meaning he has wings) and is a warrior and has trained for centuries. Non of them wear a Birthright Jewel lighter than Red and their other Jewels are no lighter than Ebon-gray. Daemon and Saetan are the only males to ever wear Black Jewels in the entire existence of the Blood.
If those three were not enough to deter someone from harming anyone close to the SaDiablo family, Janelle Angelline is formerly the Queen of Ebon Askavi, a Healer, and a Black Widow. She was the most powerful woman in all the Realms wearing Ebony Jewels (Jewels no one else has ever worn). She sacrificed herself to save those who were true to the Blood's code of honor (Protocol) and destroyed those who did not. After a long recovery, she returned and no longer wears the Ebony Jewels, she now wears Twilight's Dawn, a Jewel very specific to Janelle. Basically she draws on the strength of power she needs when she needs it. But this should not fool anyway, she is still just as lethal if provoked and there is also the fact that she is married to Daemon, the adopted daughter of Saetan, and by association the adopted sister of Lucivar. (Daemon and Lucivar are both Saetan's sons, but since Janelle is adopted by Saetan, she has no blood ties to Daemon and can marry him. For more of their story and why they are together, read the earlier books in the Black Jewels series.
So in Tangled Webs, Jarvis Jenkell, a man who has recently discovered he is Blood, but not strong enough to wear Jewels, decides to tangle with the SaDiablo family. He sets a trap for them and hopes to catch them in a "spooky house" he has created. Janelle has also been working on a "spooky house" but her's is merely an entertainment for landen (non-Bloods) and the Blood. Jenkell however uses his version of the "spooky house" to trap as many of the high and mighty SaDiablo family as possible. He unwisely decides it is time to repay the Blood for ignoring what he really was (one of the) for too long. He is bitter and has a deep resentment for the Blood. Unfortunately, is plan does not work as well as he hopes and instead of trapping Daemon, Lucivar, and Surreal. He traps Surreal and her escort, and Opal Jeweled Warlord Prince named Ranier, along with some landen children. Once inside the house they soon realize it is not the "spooky house" created by Janelle and holds threats that just might kill them if they do not find a way out. Jenkell has engineered the house to close one of the 30 exits available if anyone inside the house uses Craft for even the tiniest spell.
I really enjoyed this the second time around. I think I appreciated the character of Surreal more, especially having read this so quickly after reading the earlier books in the series. She's a very strong character in many ways. She is given the chance to show some of her skills here, but this story allows for a deeper look at her character.
I enjoyed the tricks in the "spooky house" they were just enough to be gruesome, but not enough to scare me (and that's pretty easy since almost everything scares me). I also liked the interaction between Surreal and Ranier, the Warlord Prince who serves as her 'escort', although she protest to his attempts at this. Ms. Bishop allows us to see that Surreal is not as tough as she acts when she encounters beetles in a bath tub that burts. The giggling spiders were entertaining, and it was nice to see that if Surreal was going to become queasy about something, it wasn't going to be the typical spider thing, but some other insect.
The ending is fulfilling, because Jenkell is given what he deserves by Daemon, and of course that is always interesting.
An idea that runs through all of the Black Jewels novels has to do with the consequences the actions the characters take. There's a saying among the Blood, "Everything has a price" and the consequences are both good and bad, but those who understand the Protocol which governs the Blood, know how true these words are. Someone such as Jarvis Jenkell has absolutely no idea and rightly suffer for their lack of understanding.
Listening to: Johnny Cash - "Heart of Gold"
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