The Pillars of the World
By Anne Bishop
Read: September 2008
Rating: Nifty
I don’t know why the Tir Alainn books have sat unread for so long. I snapped the first one up because I love Anne Bishop’s Black Jewels books. Maybe I could sense that the Tir Alainn books aren’t up to the same standard. Still, I’m enjoying them.
Where Black Jewels is dark, intense, sensual and frightening, Tir Alainn has more room for doubt, confusion, and laughter. Characters who aren’t lifelong assassins and sex slaves are able to laugh more. (No, rly.)
This series is like a cross of Kate Forsyth’s Witches of Eileannan (yet to be reviewed) series with Bishop’s sexual tones. The lands here have been looked after by witches for generations. The Fae live apart from humanity in Tir Alainn–but entire Fae Clans are disappearing into mist. Their quest for answers takes them to a human witch named Ari, a young woman still finding her feet.
At the same time, the Lucian Fae Lightbringer, their most powerful fire user, begins a sexual relationship that tugs at his heartstrings. The Fae do not love as human men love–they don’t even believe such a hting is possible. Is the threat of Neall, a human man with magic in his veins and love for Ari in his heart, enough to make Lucian go against Fae culture?
There are invaders in the land, now. Men called the Black Coats who want to rid the world of both the witches and the Fae. If they don’t get their stories straight, they’ll all die. The Fae have forgotten how interdependent they really are on the ‘lesser’ humans and witches.
I liked the elements woven together–witches, Fae, etc. It doesn’t have the heavy Celtic overtones of Eileannan, which is nice in its own way. I also like the characters, I can get a good feel for more of them.
But it just feels clumsy. There’s enough of Bishop’s natural talent to keep it from falling apart, but its just not as smooth. Everything’s a bit lacking, from choosing which scenes to show and for how long to character development. I REALLY like that Lucien and Dianna become her love-them-hate-them representatives for how the majority of the Fae feel, but I don’t think they were built up to that point properly.
That said, I’m more than a little sick right now, so I’m just going to enjoy the wonderful and engaging distraction. Because on the whole, I do like them. Not enough to gush like I do over Black Jewels, but I will be recommending them to people I know who also like these fantasy elements.
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