1st read: July 2020
2nd read: April 2024 ( )

Volume 3 of The Others. Pregnant Cassandra Sangue have been released into the wild to die, their babies have been killed and the Humanity First and Last movement is pushing into Other lands.
read 1/22/2024 ( )

More of the same, but I don´t care, I like these books. ( )

While there is an obvious pattern in her stories, the attention to characters is what keeps me reading. The book hangover when this series is done will be severe. ( )

This seems to be the second "season" of this series. Books 1 and 2 make up the first "season" where the overall story arc was concluded. Now we have the relationships, characters and day to day dynamics from the first two books that have been built over time and a new "arc" that will begin in this book. Again, no romance. Relationships are being built over time, but no romance.

Also, I noticed that this series may have started with a primary character, but it has moved into a bit of "roving eye" focusing on multiple story lines, multiple characters with their own lives. It is about an overall community and those people within it, as well as what is going on in the outside world.

No "hero and heroine" although there are a handful of primary characters, and a bit of relationship dynamic that is explored further, but no romance.

I went into the series expecting it to be a pnr, but it has turned into fiction, alternate universe, sometimes thriller, sometimes suspense, sometimes a bit of interpersonal and intrapersonal relationship dynamics, fish out of water, and family/work/community drama.

A good read. ( )

Nothing really happened in this book. It was an entire book of filler and tension builder but no climax or resolution, rather disappointing. Hopefully with the next book having to be all climax and resolution it will have a made this book worth the read.

You could say relationships were strengthened characters were developed but I feel all of that was implied with the last book and would have been understood without using a whole book to spell it out. But maybe this series is geared towards a younger reader.

I really enjoy the world she has created which is why I keep reading the books, however the way it is written leaves something to be desired.

and on a final note it should not take 3 books to decide if meg and Simon like each other or not in a more than friends way. It was obvious in book 1 that is where the story wanted to go, dragging it out is painful. spoiler alert we still don't know if they like each other or not. Either make them family or romantic, stop bouncing back and forth. ( )

I love this series!!!! So unique. The world is fascinating. More between Simon and Meg please!!! ( )

Exceptional.

Ok, so on second read, with audio book this time around, I have to admit there is a certain amount of repetitive language/ not the most inspiring writing style around. However, I find these books weirdly soothing and very enjoyable to read. I love the world, I really really love the characters, I enjoy the plotlines. Good Times. ( )

Absolutely love this series by Anne Bishop. I finish one book and can't wait to start the next. I found this third installment of the cassandra sangue series with Meg Corbyn to be particularly awesome, because the tension is really gearing up between the "clever meat" and the Others, and it's becoming clear that nothing will be able to stop war from coming. And at the same time, Meg and the other blood prophets are just trying to discover more about themselves, which Anne Bishop writes in such a heartwarming way, just like all scenes between Simon and Meg. Just LOVE LOVE LOVE. ( )

The worst part about this book is that I have to wait until the next installment is published, so now I'm going to go through withdrawal. Love this series! ( )

I always enjoy Anne Bishop's books so I don't know why it took me so long to read this series. I love The Others series the characters are great and the world is fascinating. This series reminds me a bit of her Ephemera series mixed with Ilona Andrews' Kate Daniels series and Patricia Briggs' Mercy Thompson series. ( )

Still subpar writing, but still a lot of things that hit a particular chord with me. I am finding more bits of these books that I just have to skim because they drag, but the fun parts make up for it. Am I supposed to be rooting for the Others to go full on extinction on humanity here? Because I really find that I am. ( )

On par in quality with the earlier books—see a previous review on why I’m not comfortable giving it more than three stars regardless of how much I like the story.

This one was *dark,* though. Very little humor until the denouement, and with lots of (good) tension and conflict. ( )

I loved the first two books, and I love the majority of Anne Bishop's books. Vision in Silver was really just kind of bland for me. I started getting bad vibes from the book when they started making a how-to book for Cassandra Sangue. It makes sense why they need it, but the entire exchange between characters was just dull and inane. A few parts such as the sharkguard and Ocean taking out the ships saved the book, but not enough to get more than 3 stars. I'm still going to keep reading the series but I need better dialogue and less cliché (jewels hidden in a bear? Really?). ( )

I am struggling with this series. I clearly like it enough that after wading through book 2, I went back for book 3. My struggles remain though.

If you're unfamiliar with Ms. Bishop's Black Gem other series, I struggled with them in the same way. The Black Gem series switches out an abusive patriarchy for an abusive matriarchy, and yet keeps you rooting for the matriarchy. The difference is, in the Black Gem series, the rapes and abuse the men suffer under a totalitarian/evil matriarchy are called out as such and the female lead character works to destroy this problematic aspect of her matriarchal society. The questionable behavior by the "good guys" in the Others series makes it hard for me to side with them. I think you could easily write the series from the opposite point of view and make them much more worthy of your sympathy.

The "good guys" in these books give the humans as little land as possible, while heavily taxing them, using all of the wonderful things the humans create and threatening to eat the humans if they stand up for themselves. These "good guys" are working, vaguely, toward getting along with the humans, but only the humans they like, who they basically seem to view as stupid pets and yet all but one are basically on thin ice and taking their lives in their hands to work with these "good guys".

So yes, the humans hate the "good guys", but I want you to imagine that a powerful group of individuals treat you (basically refugees from even more of their kind) like monsters, while essentially appropriating your culture and threatening to eat you any time you don't let them do basically whatever they want. As I write this I will admit the word that came up over and over again for me was "racism" and it reminded me of the South (U.S.A.) after slavery was overturned. Sure, we won't keep slaves any more, but we'll benefit from them and systematically destroy any safety, family life or culture they try to build for themselves while segregating them from ourselves while retaining all the good things all for ourselves.

2 stars because in between threats to eat everyone I like the book and I think she deserves kudos for somehow beating it into me that these people are okay and I should cheer with them, because for most of the book I managed to stay hooked. Yes, the treatment of Meg and her people are horrible, but lumping everyone in with a few 1%'s and basically systematically abusing the humans until they are turning in on themselves and willing to face the wrath of creatures that are essentially gods? Becoming real hard for me to put up with. If Bishop would have any one of the human characters, or even Other characters point out that if you treat people like animals they will bite you and eat their young in the process I would read on. Instead all the "good guy" humans basically whine and wring their hands over "if we don't do whatever our abusive masters say they'll reserve the right to bite us and that's their right so we should shut up and just try to be peaceful while they levy taxes and literally eat us if they get annoyed or are just looking for amusement." It's like reading a book about Southern slavery written from the point of view of that one well treated slave who thinks we should let the beatings go on, because not all of us are nice, and really we don't deserve freedom.

I realize comparing fiction to an actual atrocious event is pretty terrible, but this is what I thought of this entire book: basically an excused way to enslave humans because they're bad/not as good as us. I won't be reading any further in this series. It leaves me with an increasingly sour taste in my mouth. ( )

had mixed feelings about “Vision In Silver”, the third “Novel of The Others”.

I enjoyed “Written In Red” because it was new and fresh, it focused closely on “Our Meg” and her discovery of a world beyond the compound that she’d been kept in, her personal growth and the drama of the plot. It remains one of my favourite fantasy books.

“Murder of Crows” -which could have been subtitled “the humans strike back”- was less intense but provided a much deeper and broader view of this world and put Meg’s background in context. It was an extension of “Written In Red” and helped me see the humans as much more monstrous than the Werewolves and Vampires who provide the public face of The Others.

“Vision In Silver” continues to give a wider view of the world: its inhabitants, its politics, and the strange and strained truce between humans and The Others, but I felt that, in becoming broader, it had lost some of its intensity. I wanted more focus on Meg. I wanted the characters and their relationships to deepen in the same way that the world view does. Although I found out a lot about the characters, more and more of them seemed like plot devices rather than people.

Compared to many Fantasy books I’ve read, “Vision In Silver” is a high quality novel that is satisfying to read, it just didn’t deliver as much as I’d hoped.

There are some very strong scenes in the book: an attack at a market place, the decision of rescued Cassandra Sangue to live when those around her see death as their only way out of an unbearable situation, humans and The Others gardening together, at peace but still very alien to one another. I particularly enjoyed the story of the Cassandra Sangue who finds an alternative to the cutting that shortens their lives: it was told with compassion and empathy without being simply mushy. The story of the little girl and her mother, which forms the central plotline, was also well delivered.

Yet… I felt a little distant from this book. The balance of ideas to emotions tipped a little the wrong way. I felt it was like a sponge that hadn’t quite risen – still tasty and edible but disappointing. ( )

Do you know what happened to the dinosaurs? The Others is what happened to the dinosaurs.

Vision in Silver is the third in The Others series by Anne Bishop. Actions having consequences is a huge theme of the series and is really coming to light in this installment. This is also the book where the fact that events in a small area are having a lot more impact on the world at large than our characters first imagined.

Freed from their "benevolent ownership" the cassandra sangue are finding it difficult to adjust to the outside world. This is proving dangerous both for themselves and those looking to help them. Can Meg, first of her kind to ever escape, help? Meanwhile, tension are rising as attacks on humans and Others continue, with the Humans First and Last movement placing all the blame on the Others. Unfortunately their actions have not gone unnoticed.

I could not put this book down. Bishop has an amazing talent of balancing the horror with the tender moments. One of the atrocities committed made me incredibly sad and the reaction Meg had to it made me teary eyed. At that moment I could've used my own wolf pup to cuddle. It's also interesting how the story continues to ask who the real monsters are, with humans basically being the greatest threat to their continued existence as a species.

Meg, the Others of the Lakeside Courtyard and her new human friends continue to be a joy. It's fun that the Courtyard has accepted a "human pack" to go along with Meg. I also feel it's going to be very important to the human's survival in the future. The new cassandra sangue who likes to draw her visions into pictures offers hope that perhaps they might have another outlet for prophecy that won't result in their early deaths. I also enjoy Meg and Simon's growing fondness for each other and how they work out how to have a relationship.

That ending gave me chills. The humans are in a lot of trouble. Quite honestly, they deserve it. I can't wait to see where the story goes next. I both look forward to and somewhat dread meeting the Elders. ( )

ohmygodohmygodohmygod this was good this was soooooo good! the book is absolutely riveting and my name is Hope and Simon and Meg holding hands were a perfect closure to a very tense book. You care for the characters, you are interested in the world -- it's rare that a series of books gets better but this did. Oh yes, it did. ( )

With this being the third book in the series there is more buildup to the war that is brewing between some of the Humans First and Last and the Others. Some of the book deals with the other blood prophets that were rescued at the end of the previous book. Meg is trying to make a book to help them cope with being out of the prisons they were raised in. There is more development with the humans that are associated with the courtyard in this book. This is a ramp up to what is happening in the greater world with more humans not wanting to live in the constraints of the Others. A good book and great world building. ( )

I LOVE this series, but I couldn't give it a full 5 stars because after awhile the repition felt less of stressing the importance of what was being said to just being repetition. Lots of wonderful good things and I can't wait for the next book already! Made me smile everytime Simon talked about his 'sqeaky toy'
( )

Some reviews suggest this book might be a bit more 'tired' than the first two... I don't agree. Sure, the romantic component might be getting a bit long in the teeth, but it is better to keep it as is than ruin it with consummation prior to the end of the series. Sure, there is a political/green subtext throughout the series. But if that didn't bother you in books one and two, it won't bother you here either.

There is a sense of injustice in this story (all 3 books to this point are the same story, just spread over different books), a description of how the traditionally powerful (in our real world) feel entitled to power, even if the world they inhabit (this fictional world) has literally the opposite power roles... I can see how this would be disturbing. Who wants to be called on their crap behaviour in terms of their impact on the environment, animals, indigenous peoples, women, people who are alternatively abled... etc.

If you like this series, go get Bishop's Black Jewels series... it is actually a bit stronger than this one (and a bit more adult) ( )

Meg is learning how to cope with life outside and the others are learning how to help her. Though keeping information from her is pretty frustrating.
The HLF is riling things up and the wild Elders have had enough.
Simon is trying to get humans and others living collectively together in harmony.
And we meet an new CS girl who likes to draw! I look forward to hearing more of her story ( )

This series continues to get better with every book that comes out. Ms. Bishop knows how to take the typical frightening things and make you sympathize with them. I love this series. In this book things are starting to escalate between The Others and the humans and I love how Simon is opening up more to outside humans because of Meg.

The Courtyard is truly Meg's home and I love how she has become part of the pack there. I can't wait to see what the next book brings. ( )

I'm going to admit that I'm more than a little uncomfortable with the weird Deep Green-esque "humans all should die for what they do to the environment and the animals!!!" not-so-subtext going on. Like, my lady-dude, every last person who lives in a city and likes technology is basically a fascist who will 100% join the pro-human Nazis? Every last one who didn't have a spooky country grandma? And like, genocide is cool because you know, the Elementals speak for the trees? are you sure you wanna go that way?

Also, I even get that there are a lot of pedos out there IRL, but damn, there are a lot of pedos in Anne Bishop books. Also, these books are a really long way to say "dogs/wolves >>> people" but I suppose if you believe technology is basically evil, you don't spend a lot of time doing Twitter memes...