The Barnes & Noble Review
Anne Bishop returns to the dark and sensual realm of her Black Jewels trilogy (Daughter of the Blood, Heir to the Shadows, and Queen of the Darkness) in Dreams Made Flesh, a collection of four stories featuring some of Bishop's most beloved -- and wickedest -- characters.
In "The Prince of Ebon Rih," Lucivar, the winged son of Saetan (the High Lord of Hell), has recently been named Warlord Prince of Ebon Rih and moved into an old, abandoned eyrie. After enduring decades as a sexual slave in a court of sadistic queens, the last thing on Lucivar's mind is finding a wife. But when his sister Jaenelle rescues a beautiful hearth witch from being brutally raped and assigns her as Lucivar's new housekeeper, the two broken souls find themselves falling in love. But with so many people against the relationship -- including Lucivar's mother -- can it ever survive?
"Zuulaman" is an enlightening story from Saetan's past that reveals why the High Lord's relationships with his two sons, Lucivar and Daemon, are so complicated. When a trade dispute between Saetan's domain and another turns violent and the High Lord's very pregnant wife is supposedly taken hostage, an entire realm feels the wrath of Saetan unleashed…
With the dark romanticism of Jacqueline Carey's Kushiel's Legacy trilogy (Kushiel's Dart, Kushiel's Chosen, and Kushiel's Avatar) and the violent eroticism of the Beauty's Release trilogy by A. N. Roquelaure (a.k.a. Anne Rice), this collection -- which blurs the lines between pleasure and pain -- will thrill fantasy and romance fans alike. Paul Goat Allen
