ARC Review: "Vision in Silver" by Anne Bishop

Vision in Silver

by Anne Bishop

Book 3 in The Others series

The Others freed the  cassandra sangue  to protect the blood prophets from exploitation, not realizing their actions would have dire consequences. Now the fragile seers are in greater danger than ever before—both from their own weaknesses and from those who seek to control their divinations for wicked purposes. In desperate need of answers, Simon Wolfgard, a shape-shifter leader among the Others, has no choice but to enlist blood prophet Meg Corbyn’s help, regardless of the risks she faces by aiding him.

Meg is still deep in the throes of her addiction to the euphoria she feels when she cuts and speaks prophecy. She knows each slice of her blade tempts death. But Others and humans alike need answers, and her visions may be Simon’s only hope of ending the conflict.

For the shadows of war are deepening across the Atlantik, and the prejudice of a fanatic faction is threatening to bring the battle right to Meg and Simon’s doorstep…

When I was a kid, there was a commercial for margarine with the slogan, “it’s not nice to fool Mother Nature.”  I couldn’t help but remember this line while reading this book.  That was a humorous tagline, but in this book, it’s serious business messing the Mother.

The central conflict in this series is between the Others, terra indigene – the earth natives, and the humans. The humans have the technology and the systems, but the Others have dominion over nature – the natural resources. That is why in the world order, the Others hold power over humans.  Humans are considered prey.  However, some humans are not comfortable with this status and are looking to fight back. 

This tension is played out through the characters in and associated with the Lakeside Courtyard. Whereas book one and two are focused on the development of the characters, world-building and establishing the roles of the various characters, this book focuses more on the larger conflict. It’s a game changer.

What’s interesting to me is that although the humans are the lower ranked in this world, they are not the underdogs. There is no sympathy for the greater humankind. Through arrogance, humans have polluted and ravaged the Earth impacting all species.  Without taking responsibility for the destruction, humans have redirected their focus on a right for “manifest destiny” and freedom from, what they consider, bondage to the Others.  The resentment is fueling a Humans First and Last movement.  This is pushing the Others to consider unleashing a Noah-and-the-Flood like destruction.

This is also a story about alienation, misunderstanding, and the attempts by one small faction to overcome that gap.  The Lakeside Courtyard is the crucible of those efforts. Because even within the threat of a pending war, people can choose to understand one another.

All of favorite characters are back.  Relationships evolve. There is less Simon and Meg than in the other books, but they are still the central part of the story.  The rate of their relationship development is still a little slow and frustrating for me. I wasn’t even clear until this book that something else might be developing beyond strong friendship.  But given the richness of the story, I’m willing to be patient.

This is a perfect middle book. It gives us more of our favorite characters, complicates the relationships and furthers the greater conflict. 

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to review the book in exchange for an honest review.