Oh my god, The Others series by Anne Bishop just keeps getting better, and I'm not sure how that's even possible, because books one and two were so fantastic. And yet, book three, VISION IN SILVER is even more incredibly, mind-blowingly extraordinary. There are werewolves and other shifters, vampires, and very powerful fae-like elder terra indigene. But this series is not like others urban fantasy or dystopians you've read. It's dark and gritty. And it's utterly addictive.

One of the main characters in this book is Meg. Meg is a cassandra sangue, a young woman held prisoner in near- sensory deprivation by humans, who was forced to make controlled cuts that would allow her to make prophecies on demand for payment. Meg escaped her captors, and in fleeing, fell into her unique position working in the mailroom in the terra indigene's Courtyard for The Others. Now Meg is working to understand her self-rehabilitation so she can help other rescued Cassandra Sangue deal with the overwhelming stimuli of the free world they are now exposed to. I love how Meg is slowly learning to cope with the humans and the Others around her and titrate her surroundings so she can discover new things but not feel the need to cut herself to deal with the resultant anxiety. Meg's growth and slow blooming is painful and also beautiful to experience.

Simon is the wolf in charge of The Courtyard and the Others in Lakeside. It's fascinating to watch him try to understand the humans around him, especially Meg. I adore Bishop's masterful work at showing us how differently and other-ish the Others think, more like animals than humans. The foreignness of their thoughts is so creepy and well done, it give me goose bumps sometimes. The Others call humans "clever meat." Simon and the terra indigene are faced with the growing threat of the Humans First and Last movement. The HFL is not only targeting the Others, but also the humans who have dealing with them, and the rhetoric and the skirmishes are heating up here.

There are wonderful political and ethical themes underlying this book, beautifully realized, but it's easy to get distracted from some of the underlying truths by the absolute kick-butt action and the hair-raising behavior of both the Others and the fanatical HFL humans. The blooming trust between some of the Others and the humans who deal with them and also the development of the released Cassandra Sangue bring a lovely hope to the story. The pace is excellent, with fairly steady action, and the tension is positively gripping. If there's a single book you must pick up this year, VISION IN SILVER is it.

Book Summary

The New York Times bestselling author of The Black Jewels Trilogy transports readers to a world of magic and political unrest—where the only chance at peace requires a deadly price…

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…

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