Bridge of Dreams by Anne Bishop – a Review

Bridge of Dreams by Anne Bishop, is the third book in her Ephemera series.  The first two books were Sebastian and Belladonna.  A lot was left open in Belladonna, when she stopped the Eater of the Word, at a large cost to her soul, where her heart split into two..good & evil.   But Michael saved her at the end, but still a long way from recovering, if she ever will.  Bridge of Dreams picks up pretty much after the end of Belladonna. 

If you are reading this, and do not understand what is Ephemera? It is another one of Anne Bishop’s fascinating worlds.  The world of Ephemera is divided into many different landscapes, mostly small and disconnected from each other. There are bridges that connect some of the places, all by the discretion of the Landscaper who builds them.  The landscapes in Ephemera are driven by the hearts of the people who live there, and those hearts are both good (light) and evil (dark). The landscaper can help control the world.  But most of the Landscapers were killed by the Eater of the World, and all that remains is Glorianna Belladonna, who is the most powerful of them all.  With just thought, or talking to Ephemera, she can change this world. 

Lee, who is a Bridge and Belladonna’s brother, is the hero in this story.  Though we will see many of our favorites from the first two books, such as Sebastian, Michael, Nadia, Lynnea, Yoshani, Teaser, Caitlin, as well as Glorianna Belladonna, who plays a major part in this book too.  Lee, who is still upset, that he could not help his sister, when she took on the dark to save the world, as he has a hard time dealing with her two halfs.  He also feels that he is losing his sister to her lover, Michael. Lee keeps his distance, and others in the family, including Glorianna see him pulling away.

Walking alone doing his rounds, Lee is attacked by the evil wizards that are still alive or not locked up where Belladonna left them.  He recognizes that they are looking to find Belladonna, so Lee does what he must do to save his sister and mother.  Using his powers, he cuts his ties to Ephemera, and his sister and sends himself and his attackers away.  He ends up in Vision, a city that cannot see the evil wizards destroying their city, as it slowly being taken over by the dark wizards.  Lee, is blinded and drugged by the wizards who captured him, and he is locked away in Asylum. There he meets Danyal, who is a Shaman, that was recently assigned to Vision to help save it.  Lee also meets and falls in love with Zhahar, who is hiding a big secret.

Danyal is different then most Shamans, who have failed to prevent the dark evil from spreading in Vision. With Zhahar’s help, and her sisters, they convince Danyal to help Lee.  The key is for all of them to escape and find their back to Belladonna, and his family to get assistance to help stop the evil in Vision.  

Anne Bishop has a wonderful way of creating new characters, new worlds that are mind boggling.  In this book, she has created a new race, called Tryad’s.  Zhahar is a Tryad, who are three into one.  Very interesting and I really did enjoy this new, yet almost impossible race.  I liked Zhahar, and her other two sisters, Zeela and Sholeh.  They play a major part of this story, especially when they all go back to the Den and Sanctuary.

Glorianna Belladonna, Lee, Danyal (with help from Yoshani) and the Tryads are the focus of this story.  The ending was very good, as you couldn’t put the book down to find out what happens.  You marvel at Belladonna’s powers; enjoy how she and Lee make up, even have fun with their mud fight; you totally thrown, as to how the Tryad’s live and how could Lee and Zhahar have a life together?   There is an ending that satisfies some things, but so many questions are left open.  My original thought when reading this series, was this was the end.  But with so many questions still to be answered, such as Lee and Zhaher and her sisters;  the remaining Dark guides and wizards; is Ephmera safe forever from the Eater of the World, (who did not appear in this book).

I loved Belladonna, and how you can see both sides of her, and how she is working to control her dark side.  Love her closeness to her family, Michael, Nada, Sebastian, Lynnea, and to Lee.  Love her ability to talk to Ephemera, who was the wild child.  Loved how Ephemera would talk back to her, Michael…those were fun and precious moments.   This is a complex world though, as most of Anne Bishop’s worlds are.  You do need to read the first two books to really understand the story, and what is Ephemera. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and hope Anne Bishop will continue the series, as I feel there are still some open questions.

Reviewed by Barb