Marked in Flesh by Anne Bishop – a Review
Marked in Flesh
The Others series – Book #4
by Anne Bishop
Release Date: March 8, 2016
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Description:
For centuries, the Others and humans have lived side by side in uneasy peace. But when humankind oversteps its bounds, the Others will have to decide how much humanity they’re willing to tolerate—both within themselves and within their community…
Since the Others allied themselves with the cassandra sangue, the fragile yet powerful human blood prophets who were being exploited by their own kind, the delicate dynamic between humans and Others changed. Some, like Simon Wolfgard, wolf shifter and leader of the Lakeside Courtyard, and blood prophet Meg Corbyn, see the new, closer companionship as beneficial—both personally and practically.
But not everyone is convinced. A group of radical humans is seeking to usurp land through a series of violent attacks on the Others. What they don’t realize is that there are older and more dangerous forces than shifters and vampires protecting the land that belongs to the Others—and those forces are willing to do whatever is necessary to protect what is theirs…
Review:
Marked in Flesh by Anne Bishop is the 4th book in her fantastic The Others series. I have said this before; I am a huge fan of Anne Bishop, having loved all of her other series; whatever she writes, she is a master storyteller. In Marked in Flesh, Anne just continues to wow us with another fascinating story that had us holding our breaths in the final half of the ultra exciting pulse pounding finish.
The Others is a story about the terra indigene (non humans, such as wolves, crows, vampires, elementals, grizzlies, etc) who control most of the world, and the humans, both good and bad who live in lands that the Others allow them to live on. Meg is our heroine of this series; she is human, but a valuable blood prophet, who has the ability of seeing the future when she cuts herself. The Others have come to care very much for Meg, and will go to all lengths to protect her from the evil that threatens them all.
In Marked in Flesh, the group who call themselves Humans First and Last, have escalated their foolish threats against the Others, including humans and/or businesses that support the terra indigene. They kill livestock, and threaten the lives of many of the wolves. The Elders, whom we learn more about, as even The Others fear them, decide it is time to reclaim their land and do what they learned from what the humans did.
Simon Wolfgard, who is the leader of The Others, prepares everyone for what is coming. He warns other territories that have been working with the good humans, and the cassandra sangue (young blood prophets that were saved, and whom Meg tries to help). In Lakeside, and in a few other territories, The Others try to bring in humans who have worked with them to protect them from the expected fallout. It was interesting to watch the preparation of a possible destruction of the world as they know it, with the humans and others bringing in supplies to last them for some time; which included books, food, medicine, normal things for their human friends, such as toilet paper. Lol Meg begins to try and find out ways for her and the other blood prophets to be able to see the prophecy without cutting.
Meg has become an important part of the others, especially to Simon, who is slowly finding himself not seeing life without our Meg. I look forward to the time when Simon and Meg open themselves to a romance. I love the great characters Bishop has created for this series, Meg, Simon, Sam, Tess, Vlad, Nathan, Merri, Skippy, Monty, just to name a few, and there are so many.
Marked in Flesh gives us a look at the original others (The Elders), who are different from the shape shifters, and more lethal. When the time comes as we race to the finish, the excitement and danger is breathtaking. The power of the Elders, and the Elementals (Ocean, Fire, Water, Air, Earth, etc,), is so powerfully written by Bishop, as we watch what unfolds around us.
This was an exciting and intense race to the climax, with many deaths that will change this world going forward. I loved the humor that Anne added to alleviate some of the tension, with the wolves howling to let the Elders know that they are there and not to harm those with them. Even Meg did her Arroooo! The ending was very well done, with some sad moments. We are left waiting impatiently for the next book to see where Anne Bishop will take us. Once again, Anne Bishop has done a wonderful job continuing this wonderful urban fantasy series, which is not to be missed.
If you have not read this series, I suggest you do so. This is not a standalone; you must start with the first book, as it is a continuing storyline.
Reviewed by Barb
Copy provided by Publisher
