Dreams Made Flesh (Black Jewels Series)

Lovely Coda to the Dark Jewels Trilogy

This is definitely not the book I'd start with if you're new to Anne Bishop or her Dark Jewels series, but if you're a fan of the trilogy, I'd definitely recommend this book. I've heard this book compared to fan fiction, not in a disparaging sense, but because it functions in filling some notable gaps in the trilogy you might be curious about, bits of backstory. It's a meaty book nevertheless with two out of the four stories novel-length: "The Prince of Ebon Rih" and "Kaeleer's Heart." The first tells the love story of Lucifar and Marian and how they got together--a fairly standard, fluffy romance. The second is about the immediate aftermath to the trilogy, about the nature of Twilight's Dawn. I found both stories an engaging read. I was less enamored of the opening story, "Weaver of Dreams" but it is very short and is from an interesting point of view. "Zuulaman," of novelette length is a chilling tale of Saetan's past. I'd definitely call this book for fans only, but that's not to put it down--those who enjoyed the other books wouldn't want to miss this one.

4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

A Perfect Conclusion

After I read the three books of the Dark Jewels Trilogy I was so mad it ended with so many loose strings but it was worth the wait for this book. It is the best of them all and will not leave fans dissapointed.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

hell's fire, mother night, and may the darkness be merciful! PERFECTO!

i was SOOOO shocked when i discovered that bishop had created a series for the black jewel trilogy i was practically screaming at the top of my lungs just to get this! part one introduces the background between lucivar and marian and how they became a couple. ooooo i loved it so much they are absolutely ADORABLE! then the past about saeten...i swear i was crying when i read this part his son being killed and his body parts being sent to him that was insanely cruel that damn heketah! and then the future carry on of daemon and jaenelle... perfection! a sequel was the perfect step for making the black jewel trilogy a book to never forget!

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

exciting, entertaining and exotic tales in the ¿Black Jewels¿ Universe

¿The Prince of Ebon Rih¿. Since his return from the sadistic court in Terreille, warlord Prince of the Blood Lucivar wants nothing to do with women. His sister Jaenelle prevents the rape of a hearth witch by five aristos; then tells the woman that she will be Lucivar¿s new housekeeper. When Lucivar realizes he has feelings for Marian, he woos her but his mother wants him to marry an aristo and will do whatever is necessary to end this relationship. This absolutely riveting romantic fantasy will appeal to readers of both genres. ¿Zuulamam¿. Saetan¿s wife is pregnant and asks him to help her family out of their financial difficulties. When he refuses, she goes to Zuulamam where she pretends to be a hostage to get what she wants. She and the Zulamam do something horrific that pushes the Lord of Hell into a killing rage. This short story is a great character study that shows the many different faces of Saetan.--- ¿Kaeleer¿s Heart¿. To save the realm of Kaeleer against its enemies, the witch Jaenelle with her lover Daemon worked their magic; Jaenette almost died. When she came out of the healing webs, Daemon worried that she no longer loved him just as she feared that she changed too much fro Daemon to love her anymore. A witch of the Blood who covets Daemon tries to break the lovers up. Daemon, more powerful than his father Saetan, unleashes his wrath on the realm seeking the person responsible for the attempts on Jaenette¿s life. This is a beautiful adult fairy tale.--- These three novellas and the very short story ¿ Weaver of Dreams¿ are exciting, entertaining and exotic tales in the ¿Black Jewels¿ Universe.--- Harriet Klausner

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Another Dark Jewel

From the moment I began reading the first book in Anne Bishop's Black Jewel Series I was captivated, moved, and entralled with the story and the characters. Having fallen in love with the dark jewel trilogy I was expecting a lot from this book. AND I got it... The book consists of 4 stories. Usually I am not a big fan of short stories, but "The Prince of Ebon Rih" and "Kaeleer's Heart" are long enough, and detailed enough to be really satisfying. I really liked the way the story of Lucivar and Marian was fleshed out. My only complaint is that I think it would have been even better if Lucivar had had a conversation with Marian's family...
I'm also so glad Anne Bishop added a footnote to the end of "The Queen of Darkness." "Kaeleer's Heart" lets the reader know how Janelle's recovery progressed and what her powers are like with twilight's dawn. It adds a feeling of completeness that I missed with "The Queen of Darkness."
"Zuulaman" is short, but haunting. It adds on to the story of Saetan and Heketah; it doesn't tell us much we didn't already know, but it adds emotion and depth to Saetan's character--and Hekatah's depravity.
I absolutely love the Dark Jewels universe and these stories. The authors style pulls your whole-heartedly into the story and envelops you in the character's world. This book of stories fills in some of missing events between the original three and makes the collection more vibrant and meaningful. An absolute must read if you like the dark jewels universe.

For anyone who likes to read!!!

All of the books are wounderful. People I have told about the books come back to me and ask how they did they miss them on the shelf.

Love the book, hate B&N's policy

All of the books in Anne Bishop's Black Jewels series are amazing. Just an FYI, these book are all also DRM protected, which means you can only read them with a Nook, and you are not able to convert them!

I am in love with this series, check it out for yourself!

Anne Bishop, Dreams Made Fresh, answer alot of questions of the unknown. The Black Jewels Series is one the best series to date. This book I could not put it down, finish is in a day and a half. Infact #1,#2 and #3 I could not put it down either. All I have to add is OMG! Anne Bishop is a GREAT author, who other books I am checking into now too.

I love more information!

These stories just give the reader more information about the characters and places they know and love from the first books.I've read all the Black Jewels books in less than a week, and this one was finished in one day. When I first started reading this series, didn't really understand what the characters were or even if I liked how weird the story could get,then I realized I didn't care if I understand because I loved the people already. Janelle, Daemon, Lucivfer and Saeton tug at the heartstrings of every reader and this book just gives a fan a deeper look into their world and what happened between orginal novels and in the past. It may jump around, but it's still a favorite on my shelf!!

Fills in the blanks

This book was great because it filled in the blanks in between the trilogy. I really enjoyed reading it and would reccommend it to everyone.

Good but disappointing

I love the Dark Jewels Trilogy and I was really excited by this book. It was a let down that the book jumped around a lot. I struggled to find the relvance of the Sr. Diablo's story and that of his younger son.It actually ended well in letting readers know that the Dark Queen could at anytime regain her former potency in power. Maybe a story will follow where Janelle will be forced at least for a short time to take up her Black Jewels is a weilding of power to show the realms that Witch still reigns.

A reviewer

I read the Black Jewels Trilogy and I was craving more from that fantastic three realmed land. Dreams Made Flesh intensified my appetite. It was so fantastically written that I could not put it down. It was entertaining, erotic, magnificent, and thought provoking. I need more from this fantastic world, it is so addicting.

Excellent follow-up

This was an excellent follow-up on some of the threads left hanging in the Jewels trilogy. It also gave some interesting backstory. My only complaint is that I want more of the world of the Blood.

Thank you, thank you!

I was thrilled to see Anne Bishop write another Blood Jewel book. I've missed them. This one was as good if not better than the rest...more in depth of characters. Please, please, Anne, write more of this family. I love them!

Wonderful Book

This book doesnt disappoint giving more in depth information into the lives of the characters from The Black Jewels Trilogy. It was just as good as all the others!

Heart Wrenching and Sweet

The characters are very complicated but written in such details mixed with pains, laughs, fun and sorrows. I couldn't help but sacrifice my 'beauty sleep' to read as much as I could. So good.

An excellent conclusion to a wonderful series!

I have to say that I completely disagree with the first review. The whole point of the series is to be darker, but to prove that darker doesn't have to be evil. So there's violence...but the precedence for that violence was clearly stated in the first three books! If that reviewer didn't understand Protocol that Anne Bishop explained in the first book, then they shouldn't have read on to the next one. I think this book was an excellent way of wrapping up the entire series. I was very excited to see what happened to Jaenelle and Daemon after the whole 'cleansing' in the last book, and this gave me much satisfaction in that respect. And the extra story of Lucivar and how he met Marion also satisfied a curiosity for me as well. An excellent conclusion to one of my favorite series of all time!

Great Read

I only recently picked up the Jewels trilogy and I was absolutely spellbound and wanted more, luckily this has come out. Once again, Ms. Bishop shows that she has a wonderful knack for characterization and a poetic voice. The short stories here could stand alone, but carry more if you have read the jewels trilogy. The stories aren't quite as strong as the preceeding novels, but they are well written and spell binding. And they do leave you wanting more.

Not One of Her Best

This new installment of the Black Jewels saga was something I was looking forward to, so i didn't pay too much attention to the critics reviews about it, wanting to judge for myself. Unfortunately, I'd have to agree with them this once. The strongest story in the whole quartet was Kaeleer's Heart, since the characters seemed to interact with each other the most belivably. The thing that disturbed me the most about this book was the way most of the people in it, who are supposedly thousand of year old adults seemed at times to behave with the restraint and decorum of teenagers and two-year-olds. The Warlord Princes--Lucivar, Daemon, Saetan, who are supposed to be good guys, seem to look at killing or violence as a solution to everything. Someone pisses them off, they kill them. This is not only a disturbing concept, it's a sickness. Normal people do not, should not behave that way. And whatever happened to the creed with great power comes great responisiblity? that simply because you CAN do something doesn't mean you SHOULD. Apparently Bishop's characters have never been taught this, since all of her males seem to think it's okay to react violently whenever something goes wrong. And the cliched line--of the 'savage' beast nature of a Warlord Prince doesn't ring true here. Animals aren't savage--WE are. If you've ever observed predators int he wild, such as wolves, dominance fights 9 times out of 10 DO NOT end in death--both challenged and challenger walk away. The idea that a warlord Prince's response to a rival was to kill him is insane and irrational. Come on, if a person were that unbalanced emotionally, he should be locked away somewhere. I also found the response of Saetan to the Zuuliman killing his son to be the reaction of a madman--I'm sorry but the death of one person is NOT and never should be an excuse for the genocide of an entire people. And he didn't even show remorse for killing all of those innocent people! And THIS is a good guy? I don't think so! Whatever happened to being better than those you fight? And if Sae6tan is so powerful, surely he could have used his powers to discover who was really behind his son's death, instead of lashing out like an enraged toddler and killing everyone. That to me is the act of a monster, not a hero. I don't think Bishop gives her characters any room to grow and act like normal adults and human beings here. You can't have a man be both a gentle, sweet person and a killing machine--unless they're bipolar. You sure as hell don't want that same person in charge of a country. That i think, has always been the flaw in this series, the characters are way too violent and some of them are fixated on sex, even though they claim not to be. I felt that these stories could have been done much much better. The only parts I felt were well done were the spider story and some of the scenes between Daemon and Janelle. The Lucivar story had the potential to be really good, but was spoiled by the shallowness of the main characters and the fact that they wouldn't talk to each other about how they felt, which is essential in any good relationship.

An Unforgettable Collection

While disappointing that Bishop did not elaborate more on these stories so that they were individual novels, the short story collection that became 'Dreams made flesh' is as wonderful and spellbinding as any of her previous works and everyone should at least read this book once.