This is the conclusion to Anne Bishop's Black Jewels Trilogy. It was not as good as the previous two, but it is worth the reading.

Background
(if you have read the first two novels feel free to skip this section and for more in-depth review of the first two books see my reviews -Caught in the Web and Come into the Shadows)
In the previous novels, we are told of a prophecy that fortells the coming of the Witch. A woman who has more power than has ever been seen. She will be born to rule. She is dreams made flesh. She is born, Janelle, to a family who does not know what she is, they believe her to be untalented and crazy. They send her to Briarwood, an institution where she is mentally and physically abused. Saeton, the Lord of Hell, has also been waiting her arrival into the world as have his sons Daemon and Lucivar. Janelle travels to see Saeton so that he can train her, and Daemon is serving in her household so that he comes to know and love her. Lucivar, however, is trapped in the Salt Mines of Pruul. Saeton works to become her Guardian since her family does not appreciate her. He does become her Guardian but not before she is sexually abused at Briarwood which causes her to have emotional scars. When Saeton and Daemon rescue her from Briarwood, she is so hurt that she goes into a coma for two years, and Daemon loses his grip on sanity and falls into the twisted kingdom.

The second novel serves as a gathering of characters as Janelle recovers from her stay at Briarwood and gathers her court. Lucivar gets free of the salt mines and becomes an important character. He is the one to interact with Janelle since Daemon is in the twisted kingdom. We are introduced to many characters that will be in Janelle's court. Karla and Morton are introduced in the second novel, and are important in the third novel. Dorthea and Hekatah, the queens who are trying to get all three realms under their thumb begin to make their presence known. They create minor troubles in the second novel that lead to the war in the third novel.

Now that our chessboard in place with all characters properly accounted for, the third novel begins. Daemon has regain his sanity, but has yet to come to Kaeleer. To immigrate from Terreille to Kaeleer you have to sign a contract to serve a Queen in Kaeleer for six years. Lucivar signed a contract to Janelle, of course, and now working for her; he searches for Daemon at all the hiring fairs. At the fair that Daemon is at, a minion of Hekatah's tries to sign Daemon to a Queen that serves Hekatah. Lucivar spots and signs Daemon before that can happen. There has been bad blood between the brothers since it was Lucivar that pushed Daemon over the brink of sanity into the twisted kingdom. When they are reunited there is a touching scene where Daemon and Lucivar forgive each other and hug and cry. It amazes me how this writer can convenience you that two men who have destroyed many people, can care that deeply for each other. Daemon adds a lot of tension to the court. He is still fragile mentally, and no one trusts him. His relationship with his father and brother are also very fragile. He has a very violent reputation, in Terreille they call him the Sadist. He is also frustrated with his relationship with Janelle. He is supposed to be her consort, but neither know how to proceed. He is sure she doesn't want him, and her sex education is simply lacking. She just doesn't know how to act towards him. Now there is a war brewing between Kaeleer and Terreille. Janelle knows if they fight all her loved ones will die, but if she uses her power she may destroy them all.

There are also some other minor plots featuring the kindred, telepathic and intelligent animals, but some of those are left hanging. Karla and Morton also are featured in one of the subplots that lead to the war, but their characters are not filled in enough to really work the plot.

I didn't enjoy this novel as much as the other two. It seemed to be a weak conclusion to the trilogy. There is no action in the novel. The whole plot seems to hang on the emotions of the characters, and the characterizations are not done as well this time. Its hard to feel the horror, and sorrow that a character is going through, if you feel nothing for the character. Daemon and Lucivar are written well, but Janelle seems lacking. If she could see far enough into the future to know they will all die, why didn't she farsee the war and eliminate the threat before it got this big?? She seems tired and insignificant. We have characters that are in the novel momentarily and never enter into the story again. We have new characters like Lucivar's wife and Child that we know nothing about but their names. Karla and Morton don't have enough depth for their role in the final novel. Saeton seems to be a weak character with no control. He has a closet romance with a Queen named Slyvia. A lot of the story takes place between the lines. There is no rising tension, so the ending seems to fall flat.

The story seems too easy. Everything is too neat. The bad guys are not powerful enough to have cause these kinds of problems and they are defeated too easily. It seems the people with power make no use of it. The war could have be avoided if Daemon had used his power early on to destroy Dorthea and Hekatah. The book's story line was just weak and not a fit conclusion for the trilogy. Its worth reading if you liked the other two, but it just doesn't do them justice.

Recommended: Yes