by Terrance Mc Arthur

Details at the end of this post on how to enter to win a copy of Lake Silence. We also have a link to order it from Amazon, and an indie bookstore where a portion of the sale goes to help support KRL.

Anne Bishop’s series chronicling the humans and the Others of the world of Namid have been special to me since I first read Written in Red. After five books of blood prophets and wolf-shifters, Bishop has begun a new focus in her The World of the Others series.

Lake Silence introduces Vicki DeVine, a not-so-young, not-so thin, not-so-confident woman who is trying to renovate the rundown resort she was forced to accept as a divorce settlement from her emotionally-abusive scum of a husband. When she finds her tenant warming a human eyeball in the microwave, she realizes that she is surrounded by shape-changing crows, vampires that can suck life from a person without a bite, and massive Elders who were the claws and teeth of the planet. The dead body in the field brings Wayne Grimshaw, a Highway Patrol officer who is unsure about dealing with Others in the small town of Sproing, named for the fuzzy kangaroo-like creatures that roam the area.

One of the big differences from the previous books is the voice of Vicky, a lively, first-person narrative in her parts of the story, instead of the dispassionate description of a remote, third-person view in the other five books. Vicki is quirky and naïve, thinks her vampire lawyer is “yummy,” and has been programmed by her scam-artist ex to think of herself as worthless. The local Others consider her better than the majority of humans who try to take over and supplant creatures that have already showed they could squash Humanity in previous confrontations.

A former law officer with psychic mental powers provides backup to the HP officer and emotional support for Vicki, who becomes part of the Learn How to Deal with Humans program for the shifters, teaching them social skills and providing storytelling entertainment.

Some Bishop fans only want more of the same with the blood prophets, but I like seeing this strange world from a different angle, with characters who have flaws and don’t always do heroic things. Of course, I do enjoy the monsters getting a chance to tear up bad guys, and she does manage to throw in some good munch-and-crunch episodes. Reading the first five would give you a background in what to expect of some of the creatures, but jumping into Lake Silence could be a brisk, refreshing rush.

You can find more fantasy reviews in out Fantasy and Fangs section.

To enter to win a copy of Lake Silence, simply email KRL at krlcontests@gmail[dot]com by replacing the [dot] with a period, and with the subject line “lake,” or comment on this article. A winner will be chosen April 28, 2018. U.S. residents only. If entering via email please include your mailing address, and if via comment please include your email address.

Use this link to purchase the book & a portion goes to help support KRL & indie bookstore Mysterious Galaxy:

Lake Silence (World of the Others #1)

You can use this link to purchase the book on Amazon. If you have ad blocker on you may not see the link:

Terrance V. Mc Arthur is a Librarian for the Fresno County Public Library.

Disclosure: This post contains links to an affiliate program, for which we receive a few cents if you make purchases. KRL also receives free copies of most of the books that it reviews, that are provided in exchange for an honest review of the book.