• Heir to the Shadows

  • Black Jewels, Book 2
  • By: Anne Bishop
  • Narrated by: John Sharian
  • Length: 18 hrs and 48 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (1,581 ratings)

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Heir to the Shadows  By  cover art

Heir to the Shadows

By: Anne Bishop
Narrated by: John Sharian
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Publisher's summary

In this violently passionate, "darkly fascinating world", the Blood rule: a race of witches and warlocks whose power is channeled through magical jewels. Ambitions unfurl in this second novel of series, as the realm's dreams of a liberator have finally been made flesh: Jaenelle, singled out by prophecy as the living embodiment of magic, is haunted by the cruel battles the Blood have fought over her - for not all of them await her as their Savior.

Nothing, however, can deflect her from her destiny - and the day of reckoning looms near. When her memories return. When her magic matures. When she is forced to accept her fate. On that day, the dark Realms will know what it means to be ruled by Witch.

Listen to another Black Jewels gem.
©1999 Anne Bishop (P)2010 Penguin

Critic reviews

“Bishop seems to delight in turning fantasy conventions on their heads...still darkly opulent, often exotic.” (Locus)

“The fabulous talent of Anne Bishop is showcased in Heir to the Shadows.... Ms. Bishop’s striking magical concepts and powerful images are wonderfully leavened with unexpected dash and humor, creating an irresistible treat for fantasy fans.” (RT Book Reviews)

Heir to the Shadows isn’t as dark as its predecessor.... All the other elements that made the first book such a gripping read are present: vivid and sympathetic characters, a fascinating and fully-realized magical system...lavish and sensuous descriptions, and interesting world building that turns traditional gender roles and concepts of dominance and submission on their heads.... It’s a terrific read, and I highly recommend both it and Daughter of the Blood.” (SF Site)

What listeners say about Heir to the Shadows

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Everything is in place for an earth-shaking payoff

It took me a full year to build up the courage to listen to HEIR TO THE SHADOWS after being thoroughly traumatized by book 1. I really love Anne Bishop’s THE OTHERS series, and I’m a firm believer in second chances when it comes to authors, so after twelve months of mental preparation, here we go again. It’s with a massive sigh of relief that I write this review because A) no nightmares & B) this installment was a vast improvement upon the previous one. It was slow paced, and was more about the dialogue than the action, but we’re definitely getting somewhere.

This novel concentrated on Jaenelle’s road to recovery; after two years in a coma, she must battle her way back to sanity, and then take the necessary steps in order to become the Queen she was meant to be. The story followed Angelline from the age of twelve to twenty, so it’s best to minimize the number of sessions spent reading this book in order to avoid confusing the timeline. Lots of character development takes place, both where the protagonist was concerned as well as the secondaries, and all of the chess pieces were brought to the fore, including the kindred—wolves, unicorns & dragons!

Even though THE BLACK JEWELS series now has nine volumes under its wing, it was originally a trilogy, so this installment felt like it was the limbo between books 1 & 3 which explains its lack of major intrigue. By the end of this novel everything was in place for an earth-shaking payoff, except the love interest. Daemon Sadi was off in cuckoo land, but other than that I was able to better appreciate Bishop’s Dark Fantasy because this story was minus the truly heinous tidbits; however that doesn’t mean that the author dons kid gloves. Every character is still fair game.

John Sharian’s narration didn’t creep me out nearly as much as it did in DAUGHTER OF THE BLOOD. I still question the producer’s decision to go with a male voice for this series, but Angelline’s entourage is a sausage fest, so with the more disturbing aspects behind us, he’s growing on me. Sharian’s ominous tone actually worked to his advantage when he mimicked Jaenelle’s ‘midnight voice’, and I thought that he was reasonably adept at keeping the plethora of personas separate, although he does goof on occasion, and slips into his staple timbre when he shouldn’t.

HEIR TO THE SHADOWS was almost good. I’m eager for Anne Bishop to bring it home with QUEEN OF THE DARKNESS. ~3.5 stars

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13 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Another Great Dark Jewel...

The continuation of the Dark Jewel series. Just as good, just as suspenseful and wonderfully entertaining. Sit back and enjoy...

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Good story but ......

The basic story is great and very entertaining, but I'm not a fan of many author's excessive use of sexual depravity and abuse these days. By the end of this series you'll be very tired of hearing "he said too softly". Not sure what that means either.

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    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Horrible, Horrible, oh did I mention horrible?

Unfortunately, I remembered too late that I had listened to the first book in this horrible series. All the character voices sound the same for men and women. If you struggled through the first book, you will still be lost. Whatever the author was on while creating this universe, peyote buttons or some hallucinogenic mushroom, she needs to go to a spa and cleanse her body of all the crazy toxins driving her writing. Don't get me wrong, ha ha, I usually like this author's other books, but the Black Jewels series is cray-cray. But I see that many listeners like this series, I'm just not one of them. Don't get me wrong, I love the vampire, werewolf, witch, fae, etc... genres (except zombie). The Black Jewel is not for me. Just saying!

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Great, but the narrator needs some work

This is one of my favorite books to read, and hearing the story of Janelle, Saetan, Daemon, and Lucivar was terrific. The book is technically a transition book, continuing the story of Daughter of Darkness, and leading to the end of the tainted Blood in Queen of Darkness (which I am eagerly awaiting for on audiobook). It follows Janelle's recovery from her rape, growing into her power, and finally creating a court to save her people. My only disappointment was with the narrator. At times, it seemed like he got tired and lost track of what character was speaking and just used his "narrator voice." The other problem was that he used the same tone of voice for someone snapping something as someone whining about something.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

darkly fascinating

very good narration and flow. nice follow up to daughter of the blood. look forward to the next one

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Still has me hooked

Would you listen to Heir to the Shadows again? Why?

I would gladly listen to it again. I love rereading my favorite books, and as a busy college student this allows me to immerse my self in the world more often. I started listening when I commute or have downtime instead of playing stupid games on my phone, or Facebook. A much more enjoyable use of my time.

What did you like best about this story?

I love Anne Bishops world but John Sharian's narration is what really makes me like the audio book version. He adds another level to depth to some of my favorite parts that makes me enjoy it even more.

Which scene was your favorite?

I have to pick? Ah, any of the craft lessons with Saetan, the tone he adds to the aftermath of discovering exactly what she can do is amazing.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Oops, I did it again.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

guilty pleasure

so it's not a literary masterpiece, but it's sooo good. have lost count of how many times I've read this series.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Heir was...

Heir to the Shadow was even better than the first (Daughter of the Blood). I must download the third immediately. Immediately, I say.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Dark Jewels in my heart

I own this book and audio and I just love the world that Anne Bishop has spun. I've read this book over 30 times and I never want the words to end. It was interesting hearing the narrator read. I'm not to fond of how he pronounced many words because it changed the story I see in my head. It took a lot to adjust to how he reads but all in all not a bad job. I'll never tire of the Dark Jewels.

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