Lake Silence

Amazing!!! Can't wait for more

Ok, I thought I had read this book before. But once I got into it, i realized I hadn't. I'm glad I did pick it up. It is fantastic. So different than the urban fantasy that I've been reading.

The good thing about Anne Bishop books is the quirky, somewhat damaged but charming characters who come together to offer support and create healing community for each other. The bad thing about them is the world creation! Geography, history, sociology, technology appear in the books in The Others series to serve plot quirks but without the well thought-out internal logic that would keep these details from getting under my historian/anthropologist skin. (Shall I get myself started on how creepy it is that the Others live in fake North America as the original residents until apparently fake-Europe descended people came–which makes First Nation people what exactly in this alternate Earth??? Blergh! I want to hop up and down and roar about this!)
Yeah, this'll be my last Anne Bishop. An easy read, but kind of obvious for a thriller genre, and not engaging enough for a “let's hang out with these quirky characters” read–I don't really care about whether everyone finds their soulmate or not–and the very weak world creation is the lasting bad taste that lingers after digesting Lake Silence, so..nope.

I think my love for the old cast colored my look at this book a bit negatively, but I still really REALLY enjoyed it. I love this world and everything in it. Every time I end one of these books I feel the need to pick up the next one and if I can't (like in this case) I end up in a weird book mood. Nothing seems to stack up to it.

While I wasn't a huge fan on the main character, I did really like everyone else... a lot. She just didn't seem to do anything, which I could understand... I just hope we could see she heal and grow. I do hope these characters come up again in future books.

I was initially grumpy when I learned that the sixth book in The Others series wouldn't be set in the same place and with the same characters as the first five. I could understand Bishop wanting to stretch a little and explore the world more, though.

Now that I've read Lake Silence, I can admit that my earlier grumpiness was unwarranted. This book was just as engaging and enjoyable as the others, and I care just as much about the characters.

Even though I miss Meg, Simon, and everyone from Lakeside Courtyard, I loved this book! I love the world created for these books. The new characters are fantastic. Vicky, Julian, Ineke, Grimshaw, Osgood. And all the new Terra indigene, Ilya, sproingers, Aggie, Conan, Cougar, The Lady of the Lake and many more. Such a wonderful story, I was tempted to skip work just so I could finish it! Now I'm sad that it's over. I can't wait for the next one!

That was so nice to get back into this word. And even though I miss Simon and Meg terribly, I enjoyed this book anyway.

Here we meet a lot of new characters. Some of them with a low self-esteem, some troubled, some curious. And that was really fun. Especially near to end.

Of course, we couldn't go without a bunch of new villains. And they were foolish and extremely arrogant, but so much human, I can't even blame them for their stupidity.

However, the main reason for why I like this books so much is terra indigene. Their point of view on humans is too realistic. And that's just the way I like it.

It looks like there is still a lot to tell about these characters. I do hope for a continuation as I need more, much more. Also, it would be very nice if some of the old characters make a reappearance.

I received this as an advanced copy from Netgalley.com for an honest review.

First I have to start out by saying that I absolutely adore the “The Others” series. I am a pretty big fan. Like, “go out at midnight and purchase the new novel” type fan; I am a fan of this novel too. That being said, it was tough to get used to the new characters in this expansion. I enjoyed the characters in the first five novels so much that it isn't fair to call this “The Others #6”, but maybe “The Jumble #1.” The same overall world, but very different tonality, plotting, and characters.  If you go into #6 thinking that you are going to see Meg and that sort of plot, you are in for some sadness. It doesn't flow quite as smoothly as the first five books did but I think the issue for me is that it is missing the depth of personality the original characters had. Simon, Meg, Vlad, and Tessa all were very original ideas with particular character traits. We haven't got there quite yet with #6.  That might be because we had a much longer time to get to know the other characters in the first five books or maybe Anne Bishop is trying out a different writing style. They are both excellent, but I don't think this novel resonates as well as the others did. Plotting is a bit slow to get going. Anne Bishop is introducing a new area, new characters and introductions take a bit of time. In the end, It was a fun book. Not really a rampant page-turner, but I enjoyed the time we spent together, and I look forward to more installations. It is worth the read just to get to live in the world Anne Bishop created some more.