Lake Silence (The Others, #6) (World of the Others, #1)

by Anne Bishop

Human laws do not apply in the territory controlled by the Others--vampires, shape-shifters, and even deadlier paranormal beings. And this is a fact that humans should never, ever forget.

• ISBN10: 0399587241
• ISBN13: 9780399587245
• Publish Date: 8 March 2018
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 12 March 2021
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Penguin Putnam Inc
• Imprint: Ace Books
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 416
• Language: English

Reviews

[Linda]

4.5 stars
Lake Silence is set in the same world as The Others, but it follows characters who are not present in that series. However, some characters who were in The Others series are important to both the plot and the overall story in Lake Silence.
There are still creatures that watch everything that happens in Sproing, but they are slightly more open minded than those I had already met. Probably because of the sweet-bloods and the intuits.
I enjoyed getting to know new characters set in the same universe, and the suspense kept me up way past my usual bed time.

[EBookObsessed]

I was drawn in from the opening scene. While this book is set in the same world building as the Others series, this is the book one in a spinoff.

This review may contain spoilers for the prior books.

I have read many shifter books, but this is the first time I stepped into a world where the shifters are not humans that can take on an animal form, but animals that take on human form. This switch is very important since we never think about what a wolf thinks about when he sees a shifter in wolf form, but it is quite obvious when you see the “odd” behaviors in the terra indigene.

They all smiled at me. Conan and Cougar hadn’t seen enough smiling humans to get all the teeth sorted out. The result was unsettling. It also made me wonder how they enunciated as well as they did.

This spinoff novel focuses on The Jumble which is a rustic vacation lodge located on Lake Silence in an alternate United States Northeastern Finger Lake District. Vicki DeVine has recently divorce her verbally abusive husband and as a settlement, he dumped his abandoned family property on her that was in severe disrepair. Vicki’s ex-husband is a real winner. He’s an “entrepeneur” or schemer who is upgrading from his “dumpy” first wife who supported him until he could come into his trust fund. Vicki has some issues with men after the number her ex did on her so we didn’t quite get a romance with either the local bookstore owner or the local police officer. Vicki was not ready for a romantic relationship.

The Jumble consists of some rustic cabins and a main house located with a private lakefront beach area which is the big draw. The only other access to the lake is either by a public beach which is very crowded and not as nice or the big lodge across the lake which is owned by the Sanguinati (vampires) which is not open to the public. The Jumble could do a booming business with the city dwellers looking to rough it for a nice lakeside vacation.

The Jumble’s buildings have been tranferred to Vicki but the land is owned by The Others and there are many rules that she needs to follow in order to be allowed to continue to run the lodge. She has worked hard over the last few months in order to have a few of the cabins restored to habitable conditions before the summer. What Vicki also never realized when she moved into The Jumble is that it was originally created as a safe way for the terra indigene to integrate with humans and learn to adapt to the human world. One of her first lodgers is a Crowgard (or crow shifter) who was sent in to see how Vicki behaves and reacts to the terra indigene.

Vicki was not aware of it, but she has been under a great deal of scrutiny. The terra indigene (or The Others) including the feared Elders and Elementals have been making sure that Vicki sticks to the rules, and so far, they have been very happy with Vicki.

Just as Vicki is ready to open her doors, her ex-husband and his new partners have plans to take back the property, rip down The Jumble and build a luxury resort for humans. When they attack Vicki, the terra indigene rally to protect The Jumble and Vicki who they have come to trust. The humans have learned that when the terra indigene rally, it means blood and death for the humans.

This is my first book Anne Bishop novel and it will not be my last. I have picked up an audiobook version of Written in Red which is Book 1 of The Others series. Lake Silence is the first book in a spinoff The World of the Others series which will include stand-alone novels which take place in the same world created in her The Others series. I am sorry to find out that Vicki DeVine and The Jumble won’t be the center of a new series since The Jumble is a very interesting place and we met a great many exciting characters.

Lake Silence was great storytelling and really unique world building and I am looking forward to more by Anne Bishop.

See more at EBookObsessed.com

[MurderByDeath]

I wasn't even going to read this one.  I was sure I didn't want to leave Lakeside and the characters in that courtyard.  But this was one of those rare times when advance press got me to reconsider. I don't even remember what I read, but it was enough to make me think that maybe Lake Silence would be worth a read.    Squee!  It was!  Much to the detriment of my sleep.  I started it yesterday afternoon and, true to previous experience, I almost didn't put it down again - I finally lost the battle at 1am, but was up again at 7am, book open, real-life rudely put on hold, until it was finished.   Turns out it's not Lakeside I'm attached to; it's the Others.  I'm enamoured with their morality, to put it bluntly.  Honesty and good faith keep you alive.  Shady dealings and selfishness get you killed.  Every. single. time.  No second chances.  In a world that's constantly pissing me off because people do bad things and get away with it, or dodge the consequences, if not immediately, than eventually (Pete Rose trying to get his lifetime ban lifted; Australia's cricket vice-captain caught cheating and already publicly stating he hopes to play again), I find this world of the Others refreshing.  Unfortunately, even in a work of fantasy, humans can't stop being selfish and exploitative, in spite of clear cut rules, and consequences that are meted out consistently and immediately, and brutally.   The setting for Lake Silence is completely different, with an entirely new cast of characters, although there are a few cameos.  This is a small town that's always been owned by the terre indigene, where the human residents fool themselves into believing the Others keep themselves to themselves.  Vicki is a new resident, trying to make a go of an old abandoned resort she got as part of her divorce settlement, not realising the true purpose of the resort and her role as caretaker.   As in previous books, I just got sucked in; the characters, the setting, all of it.  The only discordant note, and the reason it's not the full 5 stars, were the villains; they were the most 2 dimensional characters in the story - so much so they were caricatures, and that made it hard to take them as seriously as the story deserved.   Vicki is also an emotionally broken character, and that's starting to make Bishop's MCs feel formulaic.  While Meg's fragility was logical, given her background, Vicki's felt gratuitous; I don't think the story would have suffered at all, or worked less well, if she's been a relatively well-adjusted, independent woman getting on with her life after a divorce.   Doesn't matter in the end; I loved the book and lost sleep over it, and I'll gladly snap up the next one without reservations.

[jesstheaudiobookworm]

4.25★ Audiobook⎮Lake Silence was a complete shock to me when I stumbled across it while searching for my next listen. In previous years, I’ve had the date of Anne Bishop’s newest release marked on my calendar for months. But with the conclusion of The Others series last March, I wasn’t expecting to be able to return to that world so soon.

Just to be clear, Lake Silence is not the next installment in The Others series, despite being marketed as The Others #6. I’m glad that point was clear to me before I began listening to Lake Silence. This novel does not feature Meg, Simon, or any of the characters from the town of Lakeside who were featured in The Others 1-5. That will likely be disappointing to most fans of the previous series, but fans of Bishop’s writing and the intricate world of The Others can still find something familiar to love in Lake Silence.

I love the fact that Bishop is returning to this amazing world and its complex sociological and political systems. The characters in Lake Silence may be new to us but their world is not. There may not be any Cassandra Sangue, but Vicki DeVine and her story line in Lake Silence are generally reminiscent of a minor character subplot or alternate POV from The Others.

Lake Silence itself had the feel of a novella and it will be interesting to see if Bishop expands on DeVine’s story in future installments, turning it into a spinoff series (à la Patricia Briggs’ Alpha and Omega or Richelle Mead’s Bloodlines) or continues to focus on newly created protagonists in new locations.

I’m partially hoping to hear more of Vicki & Co. I’m sure they would continue to grow on me with more exposure. As it stands now, I’m not overly fond of any of the characters featured in Lake Silence. I wasn’t invested in them enough to really make me care about their well-being in Lake Silence. However, it should be noted that this was also how I felt about Meg, Simon, etc after the first installment of The Others. It took another book or two for them to really grow on me, which is what I’m hoping would happened with Vicki.

Either way, I’m thrilled that Bishop is dedicated to expanding the world of The Others. Her world building was always the best thing about that series and I’ll take all of it I can get. Although Lake Silence is different enough from its parent series to be considered separate, I think it would be best enjoyed by fans of The Others.

Narration review: By now, I’m well used to Alexandra Harris’ narration of Bishop’s work. Her somewhat odd cadence can take some getting used to, but her characterization abilities are tops. In a series with so many characters and distinct species of characters, I can no longer deny that Harris was the perfect choice for this series. Her emotive vocalizations truly a character’s personality to immediately surface, making listening a breeze. ♣︎

[llamareads]

Trigger warning: domestic violence (verbal), anxiety/panic attacks 

Ms. Bishop's the Others series is, well, interesting.  The world building is both very good and somewhat lackadaisical (computers and email exist even though most of America is covered in forest).  Sometimes the characters do things for completely incomprehensible reasons, and there are frequently clunkily worded sentences.  Also, the bad guys are very, very evil, and the good guys tend to be, well, Mary Sues.  The plot lines are pretty simple.  The main character, usually female, is hurt by a Very Bad Man, main character somehow ends up befriending the Others, Very Bad Man and friends do dumb stuff and then get eaten by the Others.  It's basically justice porn.  But, I mean, this book starts out with the main character walking in on her lodger microwaving an eyeball for lunch, so, I'm not going to really complain.  They're fun, humorous, and completely over the top, and they're simply great fun to read.

This is the first in a new storyline with The Others universe, so I suppose someone could pick this up without prior knowledge of the Others, though I think they'd be a tad confused.  Lakeside Courtyard, and cassandra sangue, are mentioned only in passing, so if you go into this looking for more Meg and Simon, you'll be disappointed.  Instead, we have the town of Sproing (I know, I know, this is one of those things you just have to overlook with this series), which is controlled by the terra indigene, otherwise known as the Others, mostly wild creatures who can, if they wish, assume human shape, and Vicki, the new protagonist.  Vicki received The Jumble - a village-size cluster of cottages with private beach access to Lake Silence - as part of a divorce settlement from her ex-husband.  She's new to the village, but has spent the past few months repairing the cottages, and even has her first lodger - who just so happens to be a Crow terra indigene.  Of course, things happen, and Vicki ends up the victim of a sinister plot, and somehow her ex is involved, of course.  Luckily, she's got a highway patrol police officer, a "yummy" vampire lawyer, the former-police-now-bookstore-owner love interest, the boarding-house-owner-with-scary-tattoos, and a bunch of what I think are supposed to be kangaroos on her side.

“I looked at the screen door and wondered about something else. 'Do the Sanguinati have trouble with mosquitoes?'
'You mean, do the big bloodsuckers get pestered by the little bloodsuckers?'
Judging by my attorney’s laughter, if I failed to turn The Jumble into a viable business, I could always get a job as a standup comedian in a vampire bar.”

I sympathized with Vicki DeVine (and that's the last time I'll type out her last name, because good night that's awful).  She's self-conscious of her looks (she's short and plump) and has deep emotional scars from her verbally abusive marriage.  Raised voices, and men in general, can send her spiraling into a bad panic attack.  Despite all that, she's worked hard to make a go of it with The Jumble, and has started to settle in with the rest of Sproing's inhabitants.  Wayne Grimshaw is the highway patrol police officer from the nearest city who's sent to investigate Vicki's call about an eyeball, and he seemed generally nice, if a bit two-dimensional.  Unlike the main cop from the previous set of books, there doesn't seem much else to him other than that he likes Vicki and wants to make sure she's treated fairly.  Julian Farrow is the owner of the village bookstore, and also someone Grimshaw was friends with at the police academy, though he dropped out of police work after being attacked and nearly killed one night on patrol.  It seems like Julian's being set up as Vicki's love interest (another bookseller, really?), which, well, whatever, but note that there's pretty much no romantic content in this book.  As for the terra indigene contingent, we have "yummy" Ilya, the head of the Sanguinati lodge in Sproing, who own pretty much the entire town and Aggie, the crow guard lodger whose unconventional lunch starts the whole plot.

“'And while you and Grimshaw and Julian get this straightened out for silly, incompetent me, I’ll just sit in a corner somewhere and do nothing, because that’s all I’m good at.' I’d meant it to sound humorous—don’t ask me how it could—but even to my ears it sounded bitter. Defeated.
'Can you kill a human, Victoria?' Ilya asked.
'No.'
'Then let those who can deal with these predators.'
'That’s your plan? Kill Yorick and those other men?'
'Not if I can find a better way to solve the problem.'

As for the plot, well, it's predictable.  I really wish Vicki had more agency in this book.  I understand that that's probably unrealistic after being set up as son emotionally broken, and she does man up for the climatic bit of the book, but at a lot of times it felt like the Others were basically treating her like a pet and taking care of all her problems for her.  Her worth, to them, is basically being the human caretaker of The Jumble and reading them stories three nights a week.  

Now let's talk about ridiculous.  Vicki refers to her ex, Yorick, and his Vigorous Appendage (yes, with the caps) several times, and people, I just can't.  The next - the bad guys all belong to, I swear I'm not making this up, the Tie Clip Club.  Originally, the good guys came up with this as sort of a tongue-in-cheek name to describe a secret club where the members are identified by wearing a specific tie clip, and I giggled at the name then, but no, really, that's what they actually call themselves.  While there are multiple POVs in the story, most of them are told in third-person while Vicki's is told in first-person.  While I actually prefer first-person POV, switching between the two types was jarring for me.

Overall, while I do complain a lot about the over the topness of these books, I keep picking them up every time a new one is released.  Yes, they're predictable, and it seems like large chunks have been copy-and-pasted from the first set of books, but there's something to be said for knowing exactly what you're going to get when you pick up a book.  They're ridiculous but enjoyable, so I'm going to say this falls somewhere on the 3-4 star scale for me, so I'll round up to 4 stars.  Recommended for fans of word building who aren't afraid of Sproingers or Vigorous Appendages.

[littleread1]

You would think these books would be perfect for me. I want to like them so bad, and I think I have finally figured out part of why they don't do it for me. The writing seems very child-like. That doesn't mean that the stories are kid-appropriate, they are not, just that none of the characters are complex. They are either good or bad, with no middle ground. It is a simplistic view of the world and it just doesn't do it for me. I think I will stop this series here, since this isn't the kind of thing that typically changes over the course of connected books.

I don't have anything else to say really, I do like the world Bishop created here, and think it is wonderful and unique, I just can't get past the writing style. Just not for me. However a lot of other people really love these books, so read the blurb and see if it sounds good to you. Give it a shot and come back here and let me know what you thought!

[Quirky Cat]

I received a copy of Lake Silence from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

While Lake Silence occurs in the world of the Others than Anne Bishop has created, it’s important to note that it revolves around a different cast of characters. Anne Bishop has done a pretty phenomenal job of getting the word out about that (which is good for the sake of our expectations), but I still felt it was a good idea to mention it again (as the saying goes, better safe than sorry).
I just recently finished binge reading the last three novels in the Others series (so I could happily read this one with a full understanding of the world and background, but also so I could be unafraid of spoilers). To say I’ve been immersed in this world would be putting it lightly. I’ll admit I was feeling a little conflicted about reading an Others novel that focused on different characters. On the one hand I really enjoy the cast of Lakeside’s Courtyard and hate to miss out on anything they’re working on. On the other hand, I love the idea of seeing more of the world we’ve been handed (and I don’t realistically see Meg and Simon traveling much). So despite the hesitation I had about Lake Silence I decided to dive on in and do my best to without any expectations until I gave it a good solid chance.



While there may be a bit of an adjustment period for us, getting used to a new location and set of characters, there’s a strong enough connection between the two cities (specifically in their landscapes and rules) to help reduce the settling time. The rules at Lake Silence has very similar rules to those of Lakeside. Granted, some of those rules may be a bit more obfuscated due to the smaller number of humans in the city.
Where Lakeside is a full and busy city, Lake Silence is a sparsely populated town (or maybe I should be calling it a village? I’d have to check the numbers for each to know which is more accurate). Consider a town with only one main road, and you’ve got a pretty good idea of the human side of Lake Silence.
That’s where Vicky DeVine comes into the picture. She’s the new owner of The Rumble, and while she’s done a wonderful job of following the rules in the contract (no expanding of the buildings, only needed updates allowed, don’t expand the road or cut more trees than you need, etc), there’s a few stipulations she wasn’t aware of when she took the property (not that I think it would have changed her mind at all). Such as the fact that The Rumble is meant to be a rustic sort of Courtyard; a place where the terra indigene can come and learn about and interact with humans.
Taking on the job of being an ambassador for one’s entire race would be pretty intimidating; finding out you’ve been doing it for months with no prior heads up? That would be terrifying. Thankfully Vicky is a very kind hearted person, so she never had to worry about the terra indigene walking away with a bad impression of humanity after having a chat with her. Some of the people Vicky used to know (such as her husband) couldn’t say the same.
I’ll admit that while it took me almost no time at all to adjust to and start relishing the details of Lake Silence, it did take me a little bit longer to get to know and like Vicky. By that I mean it was probably a whole chapter before I decided that I wish I had a friend like her. She’s hard working and loyal, though she absolutely suffers from low self-esteem (something I’m sure we can all sympathize with). She isn’t a perfect or idealized character, she’s a human. And I actually really love that. Too often to we see these plastic dolls in place of real characters, and it’s so refreshing to see a character with flaws (though I feel harsh calling that).
I really enjoyed seeing the growing conflict; sure we could see it coming from a mile away (they even describe it a little bit on the back cover), but that doesn’t change the intricacies involved. The men plotting against Vicky (and by proxy the terra indigene) may be overestimating their power and safety, but they’re not dumb either. Had this been a world without the indigene, I have no doubt their plans would have succeeded. Seeing nasty men like them come up against wall after wall was more than a little satisfying.
I’m not sure if we’re going to be seeing another story from Vicky’s perspective or not. The ending seems to be set up in such a way where Bishop will have her choice on that one. I could easily see this being a one shot novel, but likewise I wouldn’t mind seeing more of the characters I just spent the last four hundred pages getting attached to.


For more reviews, check out Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks

[Melanie]

My review and an extended sample of the audiobook are posted at Hotlistens.com.

4.5 stars

This is the sixth book in The Others series. However, this book starts a new tale in a new location in this world that Anne Bishop has created. In the first five books in the series, we followed Meg and the members of the Lakeside Courtyard. In this book, we follow Vicki and the people in the small town of Sproing. This town lives much closer to the terra indigene (shifters, vampires called Sanguinati, elementals and more) than the people of the city of Lakeside.

So Vicki has just recently divorce her verbally abusive husband. She got some of his family’s land, a run down lodge called The Jumble, in the divorce settlement. She also got some money to fix up The Jumble, which she does. The Jumble has very strict requirements for how the property is managed. The land is owned by terra indigene, Vicki owns only the buildings. She has to follow their rules for the land. Such as, she can’t put motorboats into the lake, can’t widen the roads, etc.

She gets her first tennent in the way of Aggie Crowe. Things go pretty well until Vicki finds Aggie heating up an eyeball in the wave-cooker (Aggie decided that the eye would be better warm, since the body had been dead for a bit and the eye was squishy) There is a dead body in The Jumble. Vicki quickly calls the police. Things go downhill from there.

While this story has a completely new set of characters, we do get mention of Vlad and Meg. There are references to the Lakeside Courtyard, but we don’t actually get any page time with any of them. That’s okay though, because we have a great time with all the new characters. Vicki and Aggie are both great characters. Ilya Sanguinati, who becomes Vicki’s lawyer, is interesting and I can’t wait to see where Anne Bishop takes his character. Vicki has two other shifters that come on to help her in the jumble, a cougar shifter and bear shifter. In town, there is Julian Farrow, an Intuit, former cop and the current owner of Lettuce Read, the local bookstore (can I say, I love all the store names in this series). There is also Officer Grimshaw who is assigned to handle things in the town, even though he technically works for highway patrol.

Vicki and Aggie, along with a few other terra indigene, play a game called Murder. It is very similar to Clue. Trying to figure out who did it and with what and in what room. Vicki is also asked to become the Reader. Many of the terra indigene aren’t as in tuned with humans as others, so in some towns a Reader is chosen to read stories to the ones who can’t read.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the Sproingers. They are little creatures that the people of the town treat like animals. They feed them carrot pieces. But they are much smarter than mere animals. There is a scene where they want to peer into a window, so they form a pyramid so one can get high enough to see in.

There are also the beloved ponies from the earlier books too. Or, I should say, new ponies. Whirlpool, is adorable and has a great scene with Vicki in The Jumble. We also meet a few of the elementals.

This series continues to mix together humor, cute and very dark. Humans in this world are not usually the good guys. There are some good ones like Vicki and Grimshaw, but there are way more bad ones. People who don’t think the rules apply to them. They think that they have final say, no matter what the terra indigene say. If you haven’t tried this series, I highly recommend it. I do think you can start with this book, but I would recommend starting with book one. There are things that are mentioned in this book that you learn about in the first five books. While I think you could understand it, I think you would have a better appreciation after finishing the first book. Plus, you won’t regret spending time with Meg and the gang.

Narration
Alexandra Harris continues to do a great job with the narration of this series. I love how she voices all the crows, mostly. I think she is amazing with showing the feelings of every character, from Vicki when she is upset to Vicki’s evil husband to Grimshaw’s determination. She is the voice of this series for me. I can’t imagine tackling this series in any other way.

**I like to thank the publisher for providing me with a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

[kimbacaffeinate]

In the sixth book, we leave Meg and Simon behind and travel across Thaisa to a small rustic lakeside resort bordering the small-town of Sproing. The resort sits along the shore of Lake Silence. Here we meet Vicki DeVine. I liked Vicki, she is damaged but has a strong moral compass and inner strength. It will be interesting to see her grow and trust.  Vicki came by her little resort through a divorce settlement and it comes with some strict rules regarding the land, buildings, and lake. While Vicki owns the buildings it sits on land owned by the Others. I loved the premise and the little community with its quaint shops and bed and breakfast. I loved meeting the inhabitants and beginning to see Vicki build friendships and attachments.

Vicki befriends some of the crows and when trouble comes to the door, it is those crows who seek the help of Ilya Sanguinati, the vampire who lives across the lake. Murder, secret societies and people from Vicki's past, soon have Vicki, the town of Sproing and Officer Grimshaw realizing just how much influence the Others have in their little town. I loved every moment of it from the Elementals, Nahid's Teeth and Claw and the Crows. Bishop gave us a murder mystery, suspense, unexpected humor, justice and more. She is a masterful storyteller bringing both the landscape and characters to life. 

If you have not read the previous five novels and are considering jumping in, I think Bishop did an excellent job of giving backstory and this is a great place to jump in. Of course, you'll want to go back and read/listen to the rest.

Alexandra Harris has been the voice of Meg for so long that it took me a minute to slip into Vicki's pov, but Harris is brilliant bringing the characters and the creatures of the Lake Silence community to life. I could not imagine Bishop without Harris, so I was delighted she will continue the series. This review was originally posted at Caffeinated Reviewer