Written in Red by Anne Bishop

Written in Red (The Others, #1)

by Anne Bishop

Enter the world of the Others in the first novel in New York Times bestselling author Anne Bishop’s thrilling fantasy series: a place where unearthly entities—vampires and shape-shifters among them—rule the Earth and prey on the human race.

As a cassandra sangue, or blood prophet, Meg Corbyn can see the future when her skin is cut—a gift that feels more like a curse. Meg’s Controller keeps her enslaved so he can have full access to her visions. But when she escapes, the only safe place Meg can hide is at the Lakeside Courtyard—a business district operated by the Others.

Shape-shifter Simon Wolfgard is reluctant to hire the stranger who inquires about the Human Liaison job. First, he senses she’s keeping a secret, and second, she doesn’t smell like human prey. Yet a stronger instinct propels him to give Meg the job. And when he learns the truth about Meg and that she’s wanted by the government, he’ll have to decide if she’s worth the fight between humans and the Others that will surely follow.

Reviewed by littleread1 on

3 of 5 stars

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Some of this story is great, and some of it was stupid. Since I already have the next one on audio I will listen to it too, but I think I'd like it better if I read it versus the narration. Maybe that is what is stupid? It is not the best narration I've heard lately.

The story follows Meg, an escapee of ... something. That something is slowly revealed as the story progresses, as does her seeming ignorance of people, Others, and basic functions like cleaning and cooking for herself. She ends up getting a job working for The Others - a name given to anything not human.

In this world, The Others are in charge, though they sometimes let the humans think they have more control than they really do. This becomes apparent near the end, when that control is taken away very forcefully and without much effort on the part of The Others.

One of the things I had a difficult time grasping was the world building. It is our world ... but it isn't. My mind kept grasping onto the fact that while there is a day of the week called Wednesday, there is also Firesday, Moonsday, and Earthday. I kept hanging onto the fact that I still don't know what order the days go in. The same with places, the ocean is the Atlantik, but since I was listening on audio I couldn't tell the difference, and the country was Theasia, but there was a Jersey, but I am pretty sure it is on the west coast?

Plus the narrator, while she does a decent job overall and for Meg's voice, she can't do a believable man's voice. They are either super fake, super growly, or just weird. By the end I finally got used to the narrator, but I should enjoy narration, not just get used to it.

And finally, there was something off about the POV switches. I am not sure if it reads that way or if the narration made it seem weird, but there seemed no reason to switch POV's all the time, and some of the people we read from IMO were not necessary.

All in all, this has all the things I need for a good story, but for some reason it just ... wasn't my favorite. First book syndrome? Maybe. Will I give the second book a try? Yes. For one, I already bought it on audio. For two, the story itself kept me entertained and I am curious to know where things go from here.

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  • Started reading
  • 5 September, 2014: Finished reading
  • 5 September, 2014: Reviewed