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

by Anne Bishop

[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. ♣︎