Published: March 7, 2017
Publisher: Roc
Series: The Others #5
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 397 (Hardcover)
My Rating: 3.5 Stars
Synopsis:
New York Times bestselling author Anne Bishop returns to her world of the Others, as humans struggle to survive in the shadow of shapeshifters and vampires far more powerful than themselves…
After a human uprising was brutally put down by the Elders—a primitive and lethal form of the Others—the few cities left under human control are far-flung. And the people within them now know to fear the no-man’s-land beyond their borders—and the darkness…
As some communities struggle to rebuild, Lakeside Courtyard has emerged relatively unscathed, though Simon Wolfgard, its wolf shifter leader, and blood prophet Meg Corbyn must work with the human pack to maintain the fragile peace. But all their efforts are threatened when Lieutenant Montgomery’s shady brother arrives, looking for a free ride and easy pickings.
With the humans on guard against one of their own, tensions rise, drawing the attention of the Elders, who are curious about the effect such an insignificant predator can have on a pack. But Meg knows the dangers, for she has seen in the cards how it will all end—with her standing beside a grave
At long last, I have wrapped up the Others series! The journey was an enjoyable, surprisingly addictive one and after I give myself a break from the world, I would like to check out The World of the Others books, which follow different groups of characters than our beloved Lakeside courtyard.
Etched in Bone picks up right after the events of Marked in Flesh, where the Elders came in and destroyed many human cities and Cel Romano in particular. Much has changed in a brief period of time – humans can no longer travel through the wild country at night, communication lines have been cut, and it’s harder to transport food across region boundaries. Interestingly, after the large scale drama and bloodshed of the previous book, this book quickly swings to focus on Lieutenant Montgomery’s brother.
Jimmy, as he’s called, shows up with his family and immediately begins causing trouble. He’s written to make you hate him and deservedly so. He’s filled with petty cruelty and has nary an honest bone in his body, seeking only to use others to his advantage and make an easy dollar. Though the courtyard residents would have loved to run him out of Lakeside as soon as he showed up, the two Elders hanging about want to see if they can learn what makes him so bad so they can recognize the traits in other humans. Thus Jimmy stays and creates strife amongst his own family and ultimately, made me enjoy this book less. He’s a genuinely awful character and he’s written with no subtlety. Even his crass nature is so awkwardly done that I’m not sure the author has ever been mean to someone in her entire life.
While this installment did give closure to the character arcs, it was rather underwhelming in terms of overall plot especially in comparison to the four book build up that culminated in the destruction of so many cities and towns. I do like the worldbuilding so like I mentioned above, I’d like to continue on with the related series but I was pretty disappointed in the grand finale of this series.
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