Review: The Lady in Glass by Anne Bishop

The Lady in Glass and Other Stories by Anne Bishop

Published by Ace Books on February 27, 2024
Genres: Fantasy
Pages: 480
Format: eBook
Source: Netgalley

I received this book for free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

This post contains affiliate links you can use to purchase the book. If you buy the book using that link, I will receive a small commission from the sale.

A magical collection of stories new and old spanning across all of Anne Bishop’s most beloved fantasy worlds.

Here, together for the first time, the shorter works of New York Times bestselling fantasy author Anne Bishop are included in one dazzling volume.

A master of bringing fantasy worlds to life, this collection showcases Bishop’s impressive range, from rarities of her earliest writing to the Realms of the Blood, from darker fairytale retellings to the Landscapes of Ephemera, and from standalone stories of space exploration and fantastical creatures to the contemporary fantasy terrain of the World of the Others.

Includes previously published and unpublished tales, as well as two brand-new stories, written especially for this “Friends and Corpses,” a murder mystery in which the corpse has some decidedly unusual qualities, and “Home for the Howlidays,” a heartwarming return to the Blood Prophet Meg Corbyn and the shapeshifting Simon Wolfgard from The Others.

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A fabulous and fun set of short stories by Anne Bishop.

I needed to have this books as soon as I saw there was a Simon/Meg story from The Others series. It turned out to be a very, very short holiday-themed story of Meg’s first Winter Solstace celebration.  As it is her first, it especially important to Simon, as her new mate, to make sure he made it special for her.  The sad part is it was way too short, more like a treat an author might post on their blog. The interesting part is that we see Meg post Etched in Bone and beginning shortly after her rescue and abuse. We see the effects of the improper cuts by her captor and how it has messed with Meg’s Cassandra Sangue abilities– as we find that Meg is often dragged helplessly into prophecy and stands around mumbling to herself. Simon is heartbroken that he needs to assign Nathan to drive her around the courtyard for her deliveries since she has blanked out behind the wheel. He hates that he has been forced to steal some of her new found freedoms.  As much as I enjoyed our other glimpse into the World of the Others, I do wish we could go back to the courtyard and spend more time with our friends there.

The Dark Ship is the next story from the World of the Others series.   Here we see what is happening across the sea from the Courtyard in Cel Ramano after the happenings of the Human First and Last Movement and after the Others sanctioned humans moving about this area of the world.  While Dett doesn’t know for sure that she is an intuit, she does get feelings with regard to the sea.   Since it is nearly impossible for humans to get around, this area is now  subjugated by Captain Star and his crew and anyone going against them is subject to their punishment, including death.  Regardless of the risk, Dett gets a feeling one morning and arrives at the beach to fund a chubby, blue pony caught in one of the Captain’s nets. She frees the pony who promptly disappears into the sea.  Dett pretends ignorance when the Captain’s men come calling but she knows she probably won’t get away with it.  She is approached by the sanguinati who comes asking his own questions and leaves a gift of assistance from the terre indigene.  A gift which might be the only thing that can save Dett and her friends from being sold by pirates.

Friends and Corpses is a standalone short story featuring Cecily Blanque who works as a  Deceased Reclamation officer or corpse chaser in the town of Neuterville. A town known for their water which #1 only allows you to have two children and #2 slows the decomposition after death which means ADP (animated dead people) might not realize right away that they are dead and have to be rounded up and brought to a End of Days Facility to live out their last few days in a contained area.  This was a very creative story as people can still be up to no good, post-death.

There was a Potpouri of Stories at the end, including A Strand in the Web, an interesting one where a civilization was tasked to re-establish planets where life had died. They had to do this as atonement but for or what? Maybe destroying life on their own planet?  Maybe a foreshadowing of our own future?  It is told by  Willow, a student in training to become a Restorer.  She explains how the ecosystem needed to be balanced and how it collapses if not built properly.  We also see that petty jealousy and rivalry have not died out in the future as it is Willow’s own team working against her and destroying the fragile ecosystem they are trying to rebuild.   But as part of their atonement, they aren’t allowed to go down to any of the planets they rebuild and enjoy the feel of the wind blowing or touch the plants or animals they have established.   And when their ship begins to malfunction, they are in a race to finish creating life on the planet before life ends on the ship

There is also a collection of twisted fairy tales; some with a HEA, and some that left us  guessing.  Interesting enough when these stories are read one after the other, you can’t help but notice that the vast majority of these stories focus on the idea that men just speak honeyed words to get you in bed and then leave when they get bored, someone better comes along or as soon as she gets pregnant.    There is definitely a statement being made here.

Finally, there are three Black Jewel short stories which I haven’t read yet as I haven’t started that series yet.  I will wait and read them where she indicates they come up in that series.

THOUGHTS:
This was a great collection of stories each bringing something different whether it is sweet, or thought provoking or simply disturbing.  There is so much difference between these stories, I forgot they were all Anne Bishop and not just another anthology featuring different authors.  Regardless, each story was very entertaining on their own.

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Favorite Scene:

The other thing Neuterville’s water sometimes does is confuse the recently deceased. Some people don’t realize they should follow the Exit signs and leave the theater of the living. Some do realize but decide to stay for a few extra days and take in the second show. Either way, if they’re alone when they die, they can go on for days–sometimes a couple of weeks–before someone realizes something isn’t quite right about their neighbor or elderly aunt.

A congregation of flies is usually a dead giveaway.

That’s where I, as a Deceased Reclamation officer, comes in. Sometimes luring an animated dead person to the End of Days facility is easy–just gather up the top five books from the priority to-be-read stack and promise the person good lighting, a comfy chair in a refrigerated room, and plenty of quiet time to read. The person remains contained and happy until what kept them ticking takes that last tick–ideally when the person has reached the last sentence of the last book in the stack.

THIS SOUNDS LIKE A DAMN GOOD PLAN TO ME!!! WHO WOULDN’T BE OKAY WITH FINISHING THOSE LAST FEW BOOKS BEFORE THE KICK OFF?

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