#reading bubble

[cheshirelibrary]

[abookblog]

Reading bubble.

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Sebastian by Anne Bishop

Anne Bishop carves a beautifully told tale with all the light and dark contortions of the heart; its rawness, its torment, its vulnerability and its ability to love.

I came across Bishop after searching for similar works to Jacqueline Carey who crafted the amazing series of Kushiel’s Legacy (which, if you haven’t read already I suggest you definitely start – beginning with Kushiel’s Dart Carey blends a compelling dark fantasy in an explicit and expressive celebration of sex and sexuality woven into a intriguing plot of politics); and Bishop, unlike Carey in its overt adult exploration, brings another facet of frankness to the concept of love. Although struggling at the beginning to comprehend this universe and the concept of the fragmented ‘landscapes’ that make up this world, which a few fantasy book I can think of are susceptible to, quite disastrously, if they continue to stumble with a complex idea, Bishop remedies this instead by allows you to experience the world through her characters; once you understand the concept surround the landscapes the idea is rather a unique and beautiful one.

The first novel to The Landscapes of Ephemera duology concentrates on the half-incubus Sebastian who begins to tire of his life, and his being, as a sex demon in the only landscape created by his cousin, the rouge Landscaper, Glorianna Belladonna that defines him: the Den of Iniquity, a land of carnal delights and a home for demons. Connected through bridges which take you to where your heart desires, one brings a woman, longing to be safe and loved, to the Den bringing Sebastian his opportunity to feel to humanity.  However the landscapes that make the world of Ephemera are in danger from an evil that relishes in all things dark and even the Den, a haven for the darker tenure of the heart, may be helpless against it.

Bishop paints a very romantic and tender story. Sebastian’s eagerness and his shyness to seize the kindness and nature of humanity drove this tale for me and the family and friends who offer the many kinds of love really captured the power and wonder of the human heart. The danger of the Eater of the World which threaten this, I shall be honest, I quickly read through. I wanted to savour the moment and interactions between Sebastian and those he loved and loved him instead because they were so compelling that ever moment counted. Sebastian was sensual and intoxicating in its simplicity and its stripping of human nature. I brought the second one on my Kindle as soon as I had finished and cannot wait to start reading, especially since it will focus more on Belladonna, the rouge landscaper and cousin of Sebastian who has already faced betrayal, anger, friendship and who has shown the biggest capacity of love and understanding – I cannot wait to read to see how Bishop explores and develops her character.

Definitely a fascinating read.