it's been quite some time I must say, but now that I'm starting to adjust to the new pace of my new life I think it's time to update this blog...

The Ephermera Duology by Anne Bishop - another couple of books from this classic favorite of mine. These two books (wishing there were more...) recount the story of Sebastian and his uber-powerful cousin, Glorianna Belladonna. Like a breath of fresh air, Bishop returns to themes of extreme power, darkness, and the will and choices of the one woman who wields them (closer to The Black Jewels, rather than Tir Alainn). Ephemera, once a unified land, was broken into separated landscapes by warriors of the light in order to trap the Eater of the World, the darkest of evils, into an isolated landscape. Years later, to get from one landscape to another people have to cross stationary bridges, but there are also resonanting bridges - those that resonate with your deepest desires, taking you to the place you truly belong to. Sebastian is a half-inccubus living in the Den of Iniquity, a dark landscape full of vice and little virtue - but to Sebastian, the Den has been more a home to him than the 'light' landscape of Wizard City, where he was shunned and neglected as a child when not taken home by his kind, landscaper aunt. Now, dark forces are stirring and landscapers and bridges, those people who create parts of the world and keep them connected, are disappearing and someone, or something, is trying to free the Eater from it's dark prison. It's up to Sebastion to help save Ephemera from its untimely doom and those he loves while preparing for the ultimate battle which will come to his cousin, Glorianna. Probably the most powerful of landscapers, and outcasted by her own kind, Glorianna is the only one with power strong enough to face the Eater of the World, but at what cost to herself and those she cares about? Stay Tuned! I've got to say this was like a breath of fresh air for me - I had purchased Sebastian nearly 3 years before and had yet to pick it up because I was worried it was going to be a step down from the Tir Alainn trilogy. I love Bishop, but of everything I've read so far by her, Tir Alainn was my least favorite (although still entertaining!). But Ephemera was a return to some of the darker themes that were more characteristic of The Black Jewels. I will say that I wish Ephemera had been expanded into at least a trilogy, because some parts of the story could have used a little more development (for example the relationship between Glorianna and Michael...), but perhaps Bishop intended the story to have this sense of immediacy with all the focus being in the present, rather than the future. Either way, I enjoyed these two books, and recommend them - I'll probably be re-reading them during my annual re-read next year!

**** 4 stars

Duology Includes:
1. Sebastian
2. Belladonna