Reviews with content warning for Violence - Written in Red

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Written in Red by Anne Bishop

8 reviews

mimicry's review against another edition

medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

Overall it’s simplistic and cutesy, despite some darker themes. There’s a lot of repetition, and the worldbuilding is lazy. Characterization can get lazy also. For example, POV characters in the series all describe the ponies with the same words: grumpy faces, barrel chests, clompy dinner-plate sized hooves. No matter who they are or where they’re from they all eat dinner on a plate the size of an elemental pony’s foot, apparently.

I wouldn’t consider this book to have a diverse cast, unless you count the many types of Others as diversity. Among the humans it’s almost exclusively cishet white.

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bookcaptivated's review against another edition

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dark lighthearted mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

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vabookworm703's review

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

Written in Red is the first volume in Anne Bishop’s The Others series, an urban fantasy series where the humans live in a world occupied by the Others – a race of beings who, although they look human, have evolved into something more (i.e., shapeshifters, vampires, elementals).

The reader is introduced to Meg Corbyrn, a blood profit who has escaped her “controller” and stumbles into a city (Lakeside) controlled by The Others; the leader (Simon Wolfgard) feels that there is something different about Meg and is moved to help her by offering her the job as Lakeside’s human liaison (which appears to be nothing more than a mail/delivery person). Very quickly Meg endears herself with the residents of Lakeside because . . . well, other than delivering the mail and smelling like “not prey,” I’m not quite sure why the residents all feel this overwhelming need to protect Meg. Maybe she is more Other than human, and the Others protect their own? <shrug>

The plot is rather simple, Meg ran away, her “controller” wants her back, and the Others of Lakeside work to ensure that doesn’t happen; the B and C storylines are rather dull.

There is little world building, and the characters range from “meh” to intolerable (I’m looking at you Asia Crane). While there were times I found Meg to be a little too Pollyannaish and at times sickeningly sweet, it (kinda, sorta) made sense given her history.

I did enjoy the little bit of history Ms. Bishop provided regarding how the Others came into being, their interaction with humans, and the uneasy peace between the two races. While the characters were rather generic, the various races of Others present was quite interesting. I especially appreciate the fact that Ms. Bishop’s Other characters weren’t fully human even when in human form (i.e., Simon Wolfgard was always a wolf and acted like a wolf even when I human form). However, I did not like the fact that the Others routinely resort to “let’s kill” whenever they were faced with a threat (yea, yea, they aren’t human, but they have to interact with humans and are trying to learn/understand humans and threatening to indiscriminately kill people doesn’t help).

I have mixed feelings about Written in Red the idea is very interesting and Ms. Bishop’s writing style is pleasant. The action is fast paced, albeit repetitive. The character work was lacking and there were several plot holes and lots of loose ends (granted those may be picked up in future installments). I am intrigued enough, even with the flaws, to pick up the next volume to determine whether or not I like the series.

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destinyperry01's review

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dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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andireadthis's review against another edition

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dark mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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syllareads's review

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adventurous dark emotional tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

Written in Red is both the first book in The Others' series by Anne Bishop and the first book I finished by this author (because I'm not counting the first book in the Black Jewels Trilogy since it's in a bindup, okay? shush) and I had a blast.

The book is, very simplified, about a human woman who stumbles into a territory ruled by The Others, a bunch of supernatural creatures that are actually fucking terrifying if they want to be thank god, and finds a home there. Found family, healing, overcoming trauma and the like are all very prevalent themes in this book and I liked that a lot. The writing was at times a bit too simple for my taste usually but the dialogues were goddamn hilarious most of the time, and I really enjoyed getting to know all the characters!

The story itself has a lot of foreseeable twists and turns here and there, but it doesn't detract from the enjoyment factor because ultimately, the book is not about unexpected twists in the narrative. Rather, Bishop uses outward motivation like a (pretty standard) villain attacking the town to explore inner themes and self-realization (or at least the start of one, given that this is only book one in a series). If you are not too plot-driven of a reader, I highly suggest you give this series a try for the characters alone!

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greymalkin's review

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adventurous challenging dark funny informative inspiring mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Wow! I really enjoyed this. I loved the world and the fresh take on supernatural creatures. It reminds me of Robin McKinley's Sunshine, where the predatory nature of supernatural creatures is much more believable and darker.

Spoiler

I thought that Anne Bishop did a great job capturing Meg's subtle character traits. She's kind and innocent but not a doormat. She's petite and fragile and not very strong but doesn't assume she should be treated as such. I absolutely bought how the other characters grew to like her. The relationship between her and Simon evolved very naturally, and the stuff with Sam is heartbreaking but so emotionally believable. I finished the book and immediately bought and started reading the next one. There aren't too many books where that's the case.

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qace90's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated

5.0

Reread Jan 5, 2023: gosh I really do adore this book and this world and these characters. The mystery and the community is all so good and as it got to the climax, even having vague recollections (it has been more than 6 years since I read it last!) I was at the edge of my seat waiting to see all the threads play out. This is just such a great book of community and learning to accept new people and change perspective, and the power of kindness and the ripple effects of a few “small” choices.

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