Written in Red by Anne Bishop

Title: Written in Red

Author: Anne Bishop
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Series: The Others #1

Hardcover, 433 pages
Publication: March 5, 2013 by ROC
Source: Personal Library

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As a cassandra sangue, or blood prophet, Meg Corbyn can see the future when her skin is cut—a gift that feels more like a curse. Meg’s Controller keeps her enslaved so he can have full access to her visions. But when she escapes, the only safe place Meg can hide is at the Lakeside Courtyard—a business district operated by the Others.

Shape-shifter Simon Wolfgard is reluctant to hire the stranger who inquires about the Human Liaison job. First, he senses she’s keeping a secret, and second, she doesn’t smell like human prey. Yet a stronger instinct propels him to give Meg the job. And when he learns the truth about Meg and that she’s wanted by the government, he’ll have to decide if she’s worth the fight between humans and the Others that will surely follow.

Too many books, not enough time. We’ve all heard of this sentiment time and time again, amiright? Every time I look there’s a new series popping up left and right. But one series I consistently heard about over the years was The Others Series by Anne Bishop. It’s extremely popular, is compared, and said to be in the same vein as Andrews’s Kate Daniels series, which is my all-time favorite series and Brigg’s Mercy Thompson series, which comes in a close second in term of favorite Urban Fantasy series. After many, many years I finally picked up Written in Red and it certainly didn’t disappoint.

Written in Red follows Meg Corbyn, a blood prophet on the run. Meg ends up acquiring a job as Human Liaison to The Others, a sect of supernatural beings that comprises of shifters, vampires, and elementals. I very much enjoyed Written in Red but it was absolutely nothing like the other Urban Fantasies I’ve read. Meg is definitely no Kate, Mercy or October. The aforementioned ladies are what I’d described as your typical kick-ass heroines; they’re independent, strong-willed, smart and have no qualms about getting their hands dirty…or bloody. Meg on the other hand was the complete opposite. Grandpa Erebus, the head leader of the Sanguinetti refers to Meg as ‘The Sweet Blood’, blood that is both wonderous and deadly. But his meaning is that Meg is essentially childlike and innocent which is pretty spot on and accurate. Meg has been held a prisoner all her life and the outside world is foreign to her. Everything she knows about the world was through what her handlers showed her which were selective. I’m not a fan of plain Janes and was a bit confused why The Others took to Meg so quickly. In my opinion there was nothing remotely ‘special’ about Meg but she fell into the ‘special snowflakes’ category we’ve all encountered in other stories. It also didn’t help that Meg spoke and acted like a seven-year-old.

Despite it all, I found myself fully wrapped up into the story. Like The Others, I too was entertained and amused by Meg’s mundane tasks. Why? I'm not quite sure. Now that I’ve finished the novel, I must admit…the book was 80% full of long, detailed description of Meg’s tasks as a Human Liaison. From checking in deliveries from human drivers, delivering mail to the complexes or managing the front store to Howling Good Reads. I credit bishop’s masterful writing to make the most ordinary task exciting.

I like Written in Red, not as action-packed as I wanted but good nonetheless. The story was a bit slow for my liking but ultimately, it’s the characters that had me following through till the end. I enjoyed seeing Meg grow as she learned about herself, The Others and the world around her. Her naïve and childlike manner was a surprisingly breath of fresh air, teaching us that things don’t ever have to be overly complicated and that kindness does really go a long way.