Marked in Flesh, by Anne Bishop

The fourth novel of ‘The Others’ series from the queen of dark fantasy brings to a violent resolution the conflict between humans and the ancient wild forces of the Terra Indigene. Interesting parallels could be drawn between Bishop’s Humans First and Last movement and the various reactionary forces surging through the real world at present. It can only be hoped that the One Nations, Brexiteers, climate change deniers and Trump supporters meet a similar fate to HFL. Bishop’s alternate realities are always fully realised and totally believable. Her characters – human, shapeshifter and vampire - are finely drawn with depth and complexity. The darkness and violence of her tales is leavened with humour and love. The only niggle with Marked in Flesh is the frustration of the extremely slow development of the relationship between human Meg Corbyn and shifter Simon Wolfgard. One would have thought that by the fourth book they would have got beyond holding hands. But then again, considering the damage the fragile Meg has suffered from her past as a captive blood prophet, the slow burn is kind of refreshing. It’s just a complete departure from Bishop’s very sexy Black Jewels series. Is there another book in the story of human survival after The Others have asserted their dominance and put humans back in their box? If only to take Simon and Meg’s relationship further, it is to be hoped the answer is yes.