Turns of Fate, Anne Bishop (Review by Lara Ferguson)

Anne Bishop’s Turns of Fate offers a fascinating modern lens on the uneasy coexistence between the mundane and the arcane, exploring how ordinary lives are shaped—and often shattered—by encounters with the extraordinary. In Turns of Fate, Bishop introduces readers to the Isle of Wyrd, a liminal space where the paranormal Arcana live under strict laws that humans struggle to comprehend. The Island, across the Fate River from the human town, allows people to visit and experience controlled levels of the supernatural, but it has strict ruled with serious consequences if broken. Detective Beth Fahey, a rookie cop from the town, becomes the reader’s guide through this fractured landscape. Her journey across the Fate River is not just geographical—it’s symbolic of the divide between the normal and the strange, and the consequences of crossing it without understanding. What makes Bishop’s take feel modern is her refusal to romanticize the supernatural. The Arcana are not whimsical beings; they are powerful, dangerous, and governed by rules that defy human logic. The humans who enter their world often do so with arrogance, believing they can manipulate forces they barely comprehend. Bishop critiques this hubris, showing how the desire to control fate leads to chaos, loss, and transformation. The Isle of Wyrd becomes a mirror for modern society’s obsession with power and control, especially in the face of the unknown. Beth’s character embodies the tension between these worlds. She is grounded in the rationality of police work but increasingly drawn into the emotional and metaphysical currents of the Arcana as she explores her own personal story. Her evolution reflects a modern sensibility: the need to reconcile logic with intuition, order with mystery. Bishop’s world doesn’t offer easy answers—only consequences, bargains, and revelations. Ultimately, Turns of Fate is a dark urban fantasy that reimagines the relationship between the strange and the normal not as a clash, but as a negotiation. It’s a story about boundaries—who sets them, who breaks them, and what happens when fate refuses to be tamed. Bishop’s modern take is both unsettling and enthralling, reminding us that the unknown isn’t just out there—it’s within us, waiting to be understood or feared.