Tentative Anita Blake defence...
Sep. 16th, 2003 09:24 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sparkindarknessBut warily, cos I agree with a lot of the criticism being thrown round.
But I like the books, the early ones are amazing, it has a brilliant plot in many ways and the world setting is one of the best I've seen.
The fact that Anita Blake is the author planted, doesn't hit me as a problem, I don't care who or what the character's based on, just how good the character is.
I do want to throttle Richard, but that at least shows he's a character, even if he is an annoying one (I concede that Micah ISN'T a character, he's just a sex toy who happens to be capable of speech)
The power creep doesn't bother me all that much either - partly cos Anita isn't that powerful still (she doesn't know how to use half the stuff she can do), partly because she plays with "the big boys" and partly because most of the stuff she can do, she won't.
I just wish one thing - can we PLEASE drop some sex scenes!? Even if she does have to sleep with someone every 12 hours, can we take it as given now? Yeah, we get it, now move on and return to the plot. Bring me the politics (gotta love the politics) the investigation, the hundreds of loose ends left lying around, can we stop having vast intervals of her love life.
So there's my verdict - great series, great books, but unfortunately the author has started to change them from Horror/Modern Fantasy novels to basically porn. (NB, there is a difference between porno and erotic fiction. Erotic fiction has plot, that happens to have sex in it. Porn only has plot to act as a stop gap measure to fill space before the next sex scene.)
One upswing though - Cerulean Sins was much better than Narcissus in Chains, methinks the trend is reversing...
And yes, there is no excuse for the Meredith Gentry series. Great premise, even good research and world setting. Kinda, hard to tell, because every time something with depth comes near it's obscured by everyone stripping off again. Assuming they were even dressed. Oh, and the character's super powered in the first few chapters. In book two she's basically equal to most armies, and to help matters out she's got lots of allies who are only slightly weaker.
Methinks Ms Hamilton has self-esteem issues.
But I like the books, the early ones are amazing, it has a brilliant plot in many ways and the world setting is one of the best I've seen.
The fact that Anita Blake is the author planted, doesn't hit me as a problem, I don't care who or what the character's based on, just how good the character is.
I do want to throttle Richard, but that at least shows he's a character, even if he is an annoying one (I concede that Micah ISN'T a character, he's just a sex toy who happens to be capable of speech)
The power creep doesn't bother me all that much either - partly cos Anita isn't that powerful still (she doesn't know how to use half the stuff she can do), partly because she plays with "the big boys" and partly because most of the stuff she can do, she won't.
I just wish one thing - can we PLEASE drop some sex scenes!? Even if she does have to sleep with someone every 12 hours, can we take it as given now? Yeah, we get it, now move on and return to the plot. Bring me the politics (gotta love the politics) the investigation, the hundreds of loose ends left lying around, can we stop having vast intervals of her love life.
So there's my verdict - great series, great books, but unfortunately the author has started to change them from Horror/Modern Fantasy novels to basically porn. (NB, there is a difference between porno and erotic fiction. Erotic fiction has plot, that happens to have sex in it. Porn only has plot to act as a stop gap measure to fill space before the next sex scene.)
One upswing though - Cerulean Sins was much better than Narcissus in Chains, methinks the trend is reversing...
And yes, there is no excuse for the Meredith Gentry series. Great premise, even good research and world setting. Kinda, hard to tell, because every time something with depth comes near it's obscured by everyone stripping off again. Assuming they were even dressed. Oh, and the character's super powered in the first few chapters. In book two she's basically equal to most armies, and to help matters out she's got lots of allies who are only slightly weaker.
Methinks Ms Hamilton has self-esteem issues.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2003-09-17 06:27 pm (UTC)Actually - a sign she wrote well, in the last book, Richard made me angry enough that i had to put the book down.
(no subject)
Date: 2003-09-17 07:42 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2003-09-19 10:54 pm (UTC)The part I'm thinking of is when he... hmm, how to non-spoiler it... when Anita & JC are busy dealing with a big fight, he decides to get pissy with JC
And if he angsts out ONCE more time...
(no subject)
Date: 2003-09-19 11:36 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2003-09-20 01:37 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2003-09-20 02:51 pm (UTC)