Anita Blake bashers
Laurell K Hamilton, LKH, is the author of the Anita Blake vampire hunter series (as well as Merry Gentry faerie princess series). There are 15 books in total for the Anita series, and there have been some complaints on this community i belong to.
A lot of people are whining about how there's too much sex involved, and not enough plot. There are people who want the books to go back into the direction that originally started out as. First of all, as LKH repeatedly says in her blog, her characters control what she's going to write. She said that she had been tempted to kill Jean-Claude when he first appeared on stage, but ended up deciding against it. She, herself, has said that she didnt intend for any of this to happen, that it was just going to be her (Anita) raising zombies, and doing a little police work as well.
As they say, shit happens and now Anita Blake is powerhouse in the preternatural community, and has a ton of enemies to boot. She has the ardeur which is this thing she got from Jean-Claude (JC) that forces her to have sex with a lot of people. The idea was first introduced in Narcissus and Chains (NiC) and even now, several books after, i still dont completely understand it's significance or how it works. The ardeur forces her to have multiple partners very often, and this is, i think, the root of everyone's complaints.
LKH is NOT, and i repeat, NOT an erotica author. First of all, most erotica isnt even that good in the first place, but to put a fantasy author on the same level as a sex writer is insanity. i've commented about this in the community, about how her sex scenes dont make your toes curl, and if that's what you're looking for than you should look elsewhere.
I think for LKH the ardeur is a sharp reminder that Anita will never be able to live the life she always wanted (which was married and kids). This ability also pushes past her sexual barriers, since she had intended to wait till marriage to have sex, when she wouldn't have normally. Anita learned more things about her sexuality, that she never would have learned without the ardeur. The ardeur, i think, it meant as a kick start character development, and without, it would have taken a lot longer to get anita to where she is now. Because of the ardeur, and its significance, anita can't get too hung up on the fact that she just had sex with someone she barely knew for an emergency, or with someone she would never have done under any other circumstance. And, as we learn later, the ardeur (the italics are annoying) helps make her life easier, as it brings men that she needs to the forefront. She needed someone to help her with her new leopard pard, so Micah came along, she needed a "wife", someone who wouldnt argue with her decisions, and Nathaniel came along. As we see in The Harlequin, the ardeur is so much more than a sex/power magnet (now that she has control over it). In later books, we might see the ardeur change into something not as destructive as previously, but into something more.
In a sad way, i kinda understand the prudishness of it all. Some fans dont want anita have sex with everything that walks. the ardeur isnt about that, though it was at one time, mostly in NiC. people, i think, ignore that the ardeur helps Anita's power base, and helps keep them safe. As a response, i'm sure, some people might feel compelled to say that anita doesnt have to have sex to keep her people safe. That may be true, but that's not the way LKH has written it, so we'll never know.
Another problem fans seem to have is that there isnt enough zombie raising going on. i think the last scene i read that involved anita doing her job was in Danse Macabre (DM). i, myself, do have a tiny issue with this as well. zombie raising is what she DOES, for a LIVING, and as her job i think there should be zombie raising in every book, though there doesnt have to be police work (since that's secondary). Even though Anita's necromancy is mentioned, and used, in each book, it's not the same thing as her raising the dead. Though, in the harlequin, malcolm pays a visit to anita during her office hours but not to raise a zombie. so think that LKH remembers to incorporate some of her anita's daytime job into each book... but it seems, not by enough.
there probably isn't enough time to raise the dead, since her supernatural crap gets in the way of everything else, and if it isn't that, than its personal stuff. those two things seem to make up the bulk of this most recent book anyway.
despite my attempts to defend anita, LKH's world, i do have a few issues with the character, and her cast. One of them is Richard; i hate how much of a train wreck he's become. some fans think richard represents LKH's first husband. he doesnt. Richard represents what LKH was like before therapy, and Anita is her after the therapy. the only problem with that is, richard is a double-edged sword, and it's starting to become very annoying how frustrating he is to see on scene. in the harlequin, i was pleasantly surprised with how cooperative, and careful he was being, and then all hell breaks loose in less than a few scenes. I think LKH is milking richard's problem (he hates being a werewolf), and after all this time, he STILL cant come to terms with it? i mean... this has been an issue since the earlier novels, how long does it fucking take to learn to love yourself? a part of me feels that having richard as a weak link, it can lead to more plot ideas, and thus more novels. Anita's world is full of personal drama, and to have richard be happy and healthy would take a big chunk of all the drama out, and thus make Anita's life a hell of a lot easier.
But of course, LKH cant do that, and instead makes richard this sappy character who fucks it up for everyone every time. now, after this recent stunt of his, i'm not sure how he's going to be presented since he kinda left when anita and company needed him most. he was almost like joseph, the lion king, in that his morality was more important that what was happening. he's the wolf king! why the fuck is he such a coward?
i'm also vaguely annoyed with how desperate some of the characters want to fuck anita. though i think part of it might be the ardeur, there's no way to know. it has been addressed in a few books how anita doesnt find herself attractive, but i find that difficult to believe. mostly because some of the beautiful people i have ever read on paper are attracted to her, and i find it laughable that she doesnt hold some kind of opinion about herself. she's not humble; she just doesnt understand why men are so attracted to her which is total bullshit if you ask me. she has full breasts, a slim waist, flat stomach and curvy hips. she has the body type most guys go for, if not ALL guys in general, and here she is, not understanding her power over men. it's not about being a lust object, its about recognizing your outer beauty, and that people (mostly men) are physically attracted to you. i hate that about her.
i'll still buy the next novels, hoping that richard gets better, and that anita will open herself completely to everything around her instead of holding on the pieces of her old self. i also want to see more of ronnie on screen, and see how she's going do. we last saw in DM, causing quite the stir and blowing up anita's spot. i want dolph off of anita's ass, and to leave her alone.
But of course, this is eliminate some of the bull shit in anita's life, and i doubt LKH will do that, at least not without adding something more.
A lot of people are whining about how there's too much sex involved, and not enough plot. There are people who want the books to go back into the direction that originally started out as. First of all, as LKH repeatedly says in her blog, her characters control what she's going to write. She said that she had been tempted to kill Jean-Claude when he first appeared on stage, but ended up deciding against it. She, herself, has said that she didnt intend for any of this to happen, that it was just going to be her (Anita) raising zombies, and doing a little police work as well.
As they say, shit happens and now Anita Blake is powerhouse in the preternatural community, and has a ton of enemies to boot. She has the ardeur which is this thing she got from Jean-Claude (JC) that forces her to have sex with a lot of people. The idea was first introduced in Narcissus and Chains (NiC) and even now, several books after, i still dont completely understand it's significance or how it works. The ardeur forces her to have multiple partners very often, and this is, i think, the root of everyone's complaints.
LKH is NOT, and i repeat, NOT an erotica author. First of all, most erotica isnt even that good in the first place, but to put a fantasy author on the same level as a sex writer is insanity. i've commented about this in the community, about how her sex scenes dont make your toes curl, and if that's what you're looking for than you should look elsewhere.
I think for LKH the ardeur is a sharp reminder that Anita will never be able to live the life she always wanted (which was married and kids). This ability also pushes past her sexual barriers, since she had intended to wait till marriage to have sex, when she wouldn't have normally. Anita learned more things about her sexuality, that she never would have learned without the ardeur. The ardeur, i think, it meant as a kick start character development, and without, it would have taken a lot longer to get anita to where she is now. Because of the ardeur, and its significance, anita can't get too hung up on the fact that she just had sex with someone she barely knew for an emergency, or with someone she would never have done under any other circumstance. And, as we learn later, the ardeur (the italics are annoying) helps make her life easier, as it brings men that she needs to the forefront. She needed someone to help her with her new leopard pard, so Micah came along, she needed a "wife", someone who wouldnt argue with her decisions, and Nathaniel came along. As we see in The Harlequin, the ardeur is so much more than a sex/power magnet (now that she has control over it). In later books, we might see the ardeur change into something not as destructive as previously, but into something more.
In a sad way, i kinda understand the prudishness of it all. Some fans dont want anita have sex with everything that walks. the ardeur isnt about that, though it was at one time, mostly in NiC. people, i think, ignore that the ardeur helps Anita's power base, and helps keep them safe. As a response, i'm sure, some people might feel compelled to say that anita doesnt have to have sex to keep her people safe. That may be true, but that's not the way LKH has written it, so we'll never know.
Another problem fans seem to have is that there isnt enough zombie raising going on. i think the last scene i read that involved anita doing her job was in Danse Macabre (DM). i, myself, do have a tiny issue with this as well. zombie raising is what she DOES, for a LIVING, and as her job i think there should be zombie raising in every book, though there doesnt have to be police work (since that's secondary). Even though Anita's necromancy is mentioned, and used, in each book, it's not the same thing as her raising the dead. Though, in the harlequin, malcolm pays a visit to anita during her office hours but not to raise a zombie. so think that LKH remembers to incorporate some of her anita's daytime job into each book... but it seems, not by enough.
there probably isn't enough time to raise the dead, since her supernatural crap gets in the way of everything else, and if it isn't that, than its personal stuff. those two things seem to make up the bulk of this most recent book anyway.
despite my attempts to defend anita, LKH's world, i do have a few issues with the character, and her cast. One of them is Richard; i hate how much of a train wreck he's become. some fans think richard represents LKH's first husband. he doesnt. Richard represents what LKH was like before therapy, and Anita is her after the therapy. the only problem with that is, richard is a double-edged sword, and it's starting to become very annoying how frustrating he is to see on scene. in the harlequin, i was pleasantly surprised with how cooperative, and careful he was being, and then all hell breaks loose in less than a few scenes. I think LKH is milking richard's problem (he hates being a werewolf), and after all this time, he STILL cant come to terms with it? i mean... this has been an issue since the earlier novels, how long does it fucking take to learn to love yourself? a part of me feels that having richard as a weak link, it can lead to more plot ideas, and thus more novels. Anita's world is full of personal drama, and to have richard be happy and healthy would take a big chunk of all the drama out, and thus make Anita's life a hell of a lot easier.
But of course, LKH cant do that, and instead makes richard this sappy character who fucks it up for everyone every time. now, after this recent stunt of his, i'm not sure how he's going to be presented since he kinda left when anita and company needed him most. he was almost like joseph, the lion king, in that his morality was more important that what was happening. he's the wolf king! why the fuck is he such a coward?
i'm also vaguely annoyed with how desperate some of the characters want to fuck anita. though i think part of it might be the ardeur, there's no way to know. it has been addressed in a few books how anita doesnt find herself attractive, but i find that difficult to believe. mostly because some of the beautiful people i have ever read on paper are attracted to her, and i find it laughable that she doesnt hold some kind of opinion about herself. she's not humble; she just doesnt understand why men are so attracted to her which is total bullshit if you ask me. she has full breasts, a slim waist, flat stomach and curvy hips. she has the body type most guys go for, if not ALL guys in general, and here she is, not understanding her power over men. it's not about being a lust object, its about recognizing your outer beauty, and that people (mostly men) are physically attracted to you. i hate that about her.
i'll still buy the next novels, hoping that richard gets better, and that anita will open herself completely to everything around her instead of holding on the pieces of her old self. i also want to see more of ronnie on screen, and see how she's going do. we last saw in DM, causing quite the stir and blowing up anita's spot. i want dolph off of anita's ass, and to leave her alone.
But of course, this is eliminate some of the bull shit in anita's life, and i doubt LKH will do that, at least not without adding something more.