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For the Anita Blake readers on my flist -
This is, to my mind, one of THE best responses I've ever seen a person give to the continuing inner-squabble between those who like the direction the books are going and those who don't. Obviously, I still love them. I want more of them. As many as Laurell K Hamilton gets to write. And I've never found the crime scene plot vs evolving sexual content of the books to be at odds. The earlier books were a third the size of the current books - so of course you have less time to cover things. Now, with the long books we (yea!) are getting - you have more than enough cover to cover space to have both crime, sex, etc. But I need to shhhhhhhh...lol - and let you read the response I mentioned above:
(There aren't any true spoilers in this post, btw - nothing you couldn't have read on the dust jacket of Danse Macabre.)
The question was made on the MicahNimir-Raj YahooGroup - is the book worth buy/reading? Does it have a plot, or is it just a PWP? (I found the question off-putting myself - it downgrades Laurell's talent and shows how little depth of thought the person asking the question really puts into the material in the first place. I mean you don't get to book 14 of a series and then continue to whinge like the few folks on Amazon's book forumn are doing - you just need to STOP reading, and let those who still enjoy them - enjoy them! lol...)
This was the reply that "Jodi" gave -
"This book has an almost entirely internal plot. It is, more than any of the others, a love story at its heart, albeit a very non-traditional one.
"The sex is integral to the internal plot. It is about the different between love and food. It's also about the use and misuse of power. It's about keeping people true to their characters. Wanting to be different from who/what you are/think/feel is easy to say and very hard to do.
"Richard, who I actively disliked in this book, though upon reread, (and a discussion between Anita and Jean-Claude) I think I understand him better. I understand why it is so very hard for him.
"There are external plots. The visiting masters, the maybe baby (sorry if someone considers this a spoiler but since it is revealed in the first two chapters...), and the ardeur itself. In ID, Anita accidentally formed a triumvirate of power of her own. But she didn't know what it meant.
"In the beginning of the series, the external plots were much more important because Anita didn't have anything internal. She had her guns, her zombies and her penguins. As we hit the middle of the series, the internal and external plots were about equal. The personal stuff was infringing on her guns and zombies. And suddenly she had internal thoughts and feelings about people she thought she should be killing. But at this point, the internal piece is far more important because Anita has grown in power so dramatically. (In general. This is not a particular spoiler.) Because she's doing things by accident that she needs to be doing deliberately. She can't focus on her serial killers if her body's needs start to hurt people she loves.
"The tide will shift back, perhaps as early as the next book, because the guns and the police work are all part of who she is. We forget that these books take place in a tight time period. This was 2 days, maybe. So it was okay not to see the cops. There was no need to see the cops. And frankly, she couldn't have handled it. Too much going on.
"This doesn't mean that I think the sex will lessen. Though it could. But it always means something. It advances the plot. It tells us something we didn't know. In DM it is about the difference between love and food. But it's also about accepting the entire person and not just the parts you like.
"I loved the book, not just because of the amazing sex between Anita and men that she loves, but because of the character growth for so many characters. Perhaps even most of them.
Jodi"
Well said!
Hugs
xof
PS - if you're one of the folks complaining...lol, I've had a bad day, so let's not start something here. I'm just sharing a well thoughtout view that agrees with my own.
This is, to my mind, one of THE best responses I've ever seen a person give to the continuing inner-squabble between those who like the direction the books are going and those who don't. Obviously, I still love them. I want more of them. As many as Laurell K Hamilton gets to write. And I've never found the crime scene plot vs evolving sexual content of the books to be at odds. The earlier books were a third the size of the current books - so of course you have less time to cover things. Now, with the long books we (yea!) are getting - you have more than enough cover to cover space to have both crime, sex, etc. But I need to shhhhhhhh...lol - and let you read the response I mentioned above:
(There aren't any true spoilers in this post, btw - nothing you couldn't have read on the dust jacket of Danse Macabre.)
The question was made on the MicahNimir-Raj YahooGroup - is the book worth buy/reading? Does it have a plot, or is it just a PWP? (I found the question off-putting myself - it downgrades Laurell's talent and shows how little depth of thought the person asking the question really puts into the material in the first place. I mean you don't get to book 14 of a series and then continue to whinge like the few folks on Amazon's book forumn are doing - you just need to STOP reading, and let those who still enjoy them - enjoy them! lol...)
This was the reply that "Jodi" gave -
"This book has an almost entirely internal plot. It is, more than any of the others, a love story at its heart, albeit a very non-traditional one.
"The sex is integral to the internal plot. It is about the different between love and food. It's also about the use and misuse of power. It's about keeping people true to their characters. Wanting to be different from who/what you are/think/feel is easy to say and very hard to do.
"Richard, who I actively disliked in this book, though upon reread, (and a discussion between Anita and Jean-Claude) I think I understand him better. I understand why it is so very hard for him.
"There are external plots. The visiting masters, the maybe baby (sorry if someone considers this a spoiler but since it is revealed in the first two chapters...), and the ardeur itself. In ID, Anita accidentally formed a triumvirate of power of her own. But she didn't know what it meant.
"In the beginning of the series, the external plots were much more important because Anita didn't have anything internal. She had her guns, her zombies and her penguins. As we hit the middle of the series, the internal and external plots were about equal. The personal stuff was infringing on her guns and zombies. And suddenly she had internal thoughts and feelings about people she thought she should be killing. But at this point, the internal piece is far more important because Anita has grown in power so dramatically. (In general. This is not a particular spoiler.) Because she's doing things by accident that she needs to be doing deliberately. She can't focus on her serial killers if her body's needs start to hurt people she loves.
"The tide will shift back, perhaps as early as the next book, because the guns and the police work are all part of who she is. We forget that these books take place in a tight time period. This was 2 days, maybe. So it was okay not to see the cops. There was no need to see the cops. And frankly, she couldn't have handled it. Too much going on.
"This doesn't mean that I think the sex will lessen. Though it could. But it always means something. It advances the plot. It tells us something we didn't know. In DM it is about the difference between love and food. But it's also about accepting the entire person and not just the parts you like.
"I loved the book, not just because of the amazing sex between Anita and men that she loves, but because of the character growth for so many characters. Perhaps even most of them.
Jodi"
Well said!
Hugs
xof
PS - if you're one of the folks complaining...lol, I've had a bad day, so let's not start something here. I'm just sharing a well thoughtout view that agrees with my own.
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