Review time:
Apr. 2nd, 2003 07:33 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
celestialfrayI really liked it (Cerulean Sins by Laurell K. Hamilton) So much better than Narcissus in Chains. I'm not one of the those who thought NiC was horrible, but I thought it had some large flaws. Micah, who was introduced and bedded way too quickly. Then there was a lot of relationship issues that LKH stuffed in at an expense to plot. Plus there was the weird ending.
It had a lot of character/relationship growth, but there was a lot of strong plot to back things up. Like with Asher, the presence of Musette forces Anita to take on Asher intimately, so to protect him. But it also allows her to show her love for him, when before her prudish nature kept her away.
The ardeur that Belle Morte forces upon Anita gets her to open herself up to Jason (literally and figuratively, heh) Now I know Anita doesn't need more men in her life, but this one I can't really object to. He's always been around, and now he's just a little closer. What I liked so much about the scene, besides the great sex, is what Jason forces her to see about herself. He provides her a stepping stone for a lot of growth with his refreshing observations:
"You have Micah, and now Jean-Claude is back to sharing you with someone else, and
you're safe again. YOu can't fall madly in love with Jean-Claude, or anyone else, cause
you've divided your world up into different parts with each of them. Because no man has
your whole world, no man can rock your whole world."
"So Jean-Claude gets sex, but no blood. Nathaniel gets intimacy, but no intercourse.
Asher gets blood but not intercourse. Micah's getting intimacy and intercourse..." but not love.
JC: One of the things I really loved is how it deals with JC and his role as a vampire. I had always felt that JC had been shortshafted in the series (not to blame the author, but just because of Anita Blake's issues) He's always been the one Anita chooses last, from dating to sex (yeah, she did do JC first, but she had intended to choose Richard until he made her see all that the beast entails) She never gave JC a fair chance in the relationship, clinging to Richard and his humanity. Richard she could salve her conscience in some ways by the fact that he is human most of the time. Anita has used JC's nonhumanity as a buffer to keep part of her closed off. And with her issues, she weakens him by not letting him take blood, having sex with anyone other than her, and fighting him at every turn over what's natural to vampires and human servants. He puts up with this because he loves her. But finally, in CS, she realizes how much JC puts up with for her. How much of himself he buries because Anita can't or won't deal with. And she starts to give a little. She even offers JC her blood, which is a monumental step. One I'm glad she's taking.
Richard: Richard is not my favorite character so I can't feel terribly sad over the fact that he still has problems. I think this is a very natural turn for his character to be this way. He's never been one to accept the monster within, seeing himself as a human who just happens to turn furry once a month. And he's always been the idealist. These two characteristics in it of itself wouldn't be so bad if it weren't for the fact that Richard is very powerful and leader of a clan. He won't let go of his idealism and humanity, and he won't fully accept his beast. Add with that, being leader of a clan that needs a strong pragmatic leader, and there's a lot of trouble. Idealism and politics don't really mix, either your forced to bend or break.
Anita: I like how much Anita is loosening up and becoming more mature. From her letting Asher join in with her and Jean-Claude, to not freaking out after having intercourse with Jason, to finally telling Jean-Claude that he could feed off of her, and to her realizing that although she may love Richard with all her heart, sometimes things just don't work out.
I understand some people's criticism of her getting too much power, but I don't see this as a threat to the series. We've seen that everytime Anita gains a power, she also gets some new responsibility or hardship that she has to deal with. Everytime she overcomes one enemy, there's always something bigger looming on the horizon that will kick her ass. And even in this book, her power wouldn't have been enough to save her from Belle Morte. She had enough trouble fighting her when Belle wasn't even there physically. Luck and politics were what saved her this time.
The only thing that I found criticism was that LKH didn't mention how JC became a sourdre de sang. But it's not a huge deal.
Man, it's such a let down to know that I have to wait another year or so for the next book to come out. I think I'll reread the series. And I've been searching Amazon for new vampire series to get into. Found some promising leads.
It had a lot of character/relationship growth, but there was a lot of strong plot to back things up. Like with Asher, the presence of Musette forces Anita to take on Asher intimately, so to protect him. But it also allows her to show her love for him, when before her prudish nature kept her away.
The ardeur that Belle Morte forces upon Anita gets her to open herself up to Jason (literally and figuratively, heh) Now I know Anita doesn't need more men in her life, but this one I can't really object to. He's always been around, and now he's just a little closer. What I liked so much about the scene, besides the great sex, is what Jason forces her to see about herself. He provides her a stepping stone for a lot of growth with his refreshing observations:
"You have Micah, and now Jean-Claude is back to sharing you with someone else, and
you're safe again. YOu can't fall madly in love with Jean-Claude, or anyone else, cause
you've divided your world up into different parts with each of them. Because no man has
your whole world, no man can rock your whole world."
"So Jean-Claude gets sex, but no blood. Nathaniel gets intimacy, but no intercourse.
Asher gets blood but not intercourse. Micah's getting intimacy and intercourse..." but not love.
JC: One of the things I really loved is how it deals with JC and his role as a vampire. I had always felt that JC had been shortshafted in the series (not to blame the author, but just because of Anita Blake's issues) He's always been the one Anita chooses last, from dating to sex (yeah, she did do JC first, but she had intended to choose Richard until he made her see all that the beast entails) She never gave JC a fair chance in the relationship, clinging to Richard and his humanity. Richard she could salve her conscience in some ways by the fact that he is human most of the time. Anita has used JC's nonhumanity as a buffer to keep part of her closed off. And with her issues, she weakens him by not letting him take blood, having sex with anyone other than her, and fighting him at every turn over what's natural to vampires and human servants. He puts up with this because he loves her. But finally, in CS, she realizes how much JC puts up with for her. How much of himself he buries because Anita can't or won't deal with. And she starts to give a little. She even offers JC her blood, which is a monumental step. One I'm glad she's taking.
Richard: Richard is not my favorite character so I can't feel terribly sad over the fact that he still has problems. I think this is a very natural turn for his character to be this way. He's never been one to accept the monster within, seeing himself as a human who just happens to turn furry once a month. And he's always been the idealist. These two characteristics in it of itself wouldn't be so bad if it weren't for the fact that Richard is very powerful and leader of a clan. He won't let go of his idealism and humanity, and he won't fully accept his beast. Add with that, being leader of a clan that needs a strong pragmatic leader, and there's a lot of trouble. Idealism and politics don't really mix, either your forced to bend or break.
Anita: I like how much Anita is loosening up and becoming more mature. From her letting Asher join in with her and Jean-Claude, to not freaking out after having intercourse with Jason, to finally telling Jean-Claude that he could feed off of her, and to her realizing that although she may love Richard with all her heart, sometimes things just don't work out.
I understand some people's criticism of her getting too much power, but I don't see this as a threat to the series. We've seen that everytime Anita gains a power, she also gets some new responsibility or hardship that she has to deal with. Everytime she overcomes one enemy, there's always something bigger looming on the horizon that will kick her ass. And even in this book, her power wouldn't have been enough to save her from Belle Morte. She had enough trouble fighting her when Belle wasn't even there physically. Luck and politics were what saved her this time.
The only thing that I found criticism was that LKH didn't mention how JC became a sourdre de sang. But it's not a huge deal.
Man, it's such a let down to know that I have to wait another year or so for the next book to come out. I think I'll reread the series. And I've been searching Amazon for new vampire series to get into. Found some promising leads.
