Rating: 
Summary: Too much pornography, not enough story
Review: I have read all of the books in this series, and have found them to be fun and entertaining on the whole, in spite of the overdone sexual steaminess - until this one. Unfortunately, as this series has progressed, the emphasis on sex to the exclusion of all else has steadily increased to the point where it completely overwhelms every other aspect in this book - which may make for good pornography, but which does not make for a good Anita Blake mystery.
Rating: 
Summary: Too much...
Review: I have enjoyed the story lines until now. I don't care for the obsession with everyone's clothes and how we seem to be changing to romance novels. And the ending didn't make sense.
Rating: 
Summary: FANTASTIC!
Review: The epic life of Anita Blake continues! Don't miss the continuation of this series of books by Hamilton. Each progressively throws you deeper into the bowels of Anita's world. True, there were a few characters introduced that I didn't like, but that mirrors life in many ways. Her powers do become more mysterious--i won't spoil it-and there are as many plot twists and turns as there are in a maze. But, this is definitely a must read! As a fan who was there at Anita's conception(err, to say when the series first started) I can't wait until the next book comes out!
Rating: 
Summary: So-So Blake
Review: This book is neither as bad as its most ardent detractors claim, nor as good as its admirers think it. I agree, if Anita Blake from Guilty Pleasures saw Anita Blake from NiC, she would run screaming. But I enjoy her evolving character. She's sacrificed a good many of her principles to save lives, and now she is reaping the whirlwind. I enjoyed her developing relationship with both her pard and with the pack. I was happy to see more of Asher, but I hope that Hamilton does not drag the bitter Asher out over several books. I suppose he has reasons to be bitter and nasty, but this is only a book, and the whining gets annoying. I also enjoyed seeing some more depth added to Jason's and Nathaniel's characters.However, the sex has gotten completely out of hand. First of all, I don't see any reason why Anita sacrificing her principles to save lives has any bearing on Anita sacrificing her principles to have sex. Second of all, if Jean-Claude can manage to control the ardeur without having wild and crazy preternatural sex orgies, why can't Anita? Third, what is it with all Anita's men (even Bernardo in OB) being supernatural--supernaturally endowed, that is! What is the obsession with size? Fourth, is anyone else a little sick of every male creature on earth (evidently) having the hots for Anita? This has been an issue that has been developing for quite a while, and it really got me steamed (not in an erotic way) in this book. All the reoccuring characters seem to want nothing more than to get Anita into bed! Before long, Edward is going to confess his burning desire! To sum up--Don't get this in hardcover, but it's probably still worth your money in paperback. I'll read Hamilton's next Anita Blake, and probably even the one after that, but if the series doesn't shape up soon, count me out.
Rating:
Summary: Anita Blake - Below Par Vampire Hunting
Review: I have really enjoyed all of the the previous Anita Blake books and really looked forward to this the tenth in the series. Unfortunately, it was not up to my expections. Somehow, the spirit and page turning drive of the others is missing from this one. I notice in her acknowledgements that Ms. Hamilton refers to time constraints regarding the book. Could this be the problem? Is the second series she is writing making it impossible to meet deadlines? The character dialogue is too long, too drawn out and not in real time. It needs simplification and editing. People are in danger and still the characters talk and talk.and talk! I timed one segment where Anita has to rush off to get Jean Claude out ot jail before the sun rises. Reading just the spoken parts aloud took over and hour and this did not include the time needed for wild animal sex in the shower! The plot of the book was also extremely complicated, confusing and sometimes even bordering on boring. Whatever happened to the simple vampire, werewolf and vampire hunter triangle that has served the series so well? Hopefully, if the series continues, Ms. Hamilton will have the time to produce first quality fiction like her earlier books.
Rating: 
Summary: Men, men, everywhere.....!
Review: Let me begin by saying the book was an absolute page turner. I finishd it in 2 days. I had it specially ordered because the bookstore kept selling out of copies.
I discovered Anita Blake as a character 3 months ago & have finished the entire series. I am elated & disapointed by this new book.
The series revolves around Anita whom is a ledgendary necromancer & local vampire slayer for the St. Louis police. She has 2 men in her life Jean Claude (A french vampire every woman in the world would want to meet) & Richard (The local werewolf king / 8th grade science teacher whom I personally have liked a lot through this series.)
The book starts out with Anita coming to terms that she has to meet up with the boys to take care of business. Their being apart has hurt all of them badly & in an effort to get her kitties back they marry the marks. The book then swerves in it's pace & becomes a rapid fire read of plot twists, sex, violence & new characters. It was almost a dizzying pace.
In this book you can see how Anita has come a long way from her gangbusters, black & white views of the preternatural world. No longer are the people involved just monsters, her straight arrow ethics are being questioned, frustrating powers come about as a result of marrying the marks. The politics of the furry come into play & almost put a stranglehold on everyone in the book. In the end Anita has adopted almost every changling in to her circle of protection. She winds up being almost like the mother of all the weres.
It is a frustrating & fascinating read to see how she deals with what is going on around her. This book plays on some deep psychological questions about morals & their worth. Is it worth it to hold on to your beliefs when others will suffer as a result? Anita, Richard & Jean Claude dance around that question a lot. Jean claude is still patient while events unfold & Richard still will make most readers want to get up & shake him. They did however almost feel like background characters in this book. Like Obsidian butterfly this book is central to Anita only. While I would have to say on the most part the book stayed true to the vein of Hamilton's writing style, I was disapointed with how it ended. I like most people were hoping that this book would see Anita & the boys through to a reconciliation of sorts. Instead that story line which seemed to be an integral part of the series got lost amongst the frustrating politics, violence & sex. I was sad to see it go. I hope for future works Hamilton tries to focus less of violence & sex as a filler. The sereis is complex & facinating enough read with out it.
Rating:
Summary: Once Again A Laurell Hamilton Mircle
Review: Once again she did it. Laurell K. Hamilton has another hit. I have to say that I have done thousands of hours of research on Vampires and the undead. Ms. Hamilton is the only author that I have read in a long time that doesn't make the Vampires just blood drinking mindless creatures. It is very refreshing to beable to read a book about Vampires that gives them personalities and feelings. Narcisses In Chaines was fantastic and keep my intrest. It is the kind I book that I would go back and read a dozen or more time. Lets just hope it doesn't take as long for Ms. Hamilton to come out with another book
Rating:
Summary: I hate that I didn't love this book
Review: I am a big fan of the Anita blake series and was actually lucky enough to meet Laurell Hamilton at a reading of A Kiss of Shadows. She previewed this book and I was very excited about reading it, but was disappointed at the end of the read. Anita has gotten progressively darker in her books as the series has progressed, but the wanton sexcapades that ran thru this book seemed more like a continuation of the Meredith Gentry series than Anita Blake. She has basically accepted the fact that she has lost her morality, which was actually something that she used to hold in high regard. She has become a very unlikeable character and that troubled me quite a bit because I have really enjoyed the previous stories and her adventures. ... I am hoping that the next book is different, because after I finished this book I wasn't real excited about continuing the series.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing.
Review: I was highly excited when I learned that there was a new Blake series book on the way, eagerly awaiting the day when I could pre-order it... and now I'm re-considering even purchasing the next book when it comes out. The series up until this point has been spectacular, though the recurring theme of sexual violence has gotten a bit tiresome, and I would highly recommend any of the prior books to a new reader without a qualm. This one, however, was a descent into nothing more than pornography and a paper-thin plot... over halfway through the book, Anita suddenly realizes that she should do something about the nasty bad guys who are trying to kill her? Sad. Jean-Claude fell, if it can believed, even lower in this book, proving himself a greater scumball than ever before. Richard, on the other hand, seemed to be pushed deliberately by the author into a more and more unlikeable role while the new playboy wallpaper Micah was nothing more than that; meat on the hoof. Oh yes, and mustn't forget that the much-vaunted willpower of Anita went right out the window as she hops right in bed with anything that moves without a fight (even NATHANIEL!)... the moral strength of the char was enough to balance the sociopathic tendencies, now you expect to see her walking a streetcorner and chopping up johns with a chainsaw. Personally, I'll give this series one more shot and hope for a return to some kind of decent storytelling. Please, Ms. Hamilton, bring Anita back.
Rating:
Summary: A must-read, but read the other 9 Anita-books first.
Review: For me personally, this was a long awaited release, since the previous book in the Anita Blake series, Obsidian Butterfly, did little to advance the ongoing plotlines that has been built up through the first 8 books. Narcissus in Chains was supposed to be the book that resolved everything, and in this respect I was not disappointed. The author is a master story teller and she manages to tie all major issues from the previous books together perfectly. So perfectly in fact, that I got the feeling that this might be the last book in the Anita Blake series. And as sad as that makes me, the series does seem to have run out of steam. Laurell K. Hamilton has evolved Anita from the tough talking, fast shooting gumshoe-with-a-twist kinda girl who survived on a knifes edge by equal ammounts of street-wiseness, luck and having the right friends, to an omnipotent being whose ability to overcome any antagonist is beyond questioning. To me, it would be hard to see where Anita could go from here. Technically the book is far too long. The story is not very complex and could have been told in a book half this size. Instead the author spends page after page on numerous long and very detailed erotic scenes. And just when you think you are through one of them, another man enters the room, and it all starts over again. Arrrgh! I skipped fast over large parts of the book because of this, and that is something I have never done in an Anita Blake book before. It seems like Laurell K. Hamilton has trouble keeping the hyper-erotic atmosphere from the Merry Gentry series out of this Anita book. Ok, erotics have been an integral part of the series all along - and this is executed perfectly in the other books - but in Narcissus in Chains there is way too much. And it is both completely irrelevant to the story and out of character for Anita Blake. Conclusion: This book is essential since it ties everything up neatly, but get the other 9 books and read them first. And get ready to skip fast over a lot of lenghty boring erotic scenes.
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