Rating: 
Summary: Skip It!
Review: I am so disappointed! I ravaged the first books in this series. I thought some of them were the scariest things I have ever read. But this one is just soft porn trash. Don't get me wrong, I like soft porn and Ms. Hamilton can sure slop it on with both hands; but my question is this: where is Anita Blake? I can't distinguish the "Narcissus in Chains" Anita from the "Kiss of Shadows" Merry Gentry. It seems that both women are surrounded by beautiful men who want to jump their bones and both are only too happy to comply. OK, I am fine with that; I am a guy for crying out loud. But I couldn't bring myself to slog through this mess. I didn't even finish the main sex scene between Anita and four guys (let's see, two vampires and two lycanthropes) before I put the book down in complete disappointment.
Rating: 
Summary: Anita just keeps on evolving (or is that compromising?)
Review: Those who are disappointed with the extreme level of sex in this book really haven't been paying close enough attention to what this series is about. The Anita Blake series has always been about (in no particuar order) sex, violence, and monsters. More specifically, the series has been about Anita's evolving attitudes towards the three.At first, she was a chaste re-animator who occasionally got involved in traumatic, violent situations. Monsters were monsters, violence was bad, but necessary sometimes, and premarital sex was a big "no can do". Over the course of the series before this book, she's fallen in love with a werewolf and a vampire, slept with both (though not at the same time) ceased to be bothered by violence, and cut way back on the re-animating gig. Yes, she's barely recognizable as the woman she was at the beginning of the series, but the changes have not been sudden or unjustified. Over the last few books, she's been fighting the inevitable step of coming to an arrangement that works with both her lovers. She's concluded she can't ignore the situation any longer, and decided to try to make a three-way relationship work. At the beginning of "Narcissus in Chains", she decides to go ahead and take that next step. Doing so, however, saddles her with "the ardeur", a strong form of vampiric lust that ends up causing her to move several steps further down the whole unconventional sex road than she'd planned. Ms. Hamilton describes the whole process with a level of detail that brings to mind (Anne Rice's) "Exit to Eden" more than "Interview With the Vampire". Yes, "the ardeur" is a somewhat contrived plot element intended to allow Anita to change more rapidly in the sexual morality department, but that's definitely the way she's been heading for a while, and something was bound to happen to persuade her to expand her horizons. I, for one, am quite impressed with Laurell Hamilton's ability to hold me enthralled for 10 novels in a single series. This novel created an opportunity to explore sides of Anita Blake that she has repressed so far, and that may be suppressed again, if "the ardeur" fades as she's indicated it might. The action isn't as strong here as in most of the other novels, but the substitution of erotica for some of the violence is not necessarily a bad thing. Anita's atittudes toward killing have changed substantially over the series. Now, her attitudes toward sex are changing in similar ways. Granted, the changes are happening more rapidly, but really, I'm amazed that anyone who's followed the series this far is bothered by it. If the series continues, I'm sure we'll hit the point where Anita-from-book-1 would look at Anita-from-book-12 and se nothing but a homicidal nymphomaniacal monster-lover. We, however, will have seen how she got there, and hopefully understand that that is not really what she is.
Rating: 
Summary: Not very good, but I kept turning the pages.
Review: This is easily the weakest book in the Anita Blake series, and yet even the weakest book has the power to be a page-turning read -- even if sometimes you're turning pages in a desperate effort to get to some semblance of plot or action. There's far too much navel gazing, repetitive conversations, not-particularly erotic sex scenes, and arguments that don't seem to go anywhere. Ms. Hamilton needs to get back to the fun mysteries and intriguing plots that made this series such a success in the first place.
Rating: 
Summary: Hamilton does it again
Review: After reading all of the other books in the Anita Blake series, I didn't think it was possible for Hamilton to add more spice to Anita's life. The triumvirate finally hits home and all hell breaks loose. I'll admit it isn't the best of the whole series, but it has that classic Anita Blake "feel" to it that draws me to reading the books over and over again. I hope that she writes another one, because I just can't get enough of Anita's twisted world.
Rating:
Summary: Anita does it again!
Review: Once again Anita Blake manages to get herself into and out of a lot of supernatural problems, not the least of which is her love life. The attraction to the new man in her life was fun to watch develop and created some wonderful scenes between the other two men in Anita's life. There are a few changes in Anita outside of her love life though. One of the most striking for me is how prayerful Anita has become. While it is never preachy, it is certainly there and with little explanation as to where it came from. Anita still cares for the people that she meets around her, even if it is a bit reluctant at times, but I'm sure many will agree that her big heart underneath the tough exterior is what makes her who she is, and is why we care about her. Laurell K. Hamilton has done a wonderful job in bringing Anita back to life. Ms. Hamilton's writing continues to improve and this book has a sense of flow to it that the others seem to lack. This was a book that I could not put down. Thank you Ms. Hamilton for the wonderful gift!
Rating:
Summary: Just what I needed
Review: I've been reading the reviews and many of you say you're disappointed with Narcissus in Chains but as you can see just as many of us loved it. Anita goes in another direction, she gains new powers and more understanding of the powers she already has and she's got a new boyfriend. Yeah there's a lot sex going on but so what, you've read worse. This novel may not have been what you wanted but it certainly made its impact on you all given the number of reviews written in a month's time. Anita still rules whether you like it or not. You can hate the direction Laurell K. Hamilton has taken but there will still be many of us who stand behind the changes she's made. I've been following Anita's adventures from the beginning and will continue to because she she's worth it. Do I regret buying this novel - Never!!! Can't wait until the release of "A Caress of Twilight".
Rating: 
Summary: what the?........
Review: First let me start off by saying i am a huge Laurell K. hamilton fan and i love the anita blake vampire series, i also enjoyed a kiss of shadows and nightseer. Now having said that I would like to know what the heck happened with Nacissus in chain. In this book Anita blake comes back to st. louis and it seems like she is ready to confront her relationship with the triumvate
while she is celebrating her bestfriends birthday Ronnie sims, she gets a call from gregory one of her wereleopards.It seems that Nathaniel is in trouble yet again and anita has to ride in on her white horse to save him, but shes going to need a little help from Jean-Claude master vampire who she has been shutting out for six months. the story that follows kinda made me angry. i was glad to see that she was willing to come to terms with the triumvate, i was even willing to tolarate Richard the "superwuss" werewolf, but ms.Hamilton did something i did not expect she introduces a new character Micah nimir-raj of the were leopards, whatever.
He is oh so understanding , he is wiling to do whatever she wants as long as Anita keeps him as a lover okay, whatever! What about Jean-Claude? He seems to have faded in to the backround never to return unless Anita needs something explained. For me the appeal for the series was just not Anita herself but Jean-Claude sexy as hell Vampire and Master of the city. Its a crying shame to bury such a lovely character. Anita is everyones protecter with her around who needs the cops. I use to like Anita Blake because she was tough with out being butch, she was scared even though she hated it, she had some morals. It seems she has turned into super slutgirl executioner. She shouldnt be bothered about what kind of men dead, alive or furry she sleeps with but how many are interchangeable in her bed. i expected her to change but not like this!
Rating:
Summary: Thanks Laurell
Review: How do I feel about NiC? I feel ... absolutely nothing. In that regard, NiC has got to be one of the worst books that I've ever read. I never even entered the Anitaverse, I was just staring at ink on the page. None of the characters generated any sort of emotional response from me, not even two pivotal scenes. Nothing.
As someone who's been reading AB:VH for a few years, I'm disappointed that Laurell has felt the need to change her characters so radically. No one's actions were in character, and the characters' actions were inconsistent within the book itself. However, I do feel the need to thank Laurell for two things: First, LKH is off my shelf, off my wish list, and out of my wallet. I have absolutely *NO* interest in the next AB:VH book. If Laurell felt that it was her job to alienate long-time fans, then she has done that extraordinarily well.
Rating:
Summary: The bottom of a downward spiral
Review: The "plot" of this latest in the Anita Blake series has degenerated to nothing more than a platform for bizarre sexual aberrations between a variety of "monsters," from lycanthropes to the biggest monster herself. Richard and Jean Claude are portrayed with the depth of cartoon caricatures, others about whom one might care are abandoned along the way (Damian), and the "cultural insights" that once made the glimpses into the worlds of lycanthropy and vampirism intriguing are so long dead that it's unlikely even a necromancer could resurrect them. But hey, you sure know what everyone is wearing.......
Rating:
Summary: It's hard to put down...
Review: I've read the entire series of Anita Blake books and this was not the best one. That said, I still couldn't put it down. As usual, the story moved from one crisis to the next with very little down time. I don't think that any of L. K. Hamilton's books will ever be considered boring. I don't mind Anita's ever-increasing power or the lack of character development, but I'm hoping the characters and their relationships will be more important in the next installment. Like many readers, I was disappointed by the anti-climatic ending. I enjoying this series because I never know what's coming next and the resolutions are usually half victories at best. This story wrapped up a little too neatly. My main concern is with the increasing graphic descriptions of sex and torture. I understand that sex and torture is all part of the world that has been created, but I just don't want to know all the details. Bottom line is that despite the flaws, I still loved the book and the series.
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