Rating: 
Summary: I thought it was good
Review: And am I the only one? I feel that there was too much sex, but other than that I thought it was good. I thought the new characters were interesting esp. Micah and his bunch of cats. While Narcissus and his merry men were not dug into well depth, I think that there introduction can lead to new books. I love Anita's views and was glad that she finally dumped Richard Alaric Zeeman. He was holding her back. I think the 'denoument' was rather short, but the blunt way is Anita's way. The fight scenes were very good, and the back story that she might become a wereleopard was well supported by the fact that she did have a beast. The fact that she was a human servant might have prevented her from getting lycanthropy before, but tehy explained that they thought that this time teh cut was more than superficial might have something to do with the fact. Pay ATTENTION!! My only problem was that the editors didn't do that great a job editing and checking spelling. As usual. But thats okay too because it was still an enjoyable read.
Rating: 
Summary: So disappointing....
Review: Needless to say, I was supremely disappointed with the newest installment in the Anita Blake books. Gosh...I even pre-ordered it, anxiously awaiting for its delivery! As a huge fan of her books and characters, I was crushed. I have to admit that I was not too thrilled with the last one either..but, this book was obviously written without much thought to the plot. The entire book only covers a few days which just tells me that she is just trying to crank them out as quickly as possible. I will buy the next book of course, but I hope it isn't a third strike!
Rating: 
Summary: Provocative
Review: Thank you Ms. Hamilton. Narcissus in Chains is the first novel I've been able to read and retain since 9/11/01 -- I truly enjoyed it. Anita has taken on a new role, gained new powers and introduced a new major character, I loved this novel and you will too. Again thank you for bringing me back.
Rating:
Summary: Where's Edward when you need him?
Review: So this is number 10? Tired number 10. Silly number 10. Wasted number 10. LKH started out with a bang and has ended up with this mess of soft porn. No plot. None of the regular people we grew to love and hate. I agree with lots of other reviews. I would love to see Edward finally kill Anita! Edward, the only really sensible character in her whole series should step onto the pages of this horrible novel and put a satisfactory end to Anita with her whining and boyfriend problems. Thank God, I borrowed it and didn't pay LKH any royalties! As far as I am concerned, this series is over. And yes, I'm being kind. And Amazon better post my review. I am a good customer!
Rating:
Summary: WHAT HAPPENED!!!!!!!!!!
Review: After giving the world nine books that were genuinely interesting reads, Hamilton throws out Narcissus in Chains, a novel that has no plot, consistency problems galore, and Anita's new role as a sex crazed maniac (and, by the way, the sex scenes are boring if not mildly disgusting). The book has also piled another two dozen more new characters onto the pile, most of whom will never be fully explored and thrown to the side to be deposited on the old characters who apparently weren't good enough. How can she deal with these people when she hasn't resolved her relationships with everyone else? Truth be told, should we even care at this point? Anita, the suddenly super-powerful, is the center of the universe and the secondary characters we have grown to love can obviously be easily tossed aside when they no longer serve her purpose. To say I'm disappointed with this book would be an understatement. As I said before, the first books were amazing: the characters and stories were fresh, funny, mysterious, and yet surprisingly real. It's just a shame they devolved into this jumbled, unrecognizable mess.
Rating: 
Summary: Helloooo...Anita? Are you out there?
Review: Before even reading these reviews, my first thought after reading only a handful of paragraphs was "What happened to Anita?" The character's name might be Anita Blake, but was so far removed from the character which had been developing during the previous books. I'm sorry Ms. Hamilton, I know you probably put many hours into this manuscript, but it just felt wrong. It was almost as if someone else had written it, using Hamilton's name and knowing the basic mechanics, but the heart and soul had disappeared.
Rating:
Summary: A decent plot and character development would of been nice.
Review: I WAS a huge Anita Blake fan - I loved the strong fiesty female character, the snappy dialogue and the original plot lines of earlier books. However, I found this book unsatisfying and shallow. It seemed to be a bunch of loosly linked erotic sex scenes. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a prude - if Anita sleeps with everything (and it seems only a matter of time!) thats fine by me. I was dissapointed in the poorly developed plot and the lack of meaningful interaction between the major characters and also the complete lack of a convincing, or even a mildly interesting, antagonist. LKH's convenient creation of Narcissus and his bunch of merry werehyenas was just so unconvincing. The ultimate bad guy, who is anti-climatically revealed, comes across as if it was a last minute insertion in the book. I get the feeling LKH's editor said -'Hey Laurell, this book is really flat and lacks suspense, graft on a mysterious bad guy and give it a lift!' One redeeming feature of this book is 10-12 pages of interaction between Anita, Dolph and Zebrowski. It reveals the reasons for Dolph's antivampire views and also reveals something of Anita's feelings and priorites to Zebrowski. This type of character conflict - where the ideologys and firmly held views clash - is what I have previously found so interesting in LKH's novels, and is so absent in this one. (The scene about Jean-Claude's long-term imprisonment/torture of Gretal and his justification to Anita is another such example.) The book's ending was convinient and anticlimatic. There was no sense of surprise or suspense in the revelation of the ulimate bad guy. You just knew that the ever more powerful Anita (whats next - she will leap tall buildings in a single bound?) was in no danger. For me it was the emotional conflict of the 'Anita character' in her continuing fight to retain humanity in the face of huge odds that I find so engrossing in LKHs novels. In this book major events in Anita's life and emotional well being were glossed over, such as the radical change in her relationship with Richard, and her calm acceptance of becoming a monster and a sexual predator. In this book Anita seems to have just given up, or maybe it is more accurate to say LKH has given up. One more book like this and I will.
Rating: 
Summary: Waiting for redemption
Review: I waited breathlessly for Narcissus in Chains and was, to be gentle, disappointed. But I wasn't disappointed by what did happen, I was disappointed by what didn't. Yes, Anita finally broke it off with Richard. (Thank God.) But she never reconciled her own feelings for her beasts with Richard's feelings for his. Yes, she finally realized that her smug adherence to human morals was detrimental to the monsters she had come to care for. But she never voiced a full apology to Jean-Claude-- the monster she hurt most. Yes, she finally caved to the idea that she was no longer human. But she never made us see it work in her real world. The books are always carefully structured so we have three or four hectic days of action, followed by a one chapter denouement... I needed more denouement. I needed to see that one on one conversation with Jean-Claude that would redefine the relationship-- after all, he's the only lover she's actually chosen of her own accord, not of some sort of preternatural attraction. I needed to see her deal with Nathaniel and Micah in a meaningful way as well. These scenes are coming-- I can feel them-- they must be locked away in Hamilton's imagination somewhere. So I am waiting for the release date of her next book. And the redemption of what is still one of my favorite series of all times.
Rating:
Summary: Not as bad as I feared.
Review: I had purchased the book but then became uncertain about reading it after I viewed some of the reviews. I was pleasantly surprised. I enjoyed the book. Ms. Hamilton seems to be leaning toward the Anne Rice side of the genre in this one, all the S & M sex scenes. But unlike some other reviewers I did not think it came out of left field or was totally unexpected, she had mentioned this in several of the other books in the series. I have also read all the books in the series and I too felt my confiedence in the character of Anita waver. My moment of questioning took place after "The Killing Dance". I could not understand why a character Ms. Hamilton had worked so hard to portray as a loyal person, and a person of strong convictions could casually have sex with the one "person" who had put her and hers in danger not just once but on several occasions. I know, I know, she LOVES him. Whatever. I like Jean-Claude but for the character that was first presented to us that was quite a leap. Unlike that slap in the face I feel this book actually was based on solid ground work. There have been months between books and she has been working with her pard to bring them closer. She is much more comfortable with being touched and touching. Is she completely comfortable with herself, no. But how can she when she is changing so rapidly? Not everyone will like the changes in Anita but they are changes that had to be made. One could not face all that she has and stay the same. Am I thrilled with all aspects of the book? No, my three stars say that as well. But I did enjoy this book.
Rating:
Summary: Extremely Disappointed
Review: I cannot believe the turn Hamilton has taken with this series. I started with Guily Pleasures and found a fresh, new approach to vampires. Why could Anita not stay as a vampire executioner and necromancer? Why, oh why, did she have to get tangled up in "Nima-Ra, Nima-Raj, etc. to the point where I cannot even keep up with storylines anymore, because I'm trying desperately to make sense out of lycanthropy rules. And what she's done to Richard and Jean-Claude -- well, I think this will be my last Anita Blake book, especially if Anita turns out to be a "furry kitty" in the future. I think Hamilton has truly messed up with her loyal Anita/Richard/Jean-Claude fans this time. If this book had been different, we could've forgiven Obsidian Butterfly and things could've gone sorta back to normal, but not now. I knew from the scene at the beginning with Anita/Richard/Jean-Claude that this book was doomed.
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