Narcissus in Chains

Rating:
Summary: Narcissus in Chains
Review: I love this book almost as much as I love Obsidian Butterfly, but I can understand, to a point, why some fans may not have this book at the top of their lists.

At the end of Obsidian Butterfly, Anita decided that she needed a vacation... badly. When she got back to St. Louis, she took a month off work and police business. Unfortunately the peace and quiet doesn't last very long. She is, after all, Anita Blake.

Everything starts out fairly ok, even with Jean Claude and Richard getting along, with the latter seeming to have come to terms with everything going on. But then it all goes up in flames like a forest fire. She nearly dies and then has to face the local werewolf pack and try to convince them they haven't lost their lupa. While that is going on, the representatives from the less numerous shape-shifters in town approach her with news of kidnappings and disappearances of their leaders. To top it all off, she meets up with a true Nimir-Raj from a visiting pard and sparks fly of a different kind.

And that's just what is going on around her. While this is going on, she's also having to deal with her own inner problems (like Richard being worse than ever) and the possibility of being a Nimir-Ra in truth.

The biggest issue I've had with this book is that I'm constantly finding myself wanting to strangle certain characters and knocking sense into others. Some of the problems that Anita is having to deal with are absolutely ridiculous, unless you really take the character personalities into count. People are frustrating in real life, and they are not much different in Anita's world. That's one of the things that is so appealing about the world that Ms. Hamilton has created... aside from the fact that there is magic, shape-shifters, vampires, and other metaphysical creatures, it IS just like our own. Though, I don't know about you, but I'd rather live in her world any day. ^_^

Rating:
Summary: I like sex too, but ....
Review: I liked the earlier Anita Blake books. There was more humor and I enjoyed her job duties. She started going down hill in Blue Moon. While I like sex as much as the next person, I feel the story line has suffered. They just aren't as much fun to read as they used to be. The fun banter between Anita, Jacques and Richard was enjoyable. A free-spirited, take-charge woman holding her own with two domineering men. Now, she's not all human, but horny as heck. Her Meredith Gentry books started out with unlimited sex, so I've pretty much come to expect lots in that series.

Rating:
Summary: Mixed Feelings
Review: When I first opened up an Anita Blake novel, I would consume it and then move on to the next one. The await for Narcissus in Chains was almost painful, so I have to confess I was slightly disappointed when I finally got my hands on it.

Don't get me wrong, it still has the dark flavor of all Anita Blake books, but how much Kinky S&M sex scenes do we need? It was getting to the point where I wondered where the plot of this book went to? At first it was "Fun" to read, but half way through it, I was tired of the sick twisted sex games. It seems like Laurell K. Hamilton is torn between keeping Anita the "Saint" or the "Naughty" Anita. 

Yes, I know who complains about too much sex in a book? I only do because it use to be the erotic accent to her books, and now it is the main theme.

Also, how many times does she have to "rescue" her pard? Or the Vampires? Or Richard? And so Forth? Or have to play the tough chick ? It is starting to feel like the same story with a new setting. I know Laurell can do better. I loved Obsidian Butterfly for that new story line. How about a Book through the eyes of someone else for awhile? Or a bit more about Anita as a child? Etc.?? Just some thoughts.

Now my postive thoughts on this book. I'm glad that some of the issues were resolved. And that some of the new characters seem to be interesting, and perhaps a little less twisted as the present characters. For those of you who have read the book you will understand what I mean. I adored that it was thicker and longer then most of the other books. And the fact that Laurell K. Hamilton seems in conflict over her characters, she does seem close to finding a comfort zone for Anita to play in.

A great read, but may be slightly disappointing to some hard core fans. I do hope the next one holds something new and less Soft core porn :)....

Rating:
Summary: Very good
Review: This book focuses on Anita's place among the lycanthropes. She is the queen of the wereleopard pack, and comes face to face with another pack of wereleopards, and their king, Micah, who she feels oddly connected to. She is dealing with walking away from Richard once and for all. She's dealing with her mounting feelings for Jean-Claude. And she's accepting her place among the leopards she cares for and leads. Many people were disappointed. I thought it was very well done and takes things to a whole new level.

Rating:
Summary: Why do people complain?
Review: Why are almost all the reviews about this book bad? I thought it was a very good book - not one of her best, but certainly not one of her worst. It had all the elements of a good, if not great book, and some interesting relationship developments.

Rating:
Summary: Disappointing to the Extreme
Review: I used to be a huge fan of the Anita Blake books and I used to sit around drooling for the next installment. Lately, however, I now sit around praying the next book won't be a further let-down. This book was MAYBE 20 pages of plot. Maybe. The rest? Anita jumping into to bed with whatever comes along that is even the slightest bit male. Jean-Claude was my all time favorite vampire and now I cringe whenever I see him show up because all he seems able to do is sit around and sigh over his losses. Now I love erotica but I like my erotica with a reason and with romance. There is no romance in these books anymore. I even got so tired of the sex I began flipping through entire chapters looking for anything that looked like a plot! Can you imagine? How horrible to actually skip sex to find a plot! I liked the twist at the end but it didn't make up for the previous 95% of the book which disappointed me greatly. And if I read about Anita insisting that she doesn't have sex with just anyone I'm going to scream . . . or send her to a shrink to get that pathologic liar problem fixed. I will give this series one more chance because I know how wonderful it could be but I am most certainly not buying the hardcover. I would suggest waiting as well. Go back and read the first seven books. They'll give you more satisfaction.

Rating:
Summary: further insights
Review: Seems a lot of readers of this series were 'disappointed' by this book, the 10th in the series. I was not. Granted, the direction this book takes is different from the previous novels, but you can't write ten books and not have any character development. Readers must understand the change in Anita and the other characters stem from more insight and development. Not every book can be wholly about some supernatural killer on the loose. This is a series! Readers need to keep in mind whatever the author does in her books will probably set up a situation in an upcoming novel. She's done this very thing before. I feel alot of what NIC does is just that. A lot of the insight and character development will be utilized later on. You can't expect things to be all neat and tidied at the end of any of her novels in this series because it is only a small part of the whole story, basically. There's still plenty of tension and intrigue in this book like the other novels preceding it. Yeah, a lot of this book dealt with Anita's relationships, but its very necessary considering how involved Anita has become in the lives of the other characters. She has changed, but her perception of things has not happened over night. It is good to see such profound development in a character and I applaud LKH for daring to make Anita less narrow-minded, more aware, and more conscious of who she is with the book. With all Anita has been through, with all she has learned and experienced, how could she not change some?

The only things I didn't care for in this book was the character Micah and the 'villian.' The villian wasn't near as frightening or intimidating as what Anita has gone up against before, his character wasn't very well developed. His motives for doing what he was doing weren't very clear. Micah deserved to die at the end, I thought, for what he does. Anita's devotion to him even after she finds out the truth about him seems a little confusing to me. Had Richard or Jean-Claude done anything like that to her, she'd have shot them in the blink of an eye. Maybe Micah will get killed off later in the series. I can only hope. I fear however, the author is setting him up to replace Richard in the triumvirate. Why else would he play such an important part in Anita's life so suddenly? And why else would LKH continue to destroy Richard's character and integrity? Like I said, this is a series....

All in all, this book is a viable and necessary part in the development of the characters in this series and still fast-paced, action-packed and erotic. Fans will enjoy it if they keep it in perspective. I can understand why someone who hasn't read the entire series would find it confusing. I can't stress enough how important it is to read this series from the beginning.

Rating:
Summary: Heart in my throat...
Review: Heart in my throat, eyes wide, and mouth dropped open. That's how you end up reading most of Ms. Hamilton's books. Narcissuss in Chains is racy (actually, that's an understatement) and filled with controversy. Most people will not like Hamilton's 10th book because of that alone. You can not read this book unless you've read the other books in the series! Nothing will make any sense! So, please, discount those reviewers who have not read the rest of the series beforehand. They can't like the book, because they don't have the background information.
This addition to the series, like the entire series, is not meant for children. It was never intended for children. Do not go into this series, or this book, expecting everything to work out in a traditional way. That's life for you, you have to compromise and find happiness where you can.
Another reason this book is not meant for the conservatives is because of the various love scenes. Ms. Hamilton's imagination is wild, unrestrained, and detailed - and so are her sex scenes. Deal with it. The plot requires this, the character development requires it. Every romantic coupling is logical, either for the characters sake or for the sake of the plot.
And that is the way a good author should right. Congrats, Ms. Hamilton, on a wonderful book.
- Sophira

Rating:
Summary: great voice, good plot, trite characters
Review: Wow... do I have to say any more?? WOW and double WOW! Hamilton is the master of werewolf/leopard/rat fiction (there's an interesting subgenre, eh?). Great dialogue and a definite voice throughout all of it; Anita Blake is a great character to follow around. My only complaint is that every male in the book looks alike. I had trouble keeping track of who was whom.

Word Ninja

Rating:
Summary: Sex and Blood
Review: If all you want is SEX and BLOOD, this is the book for you. If you are interested in plot and character development, choose something better. Ms. Hamilton's characters are pulled around like puppets by a series of bloody, mindless events. When she runs out of gore, they all jump into bed and have sex in excessively detailed ways. This is the first Laurell K Hamilton book I ever picked up, and I will not waste my time or money on any of her others.