In the 8th Merry Gentry Book by Laurell K Hamilton Merry has turned down the thrown of the Unseelie court and exiled herself to LA along with anyone who wanted to be away from the craziness and danger of the sidhe courts.
The exile is so far quiet with no one threatening Merry or her men but she has had to return to working for the Gray Detective Agency to earn money to support everyone who is now in their clan. The book opens with Merry being called in to consult on a homicide case where several small demi-fey have been killed and posed like a storybook illustration- exactly like one.
Working on the case puts Merry and her people in the spotlight and the paparazzi are becoming more hazardous than the enemies. at every tun they have to be careful of human paparazzi and inhuman threats- this keeps them on alert.
Merry is pregnant though not showing yet and this also throws a bit of a wrench into everything because the effects of the pregnancy are starting to catch up with Merry including tiredness and morning sickness.
Throughout the book Merry is working trying to solve the fey serial killer case while keeping herself and her people safe while those amongst her want to squabble over power. The Goddess makes herself know through Merry several times and the sex is really back in this book- though lacking some of the intensity it has had in previous books.
I feel the book focused more on sex and violence then the actual plot and storyline and several parts were very repetitive. I found myself thinking "yeah, you've said that already-several times" I also felt this book was much more "telling me instead of showing me" than previous books in the series. Sure Merry's voice has always been dominant but in this book it was distracting... so much repetition.
The ever growing cast of characters has reached a confusing level as well. Other than her closest men, her inner circle of lovers, the rest of the cast needs to be tamed. Too many are becoming filler and detracting from the story not to mention have you racking your brain trying to remember exactly who everyone is and where they fit into everything.
So while I still enjoyed the book and did not want to put it down until it was finished I was left feeling a little less than satisfied with what this book contained. It opened more doors, more questions and while it completed the main story of this book, the murder, it left me wanting something else, something more...something that wasn't fulfilled.
Posts
4 comments:
I was afraid that's what it would be like. Honestly, I was pretty happy with the way Swallowing Darkness ended, and though it left plenty more to be told, I would have rather had a satisfying enough ending than a series that just continues to drag on. I also don't like it when LKH lets the violence and sex take the forefront instead of the plot. If there isn't a story in the first place then all the sex in the world won't save it, especially when an author's built up an entire world.
Sorry to drag on for a minute there, I really do love this series, I just get really frustrated with it at times.
That's interesting you should say that, Amanda.
I haven't read this series but I've read the Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series. I, too, at times became frusterated with the books because the sex and all the shape-shifters (yes, I had to write them all down to keep them straight) were in the spotlight, not Anita's profession.
I love both the series, I think so much about the worlds and the characters are amazing- just sometimes the story stalls with all the talky talk the main character does, especially Merry, then all the sex and/or violence takes the stage and the story falls into second place, sometimes almost completely disappears. I want more action and world buidling, more meanningful plots and story lines, more character interaction that actually means something.
Like sure this book was OK but the murder really had nothing to do with everything else these books have had going on so far and didn't really fit. Nothing progressed much in Merry's world.
I feel the same way about this book. While I love LKH and will snap up everything she writes, I think you have to be a fan to enjoy it.
I think it was choppy and used the backstory as filler several times.
Post a Comment