July 21, 2007

The Harlequin

Finished this book, the latest in the Anita Blake series, yesterday. I'm really feeling mixed about this book. It's clear that the author is driving toward a serious story arc, and that things are going to get very good and very intense in the near future, but at the same time, I feel like the books are becoming nothing more than 'advance the plot'. I don't really feel like this book, taken individually, was anything of note. At the same time, we learned a lot of very cool things about the characters and lore and some significant milestones were reaches in several characters lives and relationships. I certainly wouldn't have wanted to miss this volume in the series, but I also don't think it would have hurt me to skip it from a story arc perspective. I'm also getting a little concerned w/ how the story seems to be becoming more 'world in a bubble'. I mean, what about Anita's *job* ?! Is she still employed? What about her being a damn vampire hunter? Does she still get called out do go kill a vamp somewhere other than Jean-Claude's territory? Why was Edward and Olaf in this story? They didn't really bring anything to the story. Yes, you can see that they're going to be integral shortly, but still... Perhaps part of my feelings come from how fast I read this book (couldn't put it down), but it seemed like the stpry blew by. Excellent story, and Anita seems to getting a grip on the ardeur so that the book isn't one long needless sex-fest (about time), but I really think the book could have easily been twice as long as it was.
If you're into this series, this is an excellent addition. If you're a casual reader of the series, you may not really care for this book. If you're new to the series, please don't start with this one, and please take your time getting through the series before getting to this one.

Posted in at 08:58:15