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The Harlequin by Laurell K. Hamilton
By Shelly | July 14, 2007
Synop: (From B&N)
Anita Blake is about to face the challenge of her life. Into her world-a world already overflowing with power-have come creatures so feared that powerful, centuries-old vampires refuse to mention their names. It is forbidden to speak of The Harlequin unless you’ve been contacted. And to be contacted by The Harlequin is to be under sentence of death.
Long-time rivals for Anita’s affections, Jean-Claude, Master Vampire of the City, and Richard, alpha-werewolf, will need to become allies. Shapeshifters Nathaniel and Micah will have to step up their support. And then there’s Edward. In this situation, Anita knows that she needs to call the one man who has always been there for her…
I can’t begin to say how happy I am that the old Anita is (sorta) back in The Harlequin (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, Book 15)
There still is not any significant character growth in The Harlequin. Nobody has grown (I’m not counting Anita getting new powers or new sex partners) in the last several books except Nathaniel. I’ve enjoyed watching him come into his own. But all the other characters are mired in stagnancy. Jean Claude is still the (mostly) unperturbed Master of the City. Micah is still perfect in his every move, gesture and breath. Richard is still the same annoying asshole that just can’t get his crap together.
Speaking of Richard. I want him to die a horrible, painful death. I’ll take my chances with him killing the triumvirate. Really. He is the whiniest most unappealing male ever. Every book Anita and him have the same fights and every time Richard gets his feelers hurt and he must run off and lick his wounds. ENOUGH ALREADY! It boggles the mind that this pansy is King of the Wolves. Or whatever his title is. Kill him, kill him, kill him.
Okay, now that I got most of my gripes out of the way, this was an interesting story. I liked reading about these assassins sent to take care of business with Malcolm’s church. I enjoyed reading more about Marme Noire (I probably spelled that wrong). I liked that the story has a definite beginning, middle and end. And best of all, I liked that Anita no longer has to have sex every fifteen minutes. There’s actually room for *gasp* a story! Now you may be wondering why I gave it a B+. Well, I’m comparing them against the last few books and comparatively speaking, The Harlequin is gold. Compared to other authors, stories, styles and other things typical literature is “graded” on, I’d give it a C.
I wish that I could steer clear of this series. but I liken it to the train wreck that you can’t help but rubber neck at as you go by. Finally, I didn’t feel as though The Harlequin was a total waste of money. I’m actually looking forward to the next one to see if it’s still heading in the right direction or if The Harlequin was a fluke.
Topics: Paranormal, Romance, The B's, Urban Fantasy | 2 Comments »
July 26th, 2007 at 8:33 am
I read the first book of the series and was left feeling ‘meh’ about it. I found Anita Blake to be overly stubborn and just something about the books didn’t thrill me. I can’t put my finger on it but after all the hype in the reviews on Amazon I was expecting something more.
Is the first book just not so great or are they all the same?
July 26th, 2007 at 6:34 pm
Breigh~ You can tell that LKH’s writing gets stronger with each novel. I really enjoyed the first 10 or so. But I like Anita’s character. She stays pretty stubborn and does her own thing in most of the books. I would say if the first one didn’t capture you, you probably won’t enjoy the following ones. But that’s JMO.