Excerpt from Crimson Death Available

[desert-vixen.livejournal.com]

If you just can't wait for the 11 October release, there's a small snippet of Crimson Death online here.

Despite all the hype about Edward and Ireland and cool stuff actually happening, they've chosen to showcase a pretty generic and unsexy sex scene, but with Damian in it, along with Nate and Anita.

Based on the excerpt, she still hasn't learned anything about specific words for sex scenes ("his body" ahoy!) or the idea that images of a person being like "meat between his teeth" is NOT SEXY, especially after early books when bodies were described as just so much meat.  I get that she's trying to tap into the whole shifters = animalistic deal but it's not quite working.

DV

Comments

[suzycat.livejournal.com]

Everything about this snippet is what's wrong with LKH.

"We were all naked and wet with our hair slicked to our bodies [ready for hot sexy group sex]. Some random character had accused me of making people into sex slaves using this power but I disagree. This power is what made him think that. Blah blah blah blah blah blah description of how the arudeurueruer is like needing food, like perhaps sometimes I just need a snack to top up my healthy regular dining and other times I'm really really hungry om nom nom food is fuel boilogy other beings like Jean Claude need different food so this food is just a snack but for me it's real food that I need boilogily and also to stop me becoming a monster blah blah blah..."

Any eroticism set up by the first sentence has now been extinguished.

PS I love the way this scene directly addresses certain non-troo fan complaints: "I do not make my sweeties sex slaves because I just have to have sex to stop myself becoming a monster, which I am not because I carefully feed the arudeiruer with sex."

[desert-vixen.livejournal.com]

I did like this: "One minute the three of us were standing in the shower like reasonable naked adults" but yes, everything else was pretty awful.

And that is probably a reaction to people noticing (per Envy) that a woman can't shower in an LKH book without men thinking it's an invitation.

[poolnaiad.livejournal.com]

*has an automatic back-button event* Romance. Why (teh °^€ß) is this labled romance? There is nothing, nothing romantic about Anita using her harem.

[shadwing.livejournal.com]

She's been moved to the Romance Arm of Penguin so yes they are going to name it romance. And note this is post of what we can assume is an almost complete re-write of the book.

[fadeinthewash.livejournal.com]

It's better than being filed under sci-fi/fantasy!

[lliira (from livejournal.com)]

As poolnaiad says, there's nothing romantic about this. There's also nothing erotic about it. It's a scene of people abusing each other. Not because it's rough. (Though biting someone until they bleed is incredibly dangerous and I will never be okay with it, the human mouth's a cesspit, I don't care if he's a were.) But because I don't see any joy or fun or affection or even lust in any of this. I see two men who are tied to this woman sexually against their will and are acting out by sexually abusing her in their turn.

If you actually trust someone, you don't have to tell yourself how much you trust them over and over during sex. During BDSM play, if you are utterly terrified and have to try to reassure yourself in your fear that the person doing stuff to you loves you so won't hurt you (BULLSHIT, btw), there is something seriously wrong. Anita is not acting like a sub. She is acting like someone being violently raped by her boyfriends and trying to pretend that's not what's happening. The only emotions I see from Anita here are fear and mistrust; as usual, I don't even see her physically enjoying anything. The only emotions I see from Nathaniel and Damien are anger and cruelty. This is sick.

[poolnaiad.livejournal.com]

Oh, exactly! Nobody is enjoying any of the activities! Any!
...

No, that's not right either, Nathaniel might actually get off on playing the 60's housewife...

*sigh*

[northernwalker.livejournal.com]

ITA, that scene made me really uncomfortable and creeped out.

Also, the whole vampires-feeding-on-lovers seems icky to me. Yasmine Galenorn had her vampire point out, "She's my girlfriend, not my lunch!" and that is how I feel about it.

[desert-vixen.livejournal.com]

The whole part where she keeps telling herself that she trusts him gave me a creepy vibe. At least no soap was involved in this one...

[dwg.livejournal.com]

ALL OF THIS!

I'm also recoiling in horror at the bite because thigh injuries hurt omfg.

If anything, it reminds me of Beauty where Anita's describing watching her face in the mirror as she's screaming and it's...not with orgasmic bliss. It's horrifying to get these scenes where it's clear that there's no consent (or what consent was given has been revoked or doesn't extend to where the scene goes), let alone any enthusiasm, no emotion from Anita, and it's all handwaved of "well I orgasmed so I enjoyed it." EUGH.

[lliira (from livejournal.com)]

And the thing that really gets me is the total lack of lust on anyone's part. LKH doesn't write non-con fantasy: she writes, and glorifies, rape. With all the hatred, terror, and emotional destruction that goes with it. And then she claims this is a "masculine" view of sex! She frightens me.

[dwg.livejournal.com]

Technically it is "masculine" just the extremely toxic kind that's all too prevalent IRL. Not something to aspire toward, LKH.

[devilkitty0.livejournal.com]

How do you forget to eat?

Hell the ardeur would be the best damn ice cream/cookie/cake excuse EVER! Have sex or chow down on a Death by Chocolate?

Hmmm... Let me think.

Considering how dreadful AB sex seems to be, the cake wins hands down.

Brussel sprouts and kale sound better then what I just read.

DK

[northernwalker.livejournal.com]

I am the person who constantly thinks about food, so IDGI either.

[lliira (from livejournal.com)]

Some people forget to eat when they're extremely stressed and/or busy. Why Anita keeps "forgetting" to eat, though... it's because she wants an excuse to "have" to feed the ardeur. Plus LKH thinks a woman not-eating is virtuous, like she thinks a woman not wanting sex is virtuous, so Anita must be forced to do both.

[duamuteffe.livejournal.com]

I'm clearly going to need the big bottle of Jack.