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[ilovelouisxiv.livejournal.com]

Hello, I'm new to this community, and I'm really excited I discovered others like me. :) Please be gentle.

I've read most of Laurell K Hamilton's books, but in Hungarian. I slogged through the later stories because I was fascinated by Jean-Claude, and vampires in general. As the series progressed, all I did was flip to the pages that had Jean-Claude speaking. I ignored the wretched 'ma petites' and completely unexplainable scenes and tried my hardest to imagine him as he should be. Well, my imagination can only go so far. 

The books have so much potential, the original idea of vampires and werewolves living out in the open is wonderful, but Hamilton seems like a very stubborn, vengeful type of person who has a difficult time separating her real life from her stories. There was an interview, I remember, where she was asked what her background was and how it impacted her writing. She immediately said "I have two degrees: English and biology." I found that a bit of an odd answer. She spoke so much of her DEGREES, her profound knowledge of political science and history (ha!) it's almost like she was bragging. She also speaks so much of how she defied and challenged her detractors, and the English professor that didn't like her. I've formed a picture of Ms. Hamilton and unfortunately it is a very negative picture, and it makes it even harder for me to enjoy her writing. She is smug and cannot keep her series steady. The series has no point! I couldn't believe my eyes when I read her response to a question about her future plans with Anita Blake; she said she didn't KNOW what she wanted to happen. So is it any wonder that the stories have so many mistakes and inconsistencies? Just compare the Harry Potter series to Anita Blake and all Ms. Hamilton's mistakes become glaringly apparent. J.K Rowling is in firm control of her characters, she kills characters that need to be killed, and has an amazing and developed purposeful plot, while Laurell K Hamilton seems to be haunted and controlled by the voices of these fantasies she created. They are just fantasies. They have no breadth.

If I weren't such a sucker for sexy French vampires, I would stop reading now. I miss Jean-Claude. I wish Laurell K Hamilton was smart enough to give him a plausible history ... and a surname!

Comments

[ladyravana.livejournal.com]

I've formed a picture of Ms. Hamilton and unfortunately it is a very negative picture, and it makes it even harder for me to enjoy her writing. She is smug and cannot keep her series steady. The series has no point! I couldn't believe my eyes when I read her response to a question about her future plans with Anita Blake; she said she didn't KNOW what she wanted to happen. So is it any wonder that the stories have so many mistakes and inconsistencies? Just compare the Harry Potter series to Anita Blake and all Ms. Hamilton's mistakes become glaringly apparent. J.K Rowling is in firm control of her characters, she kills characters that need to be killed, and has an amazing and developed purposeful plot, while Laurell K Hamilton seems to be haunted and controlled by the voices of these fantasies she created. They are just fantasies. They have no breadth.

You know, with this, you've REALLY hit the nail on the head when it comes to our many, MANY grievances with the later books. And my advice? You might want to stop at NIC. CS is marginallly readable. Incubus Dreams is a disaster. (I burned my copy, and it was a freaking HARDBACK.) Danse Macabre...I sincerely hope you haven't read it, because that's a book I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy.

Anyways...welcome to the comm! You will indeed find a save haven here among us former fans. Come sit by the fire and have some tea and cookies! We are the voices of reason fighting against the sanity.

I, like you, was (and admittedly still am) a JC fan. I have a softspot for that vampire, in spite of myself, and it's a pity that his great potential as a character has been so terribly wasted. *le sigh* However, I find solace in the PDS archive. May I point you over there? It has some excellent AB fics, and the forum isn't bad either. It's a mixed bag of fans and former fans, and overall, the people there are pretty nice.

http://www.pommedesang.com/efiction/index.php

There's the link. :) And if you want to try your hand at fanfic, sign on up! Your English is very, very good, if I may say so myself. I've figured that hey, if I don't like canon, I'll go read fic instead! It's better written and best of all, FREE.

[ladyravana.livejournal.com]

Fighting against the INSANITY.

Bah, I fail...*HEADDESKS*

I just caught that error.

Stupid LJ for not letting me edit comments. OOooops. :p

[windiain.livejournal.com]

God, I wish LJ would add that feature.

[ladyravana.livejournal.com]

You and me both. They add everything else? Why not an comment-edit feature?

*grumble grumble CURSE grumble grumble*

[ilovelouisxiv.livejournal.com]

Thank you for showing me this link and for the warnings of future books. And it's great to meet a person who shares my fondness for Jean-Claude. :)

The Hungarian translations only go up to Narcissus in Chains, so I couldn't read further even if I wanted to.

My English is good because I'm an English teacher. :)