Narcissus in Chains; because I just won't let that horse die

[ellenel13.livejournal.com]

So, today I began choosing the books I'm going to be taking to my new dorm in a months time and I ran across the old copy of Narcissus in Chains that I rescued from my town's public library soon-to-be-trash bin a few years ago and I couldn't help myself; I actually flipped through the pages. I'm convinced these books have some sort of magnetic pull that entrances people for a few minutes. That's the only thing that can explain their continued success.

Anyway, I ended up wondering about some of the plot points that LKH pretty much forgot about. I only tried to read Ceruleans Sins after that, and I must admit it scarred my psyche, so I maybe she did mention some of this stuff and I just wasn't brave enough to wade through the horrifying attempts at a JC/Asher/Anita "threesome" (JC and Asher need the assistance of a woman to fuck? WTH?). So, I ask those of you who were strong minded enough to deal with the hell that were the next books, did LKH ever do anything with the following plots even if it was only at the "epilogue" at the end of all the books:

The thing with Dolph and his son marrying a vampire. That was the only part of Narcissus in Chains were I was actually interested in what was going on instead of just morbidly fascinated at the sheer badness of the book. Did Anita ever meet with Dolph's wife like she promised to do?

The werefox Jill. And while we're on the subject, why did LKH decide to characterize foxes as cowards? In all the legends I've ever read, foxes were either powerful tricksters and villains or sacred animals. Did LKH do her fox research from Dora the Explorer?

And no, I will not be taking that book with me to college.

Comments

I tink I thaw a puddy tat!

[witchwillow.livejournal.com]

Wait wait wait.

Hold on.

Anita Blake fights off Red Woman's Husband and goes home to deal with her life, her 'boys' and St. Louis.

Then within one month (two months?) of that, she's entrenched in the ArDeur, assaulted and raped, broken up with Richard, invited the rapist into her home, is now having sex in public with whomever is closest, repeatedly, until she bleeds, doesn't find anything wrong with her behavior, doesn't think she's being used, hasn't been to work in ages and called her best friend a jealous ho?

On top of that, Edward shows up, and doesn't think anything is hinky with her since the last time he saw her when she was being a strong, independent woman who'd cut the men in her life off in order to have time to think?

OMG!

Anita's dead.

Anita's dead and she's in hell and because it's hell she doesn't even know this is all her torture....

Wait, no, didn't someone promise her they could make her do things and make her like it?

She's not dead. She's been captured.

OMG! OMG! Anita Blake's been captured, mind whammied and turned into a sex jester for some Vampire Council Member's amusement!!!!!


OMG! OMG! Jean Claude totally allowed himself to be a conduit to manipulate Anita in order to continue being Master of the City. He gave up the necromancer for the good of all VampireKind!

OMG! And maybe Richard keeps picking fights with her cause...cause he's protected from the mind whammy? But how? I mean even Edward doesn't seem to be protected....

OMG it's a big arching mystery and the only problem is, is that it's too big for LKH to write and that's why it seems to suck, but think about it, think about it!

...

...

...

Wait, I think I had this thought before. Was it this well thought out? Did I smack myself upside the head for trying to see story where really there isn't any?

(But look, look at the time line! Mind whammy! Big time! That's why everyone in the world is suddenly a jealous hater!)

Please someone stop me before I talk about how the Harlequin Squad is really there to make sure the Necromancer's conditioning has really stuck and she'll now try to use sex before using her actual powers of smite.

Hope is a terrible thing to waste in the Anitaverse.

Re: I tink I thaw a puddy tat!

[ditaykan.livejournal.com]

...holeeeeee crap. I CLING TO YOUR THEORY LIKE MY CAT DOES TO MY HEAD WHEN BEING BATHED.

The dude from OB who had the necklace of tongues! That was basically the last book that was even remotely plausible!

IT ALL MAKES SENSE NOW

Re: I tink I thaw a puddy tat!

[mitrian.livejournal.com]

Or maybe her plane crashed on the way back, (thus reaffirming that planes are the scary) and everything since is a morphine-induced hallucination while she's laying in pieces in an ICU somewhere?

Re: I tink I thaw a puddy tat!

[ditaykan.livejournal.com]

Yes... perhaps even in a coma, or with brain-trauma of some sort. And when she comes to, the stress of it all has turned her eyes *gasp* BLUE!

Re: I tink I thaw a puddy tat!

[mad-troll.livejournal.com]

Oh, how could I have been SO BLIND?
This is obviously the REAL plot, LKH just cannot get near to it!

I plunged into the AB:VH series via Obsidian Butterfly, which I liked despite its shortcomings. Oh, WOESY WOE, why didn't I stop there?

Re: I tink I thaw a puddy tat!

[saucyirishlass.livejournal.com]

I've been thinking about this.... Is the current Anita a Pod-Anita of some sort, just as Podward is not the REAL Edward (the REAL Edward is safe and ploting revenge), or is this who Anita has just unfortunately become because of LKH's lunacy? Has she just devolved, or is she a different entity entirely?

Re: I tink I thaw a puddy tat!

[rozasharn.livejournal.com]

That actually makes a lot of sense. I don't like the idea of our main character being tortured in front of us for several books, but the mindwhammy idea would make it possible to have Anita revert to her original self--albeit perhaps a much more paranoid and cynical self.