More evidence that Anita and Merry are the same character:

[denouement16.livejournal.com]

LKH has run out of metaphors.  Do y'all remember way back in Danse Macabre that Jean Claude, after Anita complained, said she was Prince(ss) Charming?  Well, for those of you who haven't delved into the crapfest that is Divine Misdemeanors LKH uses the exact same metaphor for Merry.  Doyle refers to Merry as the guards' Princess Charming.  She rescued the guards from their cruel fates.  Apparently it's the only scenario LKH can come up with.  Using the exact same metaphor from Danse Macabre really interfered with staying immersed in Merry's world.  It can be trying to make sure I'm thinking about Merry and her background instead of Anita when I'm reading the Merry Gentry series, so this repetition really bugged me.

On a more general note, Divine Misdemeanors wasn't that bad for a last minute, rushed project.  That qualification is important.  There were numerous typos and YAMGIs in this installment that really affected the suspension of disbelief, but we all know that's par for the course with LKH, so I guess I won't dwell on them here.  Here's my rundown of the decent parts of the book. For starters, the book had a plot!  The mystery actually felt like part of the book instead of a peripheral consideration.  Because there was an actual plot, the book has a clear beginning middle and end unlike some of the more awful entries in the Merry Gentry series (I'm looking at you Stroke of Midnight through Lick of Frost)  The sex wasn't overwhelming, though it was still poorly written.  The characterizations, particularly that of Barinthus, felt a bit off, but I could deal with it.  Additionally, Merry is letting the male and female guards sleep with whomever they wish.  Now, maybe Anita will allow her harem to sleep with others*.

*I know it's never going to happen, but a lady can dream.

Comments

[putana.livejournal.com]

Back when MG first came out I was really happy - MG had all the sex and...sex, and Anita Blake got the crime/fantasy stuff, a bit of sex, but not so much. Unfortunately for LKH, with her turning AB into the same thing, her other series is rather pointless. I'm not surprised the two worlds are merging in her head.

[denelian.livejournal.com]

well, to be fair [in a snarky way] Merry is letting the guards she doesn't WANT sleep with other people.

just sayin;. :D



the Barinthus shit PISSED ME OFF. OMG way to totally FUCK UP an awesome character - and one who was, for all intents and purposes, a surrogate father! christ on a stick, that still makes me fume, and i got it at the beginning of December [to be fair to *me* my boyfriend buys me books instead of flowers - i wasn't gonna buy it, but then i got it on date-night, and what was i gonna do? read it, of course. i am so EASY for books. :D ]

[denouement16.livejournal.com]

I know! Barinthus was a great character. It feels like he's the Richard of the MG series.

[denelian.livejournal.com]

I -

OMG. you're right, that's exactly what it is.


::RAGERAGERAGERAGERAGE::!!!!

[knowthyself.livejournal.com]

I haven't read that far in AB or in MG, but the comment seems to be more fitting for MG anyways, all things considered.

Also, I have to ask--are her guards choosing to not sleep around because they love her oh-so-very-much, far-too-much-to-ever-want-another? :P

[denouement16.livejournal.com]

Yep, because she's their Princess Charming.

[world-dancer.livejournal.com]

In general I find the Merry sleeping around thing not as annoying as the Anita sleeping around thing. It was part of the plot from book one, and it really is a legit plot point in a story of succession (even if I've stopped reading Merry out of boredom with the plot always being interrupted by breaks for sex).

[denouement16.livejournal.com]

MG has always been more about sex, but the thing about the Merry sex scenes that started bugging me around the third or fourth book was the dialogue mid-coitus. Who pauses during sex to have a conversation about politics and intrigue?

[magdalen77.livejournal.com]

The only thing that is kind of annoying is that LKH had this rule in the Merry world that once a couple has become pregnant together then they are monogamous from then on. I guess it was established to make sure that fertile pairs stayed together. LKH got around it by having Merry get pregnant by six different men, so she has to stay faithful to six men. Apparently that was too limiting for LKH's fantasies, so now Merry is allowed to sleep with anyone, not limited to her "kings".

[ktoth04.livejournal.com]

I just... I still don't understand the typo thing. I know editors don't edit any more, but they can't run spell check? Helloooooooooooo MSFT Word, meet Laurell's editor!

[x-trickster-x.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry, off topic but your icon is just incredibly pretty <3

[ktoth04.livejournal.com]

Some of them are, but not all of them. And I have no patience for that problem anyway. Her editor probably reads it at least once before they publish it, isn't that his job?

[ktoth04.livejournal.com]

lol

[leggomylegolas.livejournal.com]

The mystery plot could have been interesting but it really annoyed me that the entire thing was basically "hey look at this crime scene wow" then "hey look at this one, wow" and then "oh look another crime scene we really better figure this out soon" and then some guy literally just walks into her office and goes "um, my friend did it here's his name".

They didn't solve shit.