First time poster, but totally annoyed so couldn't help it

[theblackraven.livejournal.com]

I was an old school Anita Blake fan. I'm totally edgy (have pink streaked hair yo, lol) but couldn't take her books once plot started to become non-existent (I haven't read really since NiC). So I did what she recommended people to do on her negative reader oh so long ago. I gave up the books and read other ones (Ilona Andrews, Patricia Briggs, Kim Harrison) to sooth the urban fantasy crave. Way way better ones. Most of what I hear now, I hear from this list because you guys are awesome. I used to hold on to the hope that maybe the books would get better, but that's gone now because of Kiss the Dead.

There's just one little thing about me. I was an Asher fan. It's how I met my best friend, he'd rp Jean Claude, I played Ash. (This was quite some time ago, we've now been friends for over 10 years and I haven't done an RP for quite some time). So a bit sentimental in my attachment there too. Ash was my only hope of the series, since he's the only one who's ever stood up to Anita and didn't get shipped off as an Anita-hater.

So when I heard on the review on Amazon that Asher got in a fight Anita in Kiss of Dead, I had to go look. Now I wish I hadn't. Is it just me or does LKH need to rid the story of anyone who opposes Anita? And the whole time she's trying to make Asher sound like a douche in the story, it just reads to me that Anita is throwing a, to steal the phrase from LKH, Whiner Baby Tantrum, about him not falling in line with the rest of the sheep and questioning the multi-horde-of-people thing.



So they're sending him away for a month so he can go through the same mind control as Richard maybe? However I do like that he says goodbye to Jean-Claude and makes Anita butt-hurt because he doesn't want her with them. Also...is it just me or is this like the whole re-hash of the fight in NiC but instead of Asher winning, Anita called a do-over so she could break any shred of decent characterization left in him away so Anita can make everyone around her feel sorry for her and hate him for being a 'meanyhead'.

Usually I don't hope for characters I like to leave a series. But I really hope he takes the job in the other city. He'll be 'The Awesome one' that escaped her vagina of doom. Or at least, that's how I'll remember him, as the whole thing in KtD just made me angry.



Any characters you guys hope Escape from Anita too? Am I the only one who really likes Asher? =D

Comments

[world-dancer.livejournal.com]

Asher was one of my favs when I stopped reading at Cerulean Sins (which holds the title of "Only Book I Have Ever Flung At A Wall). He just had a decent and complex characterization compared to a lot of people in the stories at that point.

I used to like Damian, too.

And the lesbian werewolf (Sybil? I'm blanking on her name).

And of course, Ronnie back before she developed a weird jealousy for Anita having tons of sex with random men.

[theblackraven.livejournal.com]

Sylvie! I loved her too. She was like the only bad ass woman in the book that didn't have that weird jealousy Anita thing (that I remember). Wonder what happened to her, though I don't think a lot of the wolves have been in the books for awhile, have they?

[subtle-shades.livejournal.com]

...I think she ended up straight. And then jealous of Anita? I know I read the straight thing somewhere...

[world-dancer.livejournal.com]

I heard something like that, too. And then dead.

But I don't care. I didn't read those books, so I'm just going to stick my fingers in my ears and go lalalalala. ;)

[subtle-shades.livejournal.com]

Dead? That seems a bit extreme after making her straight and jealous. Wasn't destroying the very fabric of her characterization enough?

.....now that I've typed that, probably not.

[theblackraven.livejournal.com]

Just another reason I'm glad I didn't keep reading...
That's just.... *facepalm*

[guardians-song.livejournal.com]

Straight by accident, wasn't it? I thought Hamilton actually admitted to goofing up there and changed "I don't do women" to "I don't do men" in later editions.

[subtle-shades.livejournal.com]

I have no idea. It's like the thing with the Micah-raping-Anita scene in NiC. I don't care what spin you put on it later. Whatever you put down first and published, as a published author, is what I'm holding you to.

[magdalen77.livejournal.com]

LKH was called on it, but she didn't admit to a mistake. She blamed a young editor. Though since she had a no edit clause at the time, that's a bogus excuse.

[cherose228.livejournal.com]

Interesting, too, that she's now bragging about HAVING an editor.

De Nial is NOT a river in Egypt.

[paksenarrion2.livejournal.com]

Ronnie in the first couple of books was awesome. Then she developed this weird jealously/pruderys shit deal. But then again, every woman of fuckable age in the LKH world is jealous of Anita's Magical Vagina. *eye roll*

[starrysnafu.livejournal.com]

Asher is badass. I hope he escapes too.

Actually I like most of Anita's vagina's victims. Hopefully everyone escapes, except Nathaniel and Jean-Claude. (Someone has to stay behind to keep the monster distracted)

[theblackraven.livejournal.com]

Poor old JC that used to have balls. (I've never really cared for Nate, so okay with him feeding the monster! lol.)

He is bad ass. I really don't understand how suddenly everyone 'hates' him in this book because he's all 'WHAT IS WRONG WITH BEING WITH ONE PERSON!?!'. *headdesk* Also, I think he's the only one that acts like a vampire. *shrugs*

[subtle-shades.livejournal.com]

I loved Asher! (And Jean-Claude. I never actually read the books for Anita. She was like the distasteful cover charge to get to the fun stuff.)

And, seriously, that's always been his goal, never Anita. Perhaps Anita forgot that somewhere along the way?

[theblackraven.livejournal.com]

100% agreement.
I think she did forget it. Btw, Really bitch move in kiss the dead though.

-spoiler- So apparently Asher tried to carve himself out a little life with another guy in the harem, and got upset when that guy was trying to bring in another girl (And Anita of course had to shove her ass into that business). They all 'exile' Ash (the whole sending him away for a month deal), so because Asher would rather spend his goodbye with JC and not Anita, she's all butt hurt and goes to console Asher's other guy, the one that's 'so in love with Asher', by screwing him. Because you know, nothing says love like sleeping with the woman who's banishing the guy you love. There was so much fail.... -spoiler-

[subtle-shades.livejournal.com]

Hmmm... You phrase that like you expected better from Asher's guy. (Another girl... as in a non-Anita-girl? *is shocked* Do they EXIST?) Who was Asher's perfidious guy?

It reads like Love According to Middle Schoolers. (Or Possibly Immature High Schoolers.) 'Cause everyone knows, you don't sleep with your important people's boyfriends... unless you want to hurt them, of course.

[theblackraven.livejournal.com]

Sadly, I think I did. Not sure why though...lol. I really should know better in Anita Blake: Love for Middle Schoolers
(rofl, yeah another non-Anita girl. Though I'm not exactly sure if they DO exist. I think they're like the chupacabra.) I think his name is Dev (short for Devil or Mephistopheles or something.I got semi-lost with all the nicknames if they were the same person or not lol).

[astronauta.livejournal.com]

omg, I'm glad I'm not the only one who got a little lost there. I was like.... there are are nicknames for nicknames?

[theblackraven.livejournal.com]

lol. Apparently so. She's got so many characters anymore who all act the same, it's hard enough to tell who's who without all the goofy nicknames. If she's not going to kill off any characters, she needs to quit A) Adding new ones and B) Focusing on those new characters for the paragraph or rambling pages the boink Anita. The earlier books worked well because she focused on a core cast (JC, Richard, Jason, Asher, Stephen, Nathaniel, Jamal (Or Jamel, I can't remember), Sylvie, Shang-da, Dolph, Zebrowski, Burt, Larry. Anita was limited to going places where at least ONE of those cast members was there who kept Anita on point. Now, we're lucky if we even see one of those cast members existing.

[kyoko-minamino.livejournal.com]

You're not alone. I liked Asher before Anita jumped the shark--his personality, his role, and what it used to represent. LKH has had this really weird borderline homophobia and Asher was one of the first characters to sort of break through it all because he was legitimately in love with Jean Claude as well as Juliana. I actually loved the idea that there could be three people who loved each other equally and shared one another just like a normal couple, especially since they were vampires and most of the time, vampires don't really "love" anything. I also liked that he had a good reason to hate both Anita and JC back in Burnt Offerings, and then slowly overcame it. But after that, he just became another booty call and someone to have Anita bitch and whine at when she has nothing else to use as a "plot."

I've been hoping Asher would escape Anita's Doom Crotch since Cerulean Sins so if he hangs out elsewhere, I'm fine with it. I just wish JC would do the same thing and they could live together in happy leather-wearing, lace-cuffed harmony away from Anita. But that's just me.

I also want Jason to escape just so he can move in with me because I may be slightly still in love with him even after all this time. But I digress.

[theblackraven.livejournal.com]

Total agreement! I loved Asher for that very reason. Because he wasn't in it for Anita. His hatred was 100% legit in Burnt Offerings, and the character was so rich. Even his small scene in Blue Moon was awesome. And the fact he called Anita out on her shit in NiC....which was like the only good part of that book.

What really irritates me is he even brings up the point that he wants someone to love him over everyone else for once. To where a girl just can't waltz in and take what's his. A valid point, and what's Anita's response? It'll never be enough for him. He could have Narcissus but because he doesn't want Narcissus, nobody'll ever be good enough for him. I didn't think he ever cared for Narcissus really, so I don't see how because he won't go with that option, he has too high of standards for anyone else. =/ Logic fail.

I also kinda miss when Rayna was inwardly trying to kill Anita. She should magically come back and start trying again and succeed .

I miss Jason. He was the awesome sauce. He should totally escape and move in with you. XD

[kyoko-minamino.livejournal.com]

Oh, I can't thank you enough for mentioning his bit in NiC. I just reviewed that novel on YT in its entirety and I got SO angry when Anita tried to bitch at him for stopping her from screwing JC when she was supposed to be getting Damian out of the coffin he'd been trapped in FOR SIX FREAKING MONTHS. I love that LKH wanted us to be on Anita's side. Um, no. Asher was absolutely right to stop their stupid pointless eyesex to go help her vampire servant. Ugh.

Poor Asher. He just can't win and he so deserves better than this series. Flee, Asher. Save yourself.

Raina hasn't been around for quite some time, if I'm recalling properly. I feel like she was just a plot device and LKH ran out of ideas so she doesn't really do much any more. Though the concept confuses me a lot from a theological aspect: if Anita can call on Raina's spirit, does that mean there is no heaven/hell? Or is Raina in hell and Anita can just talk to her like she's on an internal cell phone? So confusing.

I'm so glad someone else approves of this plan. xD

[theblackraven.livejournal.com]

YES! (I will so have to look at your review now lol). Asher = The responsible one. Kiss the Dead seems no different. The whole time your suppose to feel sorry for Anita during the Asher battle (and magically everyone's on Anita's side too and crucifying Asher for being *gasp* a vampire and sticking up for himself by using his every advantage), and I just can't see Anita's point of view. The author shouldn't have to tell me I should feel bad for a character repeatedly and try to tell me this other one is so evil. I should be able to see it....which...given the actions of the 'heroine' of the series...I just don't.

I'm not sure. I'm sure it's hell for Raina either way (I always want to spell her name with a y for some reason). She hasn't I don't think. I just remember her being able to heal people when Raina was feeling generous and Raina trying to kill her the rest of the time by making her powers or something go wonky. I suppose it was probably just a plot device to give Anita more powers until she quit needing plot to do that.

[kyoko-minamino.livejournal.com]

(The reviews are called Snark Theater. I hate to self pimp, but hey, might as well) Ugh, there's nothing worse than an author desperately trying to get you to sympathize with a character who is dead wrong. And these days, no one's wronger than Anita Blake. Her selfishness and psychopathic tendencies are astounding. Besides, is there any build up to Asher getting tired of Anita's crap or is LKH just trying to whittle down the absurd number of male models following Anita around?

Oh, Raina went to hell for sure and she probably married Satan when she got there. That was one seriously evil bitch, and that's saying something in this series. But it's for that reason that I don't particularly miss her. She creeped me out.

[astronauta.livejournal.com]

Uh. You just now became my favorite YouTube Channel. How have I not heard of Snark Theater? I'm going through them and I'm laughing my ass off. Don't mean to be a creeper, but adding you on Twitter.

don't judge me, but I actually like that soft melody that plays at the start, too.

[kyoko-minamino.livejournal.com]

It's because it's just a low budget little project where I have fun. Plus, the Anita Blake fandom is kinda small so word doesn't really spread. And I don't find you creepy--I love new followers and I'm glad you like the reviews.

I LOVE the song that I chose for the opening credits. It's actually from the 2007 Beowulf film. It's called "Gently As She Goes" and it's composed by Alan Silvestri. Fantastic music, so no judgment here.

[plastraa.livejournal.com]

Wish I had seen your Snark Theater vids earlier they are awesome!

The only problem I have with them is that they sort of makes me think I want to read NiC again, even though I hated it the first time I read it. Somehow you made it sound a tiny bit interesting and I'm not sure that was your plan. :-P

[kyoko-minamino.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I'm glad you like them. ^^;

If you do, don't say I didn't warn you. Honestly, the only entertaining bits are Jason's one liners. Everything else about that novel is 100% wretched.

[plastraa.livejournal.com]

Crisis averted, I finished watching the rest of your vids and remembered again why I hated it! :) (Love your stuff though.)

I haven't had the strength since that book to read any more Anita books. I do a walk by of amazon every time she writes a new one, hoping it will be better...alas :(

[diaage.livejournal.com]

[I'd like to start this off apologizing for both length and tedious grammatical errors as I am at work and typing this on my phone. Also warning for Asher specific Hit List and KtD spoilers. :D]

Finally! Lol an Asher post I can rant on! I'm so glad I'm not the only enraged by her treatment of Asher in KtD. This is pretty crazy, but I also met my best friend role playing Asher xD (she didn't play JC though she played Acheron from Dark Hunters series? I forget.)

Anyway I literally threw the book across the room at that point. I had such high hopes of the series turning around. Ever since Hit List where Damian got a (very) random girl friend, JC had a threesome w Richard and a new girl WITHOUT Anita and most importantly (imho lol) ASHER GOT A BOYFRIEND, I was doing backflips. Finally, a little emotional maturity! Oh look, I naively thought, she's finally coming to terms w the fact that she isn't enough to keep all of them happy! She'll finally let a couple of her man-harem go so that they can go have healthy, happy relationships that don't revolve around her uber snatch!

I was so young to think an ego like LKHs would listen to criticism.. Instead of these people being "healthy relationships" for our supporting guys, they're reduced to place holders for Anita while her orifices are otherwise occupied. Alternatively, Anita is still a UNIQUE AND SPEH-SHUL SNOWFLAKE and everyone is jealous of her when they're dropped like a used condom when Anita crooks a finger.

Now the fight bw Asher and Dev specifically... I felt a little ripped off. He gets the bf at the end of hit list, but she only mentions that they're seeing eachother during her last page wrap up. I'm so pumped to see how the relationship will develop that I dive into KtD right away. After slogging through chapter after chapter of (surpirsingly) sexless police work, Anita goes to the Circus to find Asher and Dev fighting. Dev wants to see other people, Asher wants him all to himself. ....sound familiar Anita? Look in a mirror!

Baring Anita's (LKH's) tenuous grasp of bisexuality (which doesn't bare going into right now) the fight itself annoyed me simply because Asher's characterization hasn't changed in what, seven years, maybe longer? He's still the whiney annoying butt-hurt asshole he started as. (I say this with as much love as possible seeing as my Asher has more depth than hers and I started writing him when I was.. 15. <.<) Its not fair that LKH gives a character with as much potential as Asher such a bad rep!

I don't even want to go into the fact that while comforting Dev over losing Asher, she ends up having sex w him because he "missed girls" T_T it makes the romantic (and everything else) in me cry...

I'd also like to point out how annoying it was that the city Asher is getting shipped to was never mentioned. I think it was "supposed" to be a cliff hanger but it came off, at least to me, as LKH being a lazy writer. Like she doesn't have a plan where he's going and figures she can make it up later...

Speaking of brainwashing, did I miss the boat when Richard got over his pathological homophobia? I never hated him for it.. Its either cannon or my head-cannon that Gabriel did some pretty screwed up crap to him for those snuff films before Richard was Ulfric.. (I have A LOT of head-cannon for this series as I've had to supplement my enjoyment of it over the years with fanfiction, so I apologize if this is completely unfounded.) But all of the sudden he's banging some new chick w JC and everyone is A OK with the situation? Color me confused.

[theblackraven.livejournal.com]

You are awesome. Just thought I'd share.

I didn't even read the whole book (of kiss the dead). Just loaded up a pdf and searched for Asher, as I was convinced after seeing the first part of the book, it was going to be a lot of Anita wangst and pointless cop stuff that doesn't even make sense half the time (My bro-in-law is a cop, it makes me cringe to read her police stuff anymore). But I had hopes that Asher would at least stick to his non-taking-of-anita-bullshit-without-a-fight-and-being-logical....

I was so naive too. Most of her relationship drama or 'LKH-logic' doesn't make any sense. (lol and I'm the same way with my Ash. It's okay to still be bitter, but it's like he suddenly goes bi-polar in LKH's world, one minute still pissy about his scars/nobody loves me and the next castrating himself for Anita).

What irritates the ever loving crap out of me is that there's a big to-do about how much JC cares for Asher and vice versa. I mean hell, back in NiC, Asher threatened to leave Anita and them because of how she was treating JC (and everyone else). Back in Burnt Offerings, Asher's stands on JC's side on the council. He's ALWAYS been there to help JC after Burnt Offerings, even if he hasn't been getting any. And suddenly in this book, JC basically throws Asher under the bus for Anita. It's not right and I can't believe her vagina is the magical that JC'd throw Asher away once again. (My bestfriend who played JC, he was so livid about this.) Or that everyone who he has protected now and in the past, would suddenly be all 'You hurt Anita, we HATE YOU!'.

As for the boyfriend, I wish I had high hopes for that like you did. But sadly, after seeing all her books, I don't think LKH can do a strictly gay relationship. I don't think she understands how there can be love without anita or another girl. And I think it is lazy writer-ness on her part (the whole banishing him thing) because she just doesn't know what to do with a character who doesn't want another woman in his relationships.

And no, I think your right about Richard having a reason for his homophobia. However, like all things 'LKH-Logic', it can be fixed magically. Anita's always right after all, and eventually all the characters need to see her reasoning. They just disappear for awhile and come back "fixed", logical or not.

(Said best friend and I also RP'd Gabriel and Raina at one point (We called it writerly challenge..it was kinda fun to write out of the comfort zone)...it made us miss the 'good' villains who gave characters a reason for their hatreds and hangups.)

[diaage.livejournal.com]

Yay we share in our awesomeness!

You're sooo right about the cop stuff. (LOL I bet your bro-in-law HATES CSI xD) This time everyones kind of just taking her word on her magic joojoo now. Even Dolph didn't give her shit this time around. Although I am glad that she spent less time throwing weights over her shoulder or benchpressing Toyotas or whatever she usually does to win her usual pissing contests..

I KNOW. JC and Asher breaks my heaaaart. JC sold like 100 years of service to Belle Morte so she wouldnt kill Asher... I cant see that kind of dedication just being thrown way.

Speaking of Belle Morte, I have some head-cannon that I really doubt the books ever went into (If they did and I somehow missed it, I apologize because I have puzzled this out over the last few years). Ive always kinda thought that Belle Morte sold them out to the Inquisitors because she knew they were leaving her. It makes perfect sense. She knew JC would be gone to visit his sick mother, she HATED Julianna and thought they were trying to replace her, and besides JC was her favorite. She also knew JC would come back to her needing help with Asher and she knew Asher would "never find someone to love him like she could" again, so she could mistreat him as much as she wanted.... As far as "good" villians go, my head-Belle has always been pretty bad ass.

Yeaaaaah you're totally dead on about how the LKH logic doesnt see how to men can have a happy relationship without a vagina in the middle. Although there WAS a new character this book... crap. he was a new cop. crap. hang on. -gets book.- Brice. He's on the force and very in the closet and he has a line.. KtD pg144 /"Put a girl in the middle, and its not gay, right?" Brice said, but he sounded more bitter than some theoretical discussion should be. "You fall afoul of some couple thing?" I asked. He glanced back down at his big hands. "You could say that."/

THERE IT IS AGAIN. HOPE. ;_;

Again right on the illogical magic "fixing" of characters. Dolf. Richard. Ronnie has been gone since DM at least. Haven got killed because LKH couldnt figure out what to do with a man who wouldnt fall in line... (We adopted Haven too. Another friend "rescued" him lol) And IMNSHO that new lion she brain-fucked into being her Bride kind of disgusts me. Nicky is everything she wanted Haven to be but couldnt make him. Although I did find it interesting that he killed off two lesser lions in his pack so they couldnt challenge him and told Anita about it. I dont remember what page..But she didnt have much of a reaction. something along the lines of "oh, I assumed you sent them to do mercenary work like the rats." -cue internal monolouge about how shes a cop first, and needs to keep seperate from the interests of the Rodere as much as possible.-

A Raina and Gabe roleplay sounds... really traumatizing actually. Especially if we're talking about the old Raina that could beat Anitas ass in metaphysics alone. I really wish the munin would come back.. I mean how is Anita gonna fight something thats a part of her? My Acheron friend played Gabriel for a minute too, actually. xDD Except we said Gabriel never actually got killed. He healed when she jabbed out his eyes and switched cities (to ours lol).

As fucked up as Gabriel was, I really felt like he was a good leader. Remember Cherry? I remember her saying something about how she was in a car accident before Gabriel infected her with lycanthropy, and had to have her leg amputated. So on the night of her first full moon, Gabriel sawed the scar tissue off and when she turned, viola, her leg was back.

I just don't see a "bad" leader going through that much trouble for someone he was just going to use and throw away.

[morilove.livejournal.com]

I've always like Asher for his anger. I was so enthralled at the point in one book - can't remember if it was Cerulean Sins or Danse Macabre ("this one time, at band camp?") - where JC nearly rejected Anita for her rejection of Asher, and then Asher nearly killed her with his orgasmic love bite. Oh, man, if only...

[diaage.livejournal.com]

You're right! That was the end of DM. That's when he discovered hyenas were his animal to call. Ho man. I want Narcissus to come back in a big way!

Enthralled. That's a great word. I always liked how he could roll her when none of the other vamps (even JC) could. I always kinda thought if he could ever get over his scars he would be a stronger MotC than JC. Like after the scars weren't the crux of his character anymore.

In KtD Anita mentioned she could probably heal them w her magical vag powers, but he wouldn't let her because he was afraid. I thought that was kind of reasonable actually. She'd have to reopen the wounds first, and what if it didn't work? He'd be back at square one. Asher has always struck me as very skeptical to the question of how strong Anita is and how long her powers can really hold out.

I don't think Anita will ever go through w it mostly because LKH won't know how to write him as emotionally stable, and if he didn't have a reason to go all Elephant Man at the drop or the hat.

Btw did anyone else squint at the description of his scars? I've always said they went halfway across his face (missing his lips and eyes) but this time Anita described them as barely brushing his cheek, like they were no big deal and he was being a huge whiney baby about them...