Long Time Lurker First Time Poster With LKH Question

[bluesimplicity.livejournal.com]

Greetings Everyone,

I've been enjoying this community ever since the release of Micah, and I just want to say hi and thanks to everyone out there. You guys have managed to make me laugh through the tears after bashing my head repeatedly on my desk at the mess that LKH's writing has become.

On that note, I have a question about LKH's writing, and I'm wondering what everyone thinks:

Basically, I think LKH is good at coming up with ideas, but not being able to actually execute them. In the Merry series, she's been going on about going to the Seelie court for several books, and STILL we haven't gotten there. In the Anita world, she's always going on about "THE FIGHT" between Anita and Richard, and yet it never happens. (Poor poor Richard. I used to hate you so. D*mn LKH for making me actually feel SORRY for him.) Olaf is supposed to have come back ages ago, and we still haven't seen him. I think Laurell is very good at breeding the plot bunnies, but then doesn't know how to handle them, and the result is we get really boring, icky, repetitive, boring, homophobic, misogynistic, did I forget to mention BORING, sex scenes as an attempt to hide the lack of plot. Anyone agree, disgree? Other thoughts? Because I swear, I just want to see the Seelie Court and then I'm DONE!

Nice to meet you all,
Blue

Comments

[katekat]

I think you're right. I also think that plot lines organized on sticky notes is not the best way to keep track of things you've developed in the past.

And when I found out that the 3rd? 4th? books didn't even *make* it to the Seelie Court i refused to buy them. I mean, come on, that's like less than a month's time! How hard is it to get them to one damn celebration?

[rantingmule.livejournal.com]

I think one of those books encompassed like...two days. TWO FREAKING DAYS, and it was a whole book. It broke my brain and I haven't read the series since. :P

I also think that plot lines organized on sticky notes is not the best way to keep track of things you've developed in the past.

Given how easily stickies get lost? AhhhhhYEAH.

[rantingmule.livejournal.com]

I think Laurell is very good at breeding the plot bunnies, but then doesn't know how to handle them, and the result is we get really boring, icky, repetitive, boring, homophobic, misogynistic, did I forget to mention BORING, sex scenes as an attempt to hide the lack of plot.

I've gotta totally agree on that. She draws everything out for aaaages but then rushes through the books, timeline-wise. It's awkward, and I don't like it. :P

Not to mention yucky.

Because I swear, I just want to see the Seelie Court and then I'm DONE!

How many Merry Gentry books are there now? I kinda stopped reading them, because...yeah, just freaking GET TO THE SEELIE COURT, MERRY. It's stupid how long it's taken. :P

I remember when LKH's books were like...a week or two weeks of timeline per book. Now they're a couple of days if that. WTH?

Also, hi and nice to meet you, welcome to the community! :) *is the resident mule*

[salveo-opes.livejournal.com]

There's only supposed to be one MG book left.

Last I heard/read, it's supposed to come out in December.

[judes.livejournal.com]

what? seriously?

...not that i want the series to drag on for as long as AB:VH, but she's only going to finish the whole seelie court and wrap all of the loose ends in one more book?

[salveo-opes.livejournal.com]

http://www.laurellkhamilton.org/Merry/Mistralskiss.html

*sigh*

I'm ashamed I even knew this, but I have a friend who hasn't given up on LKH yet, hence our discussion about it.

*slinks off to go write her own fic for entertainment*

[dinsedaledarby.livejournal.com]

I don't even know what's going on in Merry land because I think I read two books and gave up on it.

I have decided that Anita has the cosmic horn and there is no help for her.

[twilight-ashes.livejournal.com]

I've only read the Anita series... But she DOES have the points there to make it a good story.

If she could stop letting the sex scenes get in the way of the actual story she's trying to tell, she might actually be able to get my respect back again.

After all, the sex scenes were interesting in the beginning, now they're just the same words with different characters thrown in. I'd be much happier reading, "I fed the auduer(sp?) off of [insert hawt male character(s) here]" and letting my imagination take over if I wanted it to.

Describing sex is an art form. Sadly, I wrote better sex scenes when I was still a virgin.

[sinonada.livejournal.com]

Hi! I'm fairly new here, but I just posted which looked to be a no-no. Something about spy's and such :)

I think the problem is that LKH's success has grown with her new way of writting, not that one necessarily caused the other, but she thinks that she has grown as an author and probably assumes that this is better, it sells, it's what people want and it's what she wants to write. It doesn't hurt to have praises left and right from the hubby, who obviously doesn't know the meaning of editing and who shields her from negative criticism.

I believe the MG series was to be 5 to 7 books. She then changed it to 7-11. At the rate she is going, it might be longer 19 to 21.

Don't You Know...

[bluesimplicity.livejournal.com]

21 books and they STILL won't have gotten to the Seelie Court.

Her pacing drives me crazy. Quite honestly, I don't need to know how many times she's had the sex-fu, painted the walls, combed her hair, yelled at somone, felt her beast stir, blah blah blah.

As has been said REPEATEDLY - she need an editor.

[saadiira.livejournal.com]

The thing is? Sales are starting to fall. She's being STUBBORN.

[jperceval.livejournal.com]

"Breeding the plot bunnies," I LOVE it!

And I agree.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_hallow_/]

The thing is, I think Laurell is very good at following through on amazing plot and writing incredibly inventive, well-written and enjoyable works. Just look at her older AB:VH books. I just don't know what has happened recently. I think part of it has to do with the fact that she obviously didn't want to write Anita Blake books anymore and she is trying to move into a new direction while hanging on for dear life to her meal ticket. It just saddens me because I know she has it in her and I used to look up to her so much...and I'm sorry but there is no way anyone can call her recent few books "good" let alone great or amazing.

[defiler-wyrm.livejournal.com]

First off, welcome to the vocal masses!

Think it's likely not only that, but the fact that she's frankly gone right off the deep end. It's no longer simply a matter of flogging a dead horse [as far as AB:VH goes; never got into MG] — she's just flat-out not the same author that started the series.

[rantingmule.livejournal.com]

I tried reading the Merry Gentry series. It had less plot than most of the porn films on my hard drive. Also, the ONLY way to tell her harem of men appart was what colour their perfect ankle-length hair was. :P

[saadiira.livejournal.com]

Agreed. Also agreed with the poster above...rampant plot bunnies, no follow through. Just more bad sex.

-Dira-