A lot of early Anita Blake readers seem to be unhappy with the present incarnation.
That's because the first books were paranormal mysteries, emphasis on mystery, starring a heroine who had to stretch her abilities to the limit just to survive. I gave up at book #7, but as far as I can tell, the books are now about the sexcapades of an all-powerful goddess.
(Book #7 was itself an object lesson in how a fantastic editor can spin authorial straw into gold. It was apparently the first book without her original editor, and it was full to the brim with typos, illogical actions, rough characterization, and a thousand other flaws. I was particularly annoyed about the typos; it's as if the publisher said "They'll pay for any crap with her name on it, I won't bother polishing." And the publisher was right!)
Everything has to happen to the main character all of the time.
But it doesn't always have to be a quantum leap upwards in villain every time. The cops on Law and Order don't bust a guy with a knife one week, a guy with a gun the next week, a guy with a bomb the week after that, and a guy with a nuclear weapon during sweeps. There's always another guy with a knife or gun who's serious trouble. That threat is never done and over with. As there are other first-person mysteries where the narrator isn't losing track of their own limitations, I don't blame the first-person narration so much as I lay the blame at the notion that every book Anita has become so much more powerful that she must face something bigger and better every time.
Harry Dresden, from what I read, faced different challenges but they weren't on a steady incline upwards. Book #1, evil wizard. Book #2, assorted werewolves (fascinating work with the werewolves, there, I'll give Jim Butcher that!) Book #3, ghosts and vampires. Different baddies, different skill sets, but never a hint of "well, I faced down the wizard in the first book, so of course I'll be able to conquer all wizards from now on." Furthermore, he has a fluctuating set of allies; sometimes people like him and will help him, sometimes they'll tear him down - occasionally flipping back and forth in the same novel. He's certainly not collecting alpha statuses like green stamps.
(Hmm. Mud wrestling with tentacles).
Hee! On a similar note, did you know there's a book called "Cthulu and the Coeds or Kids and Squids"? One of the short stories is by Esther Friesner, who wrote "Love's Eldrich Ichor."
I've got to look up the Ghost and Mrs. McClure. That sounds like a good one.
I'm about halfway through and I'm utterly charmed. It's frivolous, definately, but a little chocolate for the brain is never a bad thing. Unless it collapses in the last few chapters, I'll be looking for the sequel come December.
It is odd, though, in that this is the first "modern" mystery series I've ever read. I read historical mysteries, or paranormal mysteries, which aren't the here and now, or I read series that were started many years ago and now have a certain quaint patina of age to them as technology marches on. It's rather disconcerting to be reading a cozy mystery that talks about the Internet, CSI episodes, ebay, and the Drudge Report.
no subject
That's because the first books were paranormal mysteries, emphasis on mystery, starring a heroine who had to stretch her abilities to the limit just to survive. I gave up at book #7, but as far as I can tell, the books are now about the sexcapades of an all-powerful goddess.
(Book #7 was itself an object lesson in how a fantastic editor can spin authorial straw into gold. It was apparently the first book without her original editor, and it was full to the brim with typos, illogical actions, rough characterization, and a thousand other flaws. I was particularly annoyed about the typos; it's as if the publisher said "They'll pay for any crap with her name on it, I won't bother polishing." And the publisher was right!)
Everything has to happen to the main character all of the time.
But it doesn't always have to be a quantum leap upwards in villain every time. The cops on Law and Order don't bust a guy with a knife one week, a guy with a gun the next week, a guy with a bomb the week after that, and a guy with a nuclear weapon during sweeps. There's always another guy with a knife or gun who's serious trouble. That threat is never done and over with. As there are other first-person mysteries where the narrator isn't losing track of their own limitations, I don't blame the first-person narration so much as I lay the blame at the notion that every book Anita has become so much more powerful that she must face something bigger and better every time.
Harry Dresden, from what I read, faced different challenges but they weren't on a steady incline upwards. Book #1, evil wizard. Book #2, assorted werewolves (fascinating work with the werewolves, there, I'll give Jim Butcher that!) Book #3, ghosts and vampires. Different baddies, different skill sets, but never a hint of "well, I faced down the wizard in the first book, so of course I'll be able to conquer all wizards from now on." Furthermore, he has a fluctuating set of allies; sometimes people like him and will help him, sometimes they'll tear him down - occasionally flipping back and forth in the same novel. He's certainly not collecting alpha statuses like green stamps.
(Hmm. Mud wrestling with tentacles).
Hee! On a similar note, did you know there's a book called "Cthulu and the Coeds or Kids and Squids"? One of the short stories is by Esther Friesner, who wrote "Love's Eldrich Ichor."
I've got to look up the Ghost and Mrs. McClure. That sounds like a good one.
I'm about halfway through and I'm utterly charmed. It's frivolous, definately, but a little chocolate for the brain is never a bad thing. Unless it collapses in the last few chapters, I'll be looking for the sequel come December.
It is odd, though, in that this is the first "modern" mystery series I've ever read. I read historical mysteries, or paranormal mysteries, which aren't the here and now, or I read series that were started many years ago and now have a certain quaint patina of age to them as technology marches on. It's rather disconcerting to be reading a cozy mystery that talks about the Internet, CSI episodes, ebay, and the Drudge Report.