Book Time

Some books just piss you off. My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoultย is one of those. She spent all the time of the novel developing a character you care about only to go “oops! I don’t know how to end this so I’ll do a Lifetime movie plot twist! :D”. There are other issues: Brian is one dimensional, his wife Sara is two dimensional, and the whole Campbell/Julia love thing? Yeah, so not needed in a story like this.

I read this book last year, maybe even the year before, but I looked it over again the other day whilst cleaning and realized how bitter I was over how she ended this novel. She is obviously talented if she can upset people the way she did: if she hadn’t created a believable cast no one would have cared. So in my own mind I have decided to pretend that ending didn’t happen and make up my own. I feel better that way.

Then there is Laurell K. Hamilton’s Anita Blake series. It started out so strong. So nice and fun to read, with just the right hint of sex to spice it up. I picked up one of the more recent books and, wow. Just wow. Every freaking chapter there are pages and pages and PAGES of full on pornesque sex. And it’s the same kind of sex every damn time! Anita is a whore. Apparently she is a whore in love with all her men (she’s up to seven at the same time. Yeah.) doesn’t help. It just makes her greedy especially since she wouldn’t want her men to sleep with other women, and she’s undecided on letting them sleep with each other.

So she says she’s “in love” and that Richard should accept sharing her. Ok, wait, so he should share you and be happy about it, but god forbid you share! It’s ridiculous! I did not start this series to read a bad soap opera gone even more wrong, I read it to read about a kick ass zombie killer! WHERE ARE ALL THE DAMN ZOMBIES?! She says her job is her life and I’m a little over half way through this novel and she has yet to go to work. She has sex. A lot of sex. She wakes up and has sex. She has sex before bed. She has sex at noon. Sex sex sex sex. She manages to avoid saying “penis” so the sex scenes read like a romance novel. Only with far less tact and entertainment.

As much as I complain about WOT and Rand and his hos, Hamilton has made me realize how much I prefer them to, well, Blake and her sex slaves. At least Rand knows he’s an ass and doesn’t have all three in the bed with him. Yet. ๐Ÿ˜›

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10 Comments

  1. Wow. I had no idea about the Anita Blake series. :/ I actually read the first two or three a couple of years ago and liked them at the time. It even sounds more full of sex than Anne Rice. o.o

    That first book should be on Lifetime.

  2. Oh thank goodness… I was thinking of picking up some Anne Rice, but now I think I won’t bother!

    Also sort of intrigued how a book that so seemingly steeped in sex actually manages without the word “penis”!!

  3. I like some Anne Rice. Well old Anne Rice. I haven’t read any recent stuff. Her book Cry to Heaven was one of my favorites for a long time. I also liked Pandora. However, some of her books do have, uh, sexual issues. And obviously her erotica is going to be sex filled. ๐Ÿ˜›

    Having said all that, both Rice and Hamilton are drama queens. *shakes head*

  4. OMG, that Anika Blake thing sounds horrible… It seems it’s even worse than I thought it would be after researching just a bit about it !!!

    A friend of mine LOVES Anne Rice stuff and has spent years trying to convince Me to read that- However, I dislike and despise vampires of all sorts and I’m not going to read books about such creatures ๐Ÿ˜›

    I’ve heard that WOT books were very good when the series started, but now you can read hundreds and hundreds of pages of boredom and more boredom and the story barely advances at all… Which is why many fans have abandoned the series

    Is that true ???

    If it is, I would HATE it… .

    I prefer to read faster novels, with a very direct and quick narrative and many things happening all the time- That’s my own style of writing, by the way ๐Ÿ™‚

    My longest novel so far -already finished and printed- is 91330 words long, but it’s packed with enough action and beautiful moments to form a 7-hour long movie… .

    You know why ???

    The structure of each of my novels is carefully designed, each chapter is like a little tale on its own, each paragraph is detailed to sound beautiful and every single freaking word is necessary… .

    That’s why one of my novels takes Me a whole year of discipline and effort, despite the fact they are relatively little in word count ๐Ÿ™‚

    My sister, by the way, thought that my first trilogy had a very heartbreaking ending… She wanted Me to change the final scene, but I won’t- I’m still heartbroken and deeply in love with that story, but the ending shall not change and that’s all

    Marie, I wonder what would you think of my books ๐Ÿ™‚

    Sheila

  5. There is a Fantasy book with a style that I liked very much, and it is Die Unendliche Geschichte -the neverending story- do you know it ???

    I read it some years ago, and I think it had some influence on my own writing style… the speed of the story, and the fact that there is ALWAYS something going on, without unnecessary words ๐Ÿ™‚

    I loved the way the author describes everything, so surreal and clear -much better than the descriptions of Tolkien- and more dream-like, which is the way I like Fantasy to be

    What I’ve always disliked about Die Unendliche Geschichte is the “message” it has about love and good feelings and so on -my stories are much darker- and the fact that in the end the story comes back to Earth ๐Ÿ™

    If you have never read it, don’t watch the stupid movies -they are really crap… the author hated them- and read the book instead !!!

    Sadly, these days it seems you need to be American citizen and write in English in order to be successful in Fantasy… I think that is very unfair, but I still hope to give the world good Fantasy in Castilian ๐Ÿ™‚

    Sheila

  6. “Iรขโ‚ฌโ„ขve heard that WOT books were very good when the series started, but now you can read hundreds and hundreds of pages of boredom and more boredom and the story barely advances at allรขโ‚ฌยฆ Which is why many fans have abandoned the series”

    That is true. The 11th book was much improved and more of a return to the first five/six books.

    I don’t think you need to be American to be successful in the fantasy department, but I do agree that it is biased towards native English speakers, which is unfair.

  7. Thanks, Marie !

    Well, I know that I have little chances of someday being successful with my Fantasy stories in Castilian… However, I’ll keep writing and writing because that’s what I do ๐Ÿ™‚

    I can write in English, but only little and stupid things like my funny Narfia tale- Have you read it???

    But when it is about writing my real stuff, serious novels, I can’t do it in English… I need my Castilian, and the way I use the language is responsible for most of the beauty of my style

    Anywayz, the things and ideas I describe would be way too disturbing and sad for most people and maybe everyone would hate my books !!!

    I bet I would have some freaks following Me, though ๐Ÿ™‚

    Sheila

  8. I think you should write what you love, no matter what others think. Things get translated all the time. Of course, by then the author is usually dead. ๐Ÿ˜‰

  9. Mayhaps the girl named Marie would prefer reading books of another theme? Like modern drama and relationship books. Which really have lots of sex too… but at least there is birth control.

  10. You can bet I’ll keep writing what I love, Marie… I cannot imagine Life without writing what I have in my soul… It’s just what I’ve gotta do

    I forgot to mention that I do have a project to be written in English- It’s not related to my universe of Fantasy, but definitely it will have a good dose of my touch !!!

    Okay, this will sound strange:

    The Joan of England trilogy, which will tell the funny, twisted adventures of a 14th Century teenage Princess that accidentally comes to 2007…

    I want to write it because I’m completely fascinated by that girl -she was real, even though today she’s more like a fairytale- and I already have some very good ideas for the novels ๐Ÿ™‚

    Sheila

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