Anita Blake

Rymmare

New member
Has anyone else read this series? It's basically supernatural smut and Anita sleeps with everyone but in the last few novels they've started taking a more poly turn, and the author directly calls Anita's life as being polyamorous. Basically she has two live in boyfriends and they have a pretty awesome triad going on (I know I would LOVE to have that kind of a relationship ;) ) Plus she has a few other serious relationships and than a couple of flings, and some of the boyfriends have other lovers as well. I found the last 3 novels or so pretty interesting as Anita is starting to analyze and label her relationships, I thought that at times it really does strike on what poly is about, she discusses the different types of emotions she has for her lovers and talks about the fact that she loves her main squeezes equally and how each of them has personality traits that complete her. If anything it sparked my interest in poly even more:p

Just wondering if anyone else has read this series and what you're thoughts are on it, and if you haven't you should just so I have someone to discuss this with!!
 
I have read bad things about this series - someone said that the latter books were more like inserting cases to solve into a story between having large amounts of gratuitous sex. Doing it for titillation, rather than a solid story.
 
I've been following the series for years and for a while it slipped away from being a story and moved into being what you've heard described, Ciel, but the last 5-6 books or so, she's really come back to the story, her job, the cases, and how her relationships play a roll in her decision making. I do like her self analysis and her desire to stop picking at her relationships and let them grow naturally. Especially regarding some of her more recent lovers who she is still trying to figure out how they will fit into her life. The most recent book talks alot about time management and how she isn't always sure that there is enough of her to go around.

Runic Wolf gave up on the series when it started becoming nothing but smut with her trying to weave a story around it. He doesn't dislike smut, but felt mislead because it was a genuinely interesting series before she added the smut and it came out of no where.
 
I've been following the series for years and for a while it slipped away from being a story and moved into being what you've heard described, Ciel, but the last 5-6 books or so, she's really come back to the story, her job, the cases, and how her relationships play a roll in her decision making. I do like her self analysis and her desire to stop picking at her relationships and let them grow naturally. Especially regarding some of her more recent lovers who she is still trying to figure out how they will fit into her life. The most recent book talks alot about time management and how she isn't always sure that there is enough of her to go around.

Runic Wolf gave up on the series when it started becoming nothing but smut with her trying to weave a story around it. He doesn't dislike smut, but felt mislead because it was a genuinely interesting series before she added the smut and it came out of no where.

I did the same as Runic, but when rymmare said it was coming back to the mysteries, I started considering giving it a try again. We will see.

Also, it didn't come out of no where. The author got a divorce and that's when it changed. Rumors were she got a divorce over the relationships in her books and that her husband was concerned about some of the non-Christian scenes. Crap if you ask me. But what she did to the story as a result ruined it.
 
I did the same as Runic, but when rymmare said it was coming back to the mysteries, I started considering giving it a try again. We will see.

Also, it didn't come out of no where. The author got a divorce and that's when it changed. Rumors were she got a divorce over the relationships in her books and that her husband was concerned about some of the non-Christian scenes. Crap if you ask me. But what she did to the story as a result ruined it.

I don't know about that. I started reading the series in 2002; our roommate at the time was addicted to them. I followed her on myspace for several years and know that she is a practicing Wiccan. As for Runic Wolf, he didn't understand why she felt the need to add smut to Anita's books when she had a perfectly find series that was smut from the get go.
 
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I don't know about that. I started reading the series in 2002; our roommate at the time was addicted to them. I followed her on myspace for several years and know that she is a practicing Wiccan. As for Runic Wolf, he didn't understand why she felt the need to add smut to Anita's books when she had a perfectly find series that was smut from the get go.

Agreed. The romance was fine so long as it wasn't nuts. She let it get out of control.
 
I read like the first 5 or something... I think the last one I read was the one where Micah got introduced. It was actually irritatingly frustrating reading the books, I was like yelling at the page "POLYAMORY IS FOR YOU!!!! DO SOME GOOGLING!! Stupid monogamous expectations and society ruining what could clearly be healthy(ish) nonmonogamy!" lol

I might have to look into the newer ones. The last one I picked up in a bookstore,a couple years ago, I flipped to a random page (often how I decide whether a book is worth buying) and it was way way way smutty, so I didn't get it lol.
 
I'll speak for myself thank you! :p

But yea, BD hit it on the head. I felt like there was a bait and switch going on. While supposedly the later books are less about the smut and more about the story, I am skeptical at best from what I've heard about Anita and her having a power that needs recharging through, well, sex. I know it's more about the energy exchange then anything, but it seemed like a plot reason for the author to go off and write smut.

Don't get me wrong, I love sex as much as the next red blooded human being, but she had a good thing going before it became "How much of the supernatural world can Anita bone to gain power". Sex is a great plot device. It's brought real world people to all time lows and astounding highs. However you don't need it to supplant the focus of your books. Old Anita was fantastic. I could read about her all day long. New Anita seems....boring. Can't say for sure as I haven't read any of the newer books. Might try one if the author can keep Anita's legs shut "on screen" for an entire novel.

p.s. I love smut. I love smut when I'm expecting smut. I'd hate a movie if you watch the first 45 minutes of a great horror flick just to have it turn into a porno for no really defined reason other then "because I want to film a porno now".
 
I'll speak for myself thank you! :p

But yea, BD hit it on the head. I felt like there was a bait and switch going on. While supposedly the later books are less about the smut and more about the story, I am skeptical at best from what I've heard about Anita and her having a power that needs recharging through, well, sex. I know it's more about the energy exchange then anything, but it seemed like a plot reason for the author to go off and write smut.

Don't get me wrong, I love sex as much as the next red blooded human being, but she had a good thing going before it became "How much of the supernatural world can Anita bone to gain power". Sex is a great plot device. It's brought real world people to all time lows and astounding highs. However you don't need it to supplant the focus of your books. Old Anita was fantastic. I could read about her all day long. New Anita seems....boring. Can't say for sure as I haven't read any of the newer books. Might try one if the author can keep Anita's legs shut "on screen" for an entire novel.

p.s. I love smut. I love smut when I'm expecting smut. I'd hate a movie if you watch the first 45 minutes of a great horror flick just to have it turn into a porno for no really defined reason other then "because I want to film a porno now".

You need to watch the Horror flick "slaughterhouse massacre". It. Is. Hilarious. I hate horror. I'm scared easily. This "horror" film is basically a stoner film. If for nothing else than to go "yep, that's the shitty type movie I was talking about", you should see it.
 
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