Karen Memory by Elizabeth Bear

Karen Memory is an interesting enough book. I think I may have DNF’d it the last time I read it, because I did not at all remember the second half of the book. That’s where most of the action is.

I definitely feel like the descriptions in the book could have used some work. Before Karen strapped herself into the sewing machine, I had zero clue it was essentially a mech-suit. I still could not tell you how any of that worked… or what I was imagining because sewing machine and mech-suit do not square up in my head. Even Peter Bantle’s machine is a nothing-burger of vaguely steam-punk tubes and lighting in my head. A lot of the steam-punk elements very much rely on the reader to make up rather than actual descriptions of them.

The rest of the story was alright. I wasn’t expecting the turns it took, which I guess is realistic, because Karen definitely didn’t, either. I thought Karen and Priya’s romance was cute. Definitely satisfying and not a bury-your-gays trope. But, uh, yeah… fairly rollicking adventure. 

Jason by Laurell K. Hamilton

Not going to lie, I skimmed a good bit of this book upon reread. I'm just not into spiciness as I once was and don't really enjoy reading it. However, Jason does include a fair bit of character work for Anita, J.J., and Jade, so I couldn't just skip the entire book. The character work is great. I think the discussions had here definitely needed to be had and it's nice to get them without something crazy-pants going on in the background. Just a nice, chill, sexy weekend for Anita and the gang. I really enjoyed it.

Funny Related Story

So, I introduced one of my aunts to Laurell K. Hamilton's writing as we were browsing at the library one day. She was interested in audio books and I recognized Hamilton's name on one of the Merry Gentry novels... which I still have not read to this day. Anyway, my Aunt picked up the book and later discovered that it definitely wasn't one she should be listening to with the kiddos in the car/around. Which... I didn't know at the time given a) not read Merry Gentry and b) the Anita books hadn't quite gotten to that point yet at the time... I got a bit of a scolding about it. 🙄

Cut to Christmas 2014 and that same Aunt gifted me this book because I'd asked for it. This book is, like, 99% sex, which I'm pretty sure my Aunt still doesn't know. It just made me laugh as I was reading the first time and amuses me to think about now.

Also definitely don't think the Anita Blake books are kid friendly even without the sex, by the way. 

Affliction by Laurell K. Hamilton

2017 Review

You know a book is going to blow you away when you're laughing and crying happy tears within the first chunk of it. I think Affliction is going down as my favorite Anita Blake novel.

Also, even though I totally called how it was going to end, I thoroughly enjoyed the ride there.

2026 Reread Review

I honestly thought I'd done more of a review on Affliction, in fact, I thought I'd done two. I was obviously wrong on that count, but whatever. Here we are. I really love Affliction and, so far in this series reread, it is my favorite. Go figure.

I really like the character work done here. We get Nicky and Dev more fleshed out and more of Micah's surrounding back-story. I adore Micah's family, aside from the obvious outliers of Aunt Bertie and Uncle Jamie. Those two would definitely be hardcore MAGA if this were our universe, I have little doubt. As they are... well, I can honestly say I was not at all sorry to see them exit to story.

I wasn't super pleased to have another, though expected, round of "Anita has to explain/justify her lifestyle and work choices to a bunch of cops in order to be taken seriously"... but it was handled okay. I'm glad Hatfield got her shit together on that count. Like, yes, perhaps take what the more experienced Monster Hunters have to say about the monster hunting to heart, even if you don't agree with who they're sleeping with. I find those kinds of things very tedious. I get it's not super realistic to just gloss over, but it's been 22 books at this point and we have to rehash it every damn time... ugh.

I enjoyed the "zombie apocalypse" aspect, surprisingly for me. I'm not usually a fan of that kind of overt horror (it grosses me out, for one). I think reading it helps because my brain can just be like "Ah yes, we understand the concept the words are conveying but you don't have to see it, so it's fine." As always, having Edward on board is fun. I like his dynamic with Anita and Nicky. So very, very glad Olaf didn't make an appearance this time.

So... yeah. Affliction is definitely my favorite. I think it's nice not to have to deal with the frustrations that often complicate Anita's life... for a little while anyway.

Favorite Lines

"Wound. We can always kill her later, but once you kill someone, wounding seems a little pointless." - Anita Blake

"I could never eat someone who thought planning a wedding was fun." - Anita Blake

"If you're doing it right, love makes you more of who you are, not less," - Anita Blake

"Picture don't tell the truth, Anita. Anyone can lie long enough to have a picture taken." - Nicky Murdoch

"We can't really control what flips our switch; don't judge it, Anita, just accept it." - Edward 

Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie

I was honestly not expecting all the preamble with the parents. Pretty much every adaptation I’ve seen completely cuts them out. Also Peter’s forgetfulness. Boy definitely has some high-powered ADHD, probably aided and exacerbated by all that fairy magic.

I honestly found the rest of the book just kind of whatever. It was enjoyable enough and a quick read for me. I’m not in the headspace to sit here and analyze it. Plus, I’m absolutely certain I’ll just be retreading what others have said in the regard.

I definitely would have enjoyed Peter Pan more had I gotten around to reading it when I was younger. 

The Last Labyrinth by Gwendolyn Womack

I honestly had zero expectations going into this, but The Last Labyrinth was very good. I was swept along with the story each time I opened the book to read. I didn’t even mind the semi-abrupt nature of the romance.

I quite liked the time travel and how it was handled. It’s interesting to see how someone from the 1800s might handle it. After all, science fiction of that nature isn’t exactly a commonplace notion, I don’t think, during that era. I feel like, despite time travel being a fictional thing, someone from the modern day would have an easier time wrapping their heads around it, just due to the prevalence in our fiction these days.

On another note, the ending felt rushed but satisfying at the same time. The rushing was a natural consequence of the climax and pacing speeding up. I’m also not entirely sure there could have been a more satisfying ending. What Magellan thought she needed in the end just seemed like an actually impossible thing to end up writing.

I feel like the Arthurian Legend adjacent part of this was pretty much just adjacent. It did open up the "Male Historical Figure's Sister" thing, which is crucial to the plot. But it does work well as an overall framing device.

The Last Labyrinth was a lot of fun and well paced. I very much enjoyed it. 

Kiss the Dead by Laurell K. Hamilton

Honestly, even more than taking a break with another book, Kiss the Dead is a breath of fresh air in this Anita Blake reread saga. Kiss the Dead focuses a lot more on Anita's work life and less on the continuing drama of her personal life. Make no mistake, that is definitely still there, but the main focus for a good half the book is on a case, which I very much like. I also like that this case takes place in St. Louis, so there's much less "dick measuring" going on with cops Anita hasn't worked with before, which is also very nice.

The only note I had written down was about Larry and Anita's morality argument. I liked it. Unfortunately, in a world of monsters, someone has to do the monstrous things to save lives from the actual monsters. This is later reflected in the conversation Anita has with Weiskopf. Vampires might essentially be human, but they're humans with supernatural abilities that need to be controlled and have built-in mechanisms for that. Otherwise, that's where Anita, Edward, and the rest of the new Preternatual Marshalls come in.

Speaking of Weiskopf, I think his (and his Master's) quest for freedom makes a lot of sense. I think that quest would also definitely appeal to the modern U.S. vampire. I also think there's not a lot of understanding on the part of those modern vampires as to why the power structures in-built into vampires exist in the first place or that they need to continue to exist. I am also very glad that Hamilton addresses this issue several times within the series and doesn't just do it once and then let it stand as precedence.

So, as for the personal-life aspects of Kiss the Dead... a reread does Asher zero favors. Knowing how his nonsense essentially turns out just makes me roll my eyes at every little thing he says. The last chapter (basically epilogue) posits that he won't do therapy, which he desperately needs, and knowing he continues along that vein... oi vey. I'm already very tired of it.

"The Cynric Problem"... I'm honestly not sure what to say about that. I've never been in a relationship with an age-gap, so I'm not sure how I'd feel about it, especially given how that relationship started. Honestly, talking about age-gap relationships in this day and age is a mine-field I don't feel particularly qualified to comment on. If it works between two consenting adults (which Sin and Anita are at this point) it works. The added complication of Sin just finding out how nerve-wracking it is to be dating a cop... also something I'm not at all qualified to comment on, let's be clear... yeah... Sin's young and it really does show.

But yeah... Kiss the Dead is definitely more up my alley in terms of being much less frustrating than other entries into the Anita Blake canon have been lately. I'm not sure if I have a fully renewed interest, but this one definitely felt better than others. 

 

Bonus Short Second Review

Mort was enjoyable. I do like the “Death takes a holiday” type stories. This one was a bit more complicated than others tend to be. That said, I really just don’t think I’m cut out for Discworld. I gave it a good try, but it’s just not for me. 

This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me by Ilona Andrews

So… at the risk of saying what I always say… This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me is interesting. I don’t usually read Portal Fantasy, but I’m definitely no stranger to the concept (my Anime entry-point was Digimon and The Chronicles of Narnia was a staple of my childhood). I feel like this is an interesting way to do a Portal Fantasy, though, due to the nature of the beast, it does feel rather info-dump-y at times. I like Maggie. The way she is about her book series is very much how I am about Buffy: The Vampire Slayer to the point where I’ve had this exact fantasy about being able to do what Maggie is essentially doing. It’s also a bit of a breath of fresh air to have a female protagonist who isn’t already a total badass in the physical arena, as a lot of the female protagonists I are. I am glad she eventually gets at least some weapons training, but going into it pretty helpless in that arena was neat.

This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me is quite the twisty tale. It relies a lot more on the knowledge Maggie possesses than any physical prowess she may or may not have. Again, very different from what I’m used to reading, but in very good ways.

Not sure how I feel about the “twist” mid-book. On the one hand, kind of a great “twist.” On the other… it’s… yeah idk. It’s not the best “twist” and I’m very interested to find out how exactly the “twist” ended up deciding to be a “twist.” I’m also not sure I can actually talk about it because it is kind of a major “twist” but at the same time… mid-book. Not exactly missable. Yay for random fantasy romance tropes, I guess? It is rather well done, honestly.

Speaking of the romantasy tropes, I thought the potential love interests were well established. I was sure it was going to turn somewhat soppy at some point and I’m glad I was very wrong about the lack of sop. The story definitely didn’t need it, nor did I. All that to say, I am very pleased with the amount of romantasy drama. Just right for my tastes.

I like the bits of fantasy critters we get. You’d better believe I have them visualized via OviPets and plan to eventually add them to my too-long list of critters I want to make.

I will say, as I was nearing the end, I feared This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me was going to just trail off and not actually end. Another spot where I was very glad to be proven wrong. The climax definitely took it straight to a satisfying ending. The epilogue was also satisfying enough and leads into the next book well. It’ll be interesting to see how this goes from here.

So… yeah. This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me was a fun break from what I’ve been reading lately. Definitely recommend giving it a read.