2025 Reread Review
There are spoilers contained in this review.
Narcissus in Chains was a lot easier to get through than the last couple of Anita Blake novels. I pretty much attribute this to the inclusion of characters I actually care about and not ones I hate... though there is plenty of Richard's nonsense here as well. There is also a good deal of world-building here. More explaining of how the lycanthropes and vampires work, given different circumstances, most of which, honestly, are objectively horrifying.
The joining of the Marks was cool and all but… Micah!!!! Micah’s here! I really like Micah. I like that he's willing to be whatever Anita needs with little to no qualms about it. He's also quite patient with her, actually explaining things as they come up (for the most part anyway). I don't remember how I originally felt about Micah, but I am fairly certain he was a breath of fresh air after Richard. I also quite like the inclusion of Merle. He's the first in a long line of bodyguard characters I'm fairly attached to. He also brings a certain air of "elder statesman" to the mix, especially in those moments where I'm reminded that Anita's still in her 20s...
Narcissus being like “I would like to participate in community decision making but not be in the community and also get literal people in return for it” made me want to hit him. Seriously, dude. Get well over yourself. I feel like this really comes back to bite him in the butt as it's the rats and wolves that come to his aid in the end. Ya know, the community he doesn't actually want to be a part of. That said, these lycanthrope politics sure are a bitch. Like, all of it. I do kind of like that each "species" has their own internal politics, but having to "watch" Anita navigate more than one is... insane, honestly.
Nathaniel pre-relationship is adorable. It’s very cute how Anita already thinks “silence with Nathaniel was one of the most relaxing sounds of my day.” Awwwwww… I just wanna cuddle them together. Narcissus in Chains is really the book where Nathaniel comes more into his own. He's still not quite the person he's going to be, but you can see the scaffolding, essentially.
This is definitely when Dolph jumped off the deep end for me. Projecting onto Anita is really not fair. The stuff at Anita’s house is also well out of line. Her personal life is none of his business, especially when he’s supposed to be there in a professional capacity. I very much dislike Dolph in this book. I think we're kind of meant to. He was a father-figure for Anita in the first few books and I honestly feel like this "fall from grace," as it were, is par for the course in father figures. Either they don't like some aspect of the hero's life and check out or they end up dying. Dolph is clearly the former and crashes out a bit spectacularly. Oh, speaking of which, I dunno who needs to hear this but... Your children do NOT owe you grandchildren. Period. Be disappointed all you want, but don't act like Dolph and see it as the end of the world. Yeesh.
Ah yes, the ardeur bane of my not-spicy-loving-anymore existence. I literally skim and skip those scenes. Skim because Hamilton has a habit of mixing character development into them. For example: a sudden introduction of Belle Morte as a character. I mean, she’s been talked about before but hasn’t been “on screen” before now. Can’t just skip that, now can we? I also don’t really like the ardeur due to the questionable consent it causes. Anita has issues around it in this book where she, herself is concerned, though that will grow to include other characters later. It’s not always handled well, if memory serves.
Oh yes, Damian exists. Didn’t even think about Damian in this whole “finding yourself” thing you did, huh, Anita? And now it’s all “gimmie my vampire NOW.” You got yourself all cozy with the leopards but left Damian completely out in the cold. Wtf even, ma’am. And dude, Jean-Claude is also to blame in this. Should have fucking reminded her that Damian was hers when she dealt with a goddamn crime scene involving him. Wtf even, sir. Ya’ll both suck. Honestly, I like being able to both love and hate my protagonists, so this was actually quite nice in terms of character building. Anita does have a lot going on, very much highlighted here, not just with Damian, but with the "power creep." Anita’s rapid power-progression is also something I have mixed feeling about. It’s a wonder this woman ends up being able to lead any kind of normal-ish life, with that much power being thrust upon her, no pun intended. Anita really did need that “come to Jesus” moment she had with Jean-Claude. Can’t just shirk your responsibilities, especially when they come with metaphysical ties and consequences you don’t like.
Okay, time for the "Richard Sucks" corner. Richard is SUCH an asshole here. Leave Anita the fuck alone about her life decisions. You dumped her, as is repeatedly pointed out. Circumstances have changed and you weren’t included because why would you be? Fuck ALL THE WAY OFF. Just cuz you hate yourself doesn’t mean you get to take that out on everyone else. Add to that the ending where he literally almost gets them all killed... No. Not allowed. Fuck ALL THE WAY OFF again. Even if it just meant the Triumvirate was going to be taken out, I would be fairly pissed, but Anita makes a point of it being the entire damn pack at that point. That's hundreds of people and, Ulfric or not, you don't get to make that kind of decision. I will say he probably didn't realize it would have been the entire pack, but still... therapy needs to happen sooner rather than later.
I don’t think I internalized (or even realized) how much of these books took place while people were incredibly sleep deprived. There are at least 2-3 major altercations and decision-making moments that happen while Anita's had little to no sleep... over, like, 3 days.
Complete side-tangent: I wonder what weredogs look like. What dog breed do they more resemble? How did we end up with weredogs when real dogs came from domesticated wolves? Or are these an African Wild Dogs kind of situation? I have many questions about this.
Finally, I am not entirely sure how to feel about Chimera. It’s an interesting way to do Dissociative Identity Disorder, I guess. It's honestly a very comic book interpretation of DID. Each personality has its own physicality, even in human form... which is weird and I'm really not sure how that even makes sense, but SOD, I guess. I do kind of like the panwere concept. It does set up a bit of stuff for the tigers later… and Anita… and others.
Overall, I really enjoyed Narcissus in Chains. It's a thick book filled with thick topics that actually manages to work pretty well. I am definitely looking forward to the rest of the series, now that a couple of my favorites have entered the arena.
Favorite Lines
"That made him smile. 'Yes, those that hoard their power are often insecure.'" - Merle
"Sometimes no matter how hard you try, you can't save everyone." - Micah Callahan
"We looked at each other in the darkened kitchen. She raised her coffee mug. I'd given her the one with a tiny knight and a large dragon that said, 'No guts, no glory.'Lillian said, 'Down with zealots.'I raised my own mug in the air. It was the baby penguin mug, still a favorite. 'Down with zealots.'" - Dr. Lillian & Anita Blake"The only true happiness, Richard, lies in knowing who you are -- what you are -- and making peace with it." - Anita Blake
"On important stuff, your word is great, but when it comes to primping, you have no sense of time." - Anita Blake
Just One More Thing
I don't know how many of you have heard about Audible's BS around paying authors, but it's actual BS. I am not the person to explain it, that would be Daniel Greene over on YouTube. LINK to explanation. However, I can share the link to the Change.org petition to try and stop them screwing over authors... so here ya go: LINK.
