Review: "Swallowing Darkness" by Laurell K. Hamilton

Laurell K. Hamilton’s series about Meredith Gentry, a half-human princess of faerie, started with great promise in her 2000 novel “A Kiss of Shadows.”

Merry was living in Los Angeles, working for a detective agency, when she was called home by her aunt, the queen of the Unseelie Court of the sidhe, and offered the crown of the court if she could produce an heir. That’s when things took a bad turn.

The second book, “A Caress of Twilight,” was entertaining, but not nearly as good as the first. I slogged through as much of the third book as I could, but never finished it. The plot that had so intrigued me in the first book had become a thin excuse to get the characters from one sex scene to the next by the third.

I gave up on the series after that. But on the recommendation of a few people that I trust, I decided to give it another shot with “Swallowing Darkness” ($26, Ballantine), the seventh book in the series.

Mercifully, heirs-- two of them -- are on the way when the book opens, clearing the way for Hamilton to get back to the story. The book opens with Merry in the hospital, recovering after being kidnapped by King Taranis of the Seelie Court of the sidhe and hatching a plan to have him prosecuted by the human authorities rather than having her warriors handle it in the traditional sidhe manner and spark a war between the two courts on American soil -- a war that would violate the treaty with the American government and leave the sidhe exiled from the country.

A visit from her grandmother goes horribly awry, leading Merry to call on the ancient magic of the Wild Hunt to seek her vengeance. Ancient magics, long lost, seem to be popping up all around Merry, and all the various clans and royalty of faerie want their piece of it. All, that is, except her mad cousin Cel, who only wants the crown her aunt promised him before she discovered he was unable to provide a heir and sees Merry as an usurper.

Though I skipped three and a half books in the series, Hamilton does a good job of catching the reader up in the early going, and I don’t feel as though I missed much.
Most of this book is spent in faerie, rather than the human world, dealing with ancient races and magic, which gives it more of a traditional fantasy feel. It unfortunately lacks the courtly intrigue of the early books, as pretty much everyone here has declared their side and the hostilities are open.

Now that the plot has started moving again, it moves at a breathless pace toward the resolution of many of the points raised in the first book, and sees Merry coming fully into her power, restoring the historic magics of the sidhe and uniting at least a few of the fractured factions of faerie.

Though Hamilton now says the story, which began as an 8-book series, may stretch to 15 (rarely a good thing), the fairy-tale like ending of “Swallowing Darkness” at least hints that a chapter of the story is over. The book does, however, bring a welcome return to plot, and here’s hoping the next chapter will follow suit.

Review: "Seduced by Moonlight" by Laurell K. Hamilton

In "Seduced by Moonlight" ($23.95, Ballantine), Laurell K. Hamilton returns to the tale of Merry Gentry, also known as Princess Meredith NicEssus of the Unseelie Court of the sidhe (pronounced shee for those not up on their Irish folklore.)

Merry, who is half human and therefore mortal, lives in Los Angeles, exiled from her immortal fey relatives by necessity. She has many enemies at court, and the violence of their court isn't safe for someone who can actually die from her wounds.

But she's been given the chance to return home not as a tainted half-human, but as queen of the Unseelie Court. In order to do that, she has to give her people a rare gift - a child. Her aunt, Queen Andais, has decreed that if she can conceive a child before her cruel cousin Cel, she will inherit the throne.

Hamilton's first novel in the Merry Gentry series, "A Kiss of Shadows," was absolutely incredible, a dark and moody work with just a bit of sensuality. The third book, "Seduced by Moonlight," is not her strongest work.

I have to agree with much of the criticism I've seen from other fans. This book is long on sex and a little short on plot development - at least in the early going. In fact, in the first 150 pages or so, it seems at times that the story is just an excuse to get Merry from one sex scene to the next.

That said, the book still isn't too bad. It hits its stride about midway through and gets back to the story at hand. It also features some very interesting developments, both in Merry's character and in the story.

Hamilton's writing is as strong as ever, rife with new wonders and interesting ideas. Characterization has always been a strong point for Hamilton, and her characters in this series truly shine. You won't find an odder cast this side of a Terry Pratchett novel, but you'll also never question for a second that her characters are truly real despite their odd appearances, mannerisms and magic. It's the characters that keep you interested.

Though "Seduced by Moonlight" doesn't advance Merry's story as much as I would like, it still lays some intriguing groundwork for future installments. Here's hoping that Hamilton gets her focus back on the story and doesn't let Merry's story devolve into a string of meaningless sex scenes. She's too good a writer and this is too good a story for that.

Interview: Charlaine Harris

Northern Louisiana might seem to some to be a strange setting for a vampire story, but author Charlaine Harris thinks it's perfectly natural.

Harris' latest novel "Living Dead in Dallas," published this month by Ace, begins in the fictional town of Bon Temps, La., which is located somewhere near Ruston. It's Harris' second vampire novel set in our area. The first, "Dead Until Dark," was published in 2001.

"I wanted to corner the market on northern Louisiana vampire romance mysteries, and I think I did," Harris jokes when asked about her choice of setting.

Actually, she chose the area for a couple of reasons. The first is that it's close to her Magnolia, Ark., home, which helped with research. The second is that she finds it easier to identify with Southern rural settings.

"(Southern settings) are what I know and what I feel most comfortable writing about," she says. "The characters just seem to flow more naturally in the Southern setting."

Harris grew up in the Mississippi Delta and says she's never lived far from the South. That shows in her writing. One of her mystery series is set in a suburb of Atlanta, and the other, featuring detective Lily Bard, is set in the fictional town of Shakespeare, Ark.

Her familiarity with rural America gave her an edge when she decided to write a vampire novel. She says she enjoys reading some of the modern vampire writers, but saw a way to give the genre a unique twist.

"It seemed like a good idea to take vampirism out of the urban setting," she says. "I wanted to do something of my own with it, to go in a direction that hasn't been done so much."

Thus, in "Living Dead in Dallas" there's a vampire attending the symphony in Monroe and a psychic shopping at a lingerie store in Ruston - not to mention a vampire bar in Shreveport.

Because of her style and subject, Harris is likely to be compared to one of those modern vampire writers, Laurell K. Hamilton. Harris says she knows Hamilton "very slightly," and the writer of the "Anita Blake" series did provide some inspiration for her first vampire novel.

"I had wanted to write a vampire book before I read hers, but I didn't really know if it would be accepted," Harris says. "I read two of her books, and I thought, `sure, I can do anything I want.' But it wasn't quite that easy."

She shopped "Dead Until Dark" to her normal publishers, who all felt that it wasn't quite right for their market. By the time the book found a home at Ace, Hamilton had hit the big-time. Harris acknowledges that Hamilton's success probably helped her, but doesn't think the other author's writing was a big influence.

"In a sense, she really paved the way for me," she says. "I don't know that I'd call her that much of a direct influence - more like a guiding light."

Harris' love of writing started early in life. She says that she's always been a writer, but she finally got the chance to make a career out of it 24 years ago, when she married her husband.

"He gave me the opportunity to stay at home and work on a book instead of resuming my job," she says. "I took him up on it."

She got off to a fast start. Her very first novel sold - a rare occurrence.

"People always hate me when I tell them that," she says with a laugh.

Harris now has 16 novels under her belt, but the jump from mysteries to vampire stories has been good to her so far. Ace has signed her for at least two more installments in the series, and the books are also reaching into foreign markets.

While a few mystery fans have given the vampire books a cool reception, she says most have shown interest.

"Some mystery readers don't like them because of the higher `ick factor,'" she says. "But a lot of mystery readers do read cross-genre, so I really like to think of the vampire books as kind of transcending one genre and crossing over to another."

Harris says she'd like to do more fiction with a supernatural element in the future, outside of her "Southern Vampire" series, but she also plans to continue writing mysteries as well.

Her next mystery, "Last Scene Alive," is due out in August. It's about a movie company that comes to a small Georgia town to film the fictional treatment of a book written about the town. Her next vampire novel will be released this time next year by Ace. Beyond that, Harris says she'll just wait and see what happens.

Review: "A Caress of Twilight" by Laurell K. Hamilton

No matter how many people jump on the supernatural detective bandwagon, there's still only one Laurell K. Hamilton. She proves that again in her latest "A Caress of Twilight" (Ballantine).

Merry Gentry - also known as Princess Meredith NicEssus at the Unseelie Court - has returned to Los Angeles and her job at the Grey Detective Agency with a contingent of bodyguards chosen from the Queen's Ravens to protect her. These protectors also have a chance to become kings - if they can provide her with a child.

After years of hiding from her sidhe cousins, Merry has been welcomed back by Queen Andais - and named heir to the Unseelie throne. The catch is that she has to conceive an heir before her cousin Cel, who is currently undergoing six months of torture for an attempt on Merry's life. If she doesn't, the mad Cel takes the throne.

But there are those at the sidhe court that are unhappy with either choice. They want a war between the Seelie and Unseelie courts and are doing their best to start it.

"A Caress of Twilight" is the sequel to Hamilton's outstanding "A Kiss of Shadows." Though it doesn't quite live up to the first book, it's still a top-notch novel, with a perfect blend of fantasy, horror and mystery.

Overall, this book feels like a bridge from "A Kiss of Shadows" to whatever comes next. The reader receives a lot of information and a lot of plot elements are set up, but there's clearly more and better yet to come.

"A Caress of Twilight" starts slow, perhaps focusing a bit too much on Merry's sexual exploits. These scenes are not for the easily offended. But Hamilton deftly uses them to increase the tension within the ranks of Merry's defenders as the threats around them build.

When the Grey Agency gets a call from Hollywood's "Golden Goddess" Maeve Reed - exiled by the Seelie court for an insult to King Taranis - business begins to pick up.

When she receives an unlikely invitation from the Seelie king, Merry finds herself once again enmeshed in the Machiavellian world of sidhe politics. This is where Hamilton really shines, twisting the plot in knots that the reader fears will surely ensnare the heroine.

Hamilton also has the uncanny ability to take creatures of fantasy and make them seem like a living, breathing reality in our own world. Not once does the reader question the appearance of faeries, goblins or other creatures on the streets of Los Angeles.

But the true power of this book is in the author's style. Hamilton's writing is darker and more seductive than any of the characters she's created, and the story will stay in your head long after you've put the book down.

Review: "A Kiss of Shadows" by Laurell K. Hamilton

Almost every culture has tales of the folk of Faerie. In the legends, a meeting with the fey can change a person's life - sometimes for better and often for worse. Whether cruel or kind, the fey are usually depicted as reclusive and rarely encountered.

That's not the case in Laurell K. Hamilton's "A Kiss of Shadows" (Ballantine Books). Hamilton envisions a modern world where all you have to do to find the folk of Faerie is walk down the street, and the impact they can have on a human life is very limited.

After President Thomas Jefferson invited the fey to migrate to the United States from Europe, they chose a group of earthen mounds in Illinois for their court - and they have become a public fascination. So much so that often humans alter their appearances to resemble the fey.

Merry Gentry is a parte sidhe, part brownie and part human detective in Los Angeles. She also happens to be Princess Meredith NicEssus, a member of the Unseelie Court hiding from assassins sent by her aunt, Queen Andais. Merry has the double curse of being of mixed heritage and of having little magical power - a combination that makes her a target for her elven cousins.

After hiding successfully for three years, Merry goes undercover to catch a human who is using a forbidden faerie love potion to seduce and rape women. She uncovers an even darker secret - but when the suspect is killed by magic, Merry is arrested and her cover is blown. She soon finds herself on the run again.

While fleeing a group of dark fey known as the Host through the streets of L.A., Merry unleashes a terrible magical power for the first time, stunning her enemies and herself. Instead of ordering her death, the queen invites Merry to return to court and makes her an even more intriguing offer, one which earns her the hatred of the queen's son and once-sole heir Cel. But the price of the queen's "kindness" is high, and if Cel's minions have their way, it could cost Merry her life.

Part fantasy, part hard-boiled detective novel and part gothic horror, "A Kiss of Shadows" is a unique beast. Hamilton has created a fantasy world where magical beings have to handle familiar problems - traffic, delayed flights and paparazzi - while at the same time dealing with magical issues and court intrigue.

She has peopled our own world with fey races both beautiful and horrible, and then made that world real enough to hold the reader's attention. Hamilton does this mainly through a cast of interesting characters. Even her secondary players are intriguing, with distinct personalities and stories to tell.

While this is, in essence, a fairy tale, it's definitely an adult fairy tale. There are a number of graphic scenes during the course of the book, brought on by both the violence and sexual attitudes of fey society. Far from being gratuitous, though, these threads instead seem to weave the story into a more intricate tapestry.

The overall feel and mood of the novel reminds me of Anne Rice's first few vampire novels. But in many ways, Hamilton's vision surpasses Rice's, offering a richer world to be explored.

With "A Kiss of Shadows," Hamilton has managed to avoid most of the clichés of the fantasy genre - and at the same time, she has laid a fertile groundwork for future tales of the sidhe court. This could be one series worth getting involved in.