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Since a couple of people have asked me to tell them what I thought of this book, I thought I'd do it up right.
I have to say that Laurell K Hamilton's Guilty Pleasures is an interesting book. It has a lot in common with Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer sensational detective fiction, where the mystery takes second place to violence and sex. In most ways Hamilton is a lot better writer, but this book shows some of the same weaknesses.
I have to say there isn't much plot per se. It's more a sequence of trials the female hero, Anita Blakely, gets dragged through. It's not that unusual in this type of fiction. A perfect similar example was the old Manix TV detective series. Joe Manix never seemed to get anywhere with his cases until the bad guys popped out of the wood work to beat him up for no reason, conveniently leaving clues at the scene of the thrashing. Everywhere Anita goes someone physically and mentally intimidates her, beats her up or tries to kill her. Everywhere people (and vampires) who seem to need her, abuse her or her friends yet ask for her more-or-less willing cooperation. It would be less than honest to say this nonplot doesn't work. People keep using this formula, precisely because it can work effectively in this type of fiction.
People assure me there is a lot more smut in some of later Hamilton novels. There are a number of scenes with people dressed provocatively. But, frankly, there isn't any overt sex in this book, except for the description a fairly inept seduction which ends with a kiss and a bite instead of anything more intimate. There is another party scene in which the characters all seem to be dressed for an orgy, but the sport isn't old-fashioned sex at all. But, this description certainly doesn't give an accurate picture of the blatant symbolic sexual content which, honestly, never lets up. If you can imagine that scene in Graduation with Angel feeding off Buffy in slow-mo lasting through 20 of season three's 22 episodes, you get some idea of the duration and intensity. It does not get dull or tiresome. But, at least for me it does get to be too much. The general action is much like that as well. I'd rather have a longer breather now and then. That said, Hamilton does do the action and the sexual theme very well.
The only serious weakness I saw in the book was a tendency to toss in tidbits of locale in the style of the worst cheap novels. The narrator says this or that happens at this named place or on that named street with very little description, as if she pulled the names out of a city atlas. I've seen cases like this where an author really didn't know what the heck they were talking about in terms of location and clearly didn't much care. Hamilton is a completely different story. She does know the locations around St. Louis where the book is set, very well She just makes little or no effort to describe them properly. The fact is if you know what areas she is talking about, you can tell she did a great job locating her action, and those locations do add something to the story. But, if you know nothing about St Louis there is no way of telling any of it from her writing.
I do find the emphasis on violence, abuse and physical subservience very disturbing. It is as if it were the full unexpurgated version of season one Buffy's 'court of the Master,' literally with attached tourist attractions added. There are plenty of comparisons to Buffy on the covers of Hamilton's books, which I think is unfortunate. From what I've seen Hamilton is a fine author, but she needs a completely mature audience, whereas Joss with Buffy has some very mature themes presented in a way that would be fine for most teens.
I have to say that Laurell K Hamilton's Guilty Pleasures is an interesting book. It has a lot in common with Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer sensational detective fiction, where the mystery takes second place to violence and sex. In most ways Hamilton is a lot better writer, but this book shows some of the same weaknesses.
I have to say there isn't much plot per se. It's more a sequence of trials the female hero, Anita Blakely, gets dragged through. It's not that unusual in this type of fiction. A perfect similar example was the old Manix TV detective series. Joe Manix never seemed to get anywhere with his cases until the bad guys popped out of the wood work to beat him up for no reason, conveniently leaving clues at the scene of the thrashing. Everywhere Anita goes someone physically and mentally intimidates her, beats her up or tries to kill her. Everywhere people (and vampires) who seem to need her, abuse her or her friends yet ask for her more-or-less willing cooperation. It would be less than honest to say this nonplot doesn't work. People keep using this formula, precisely because it can work effectively in this type of fiction.
People assure me there is a lot more smut in some of later Hamilton novels. There are a number of scenes with people dressed provocatively. But, frankly, there isn't any overt sex in this book, except for the description a fairly inept seduction which ends with a kiss and a bite instead of anything more intimate. There is another party scene in which the characters all seem to be dressed for an orgy, but the sport isn't old-fashioned sex at all. But, this description certainly doesn't give an accurate picture of the blatant symbolic sexual content which, honestly, never lets up. If you can imagine that scene in Graduation with Angel feeding off Buffy in slow-mo lasting through 20 of season three's 22 episodes, you get some idea of the duration and intensity. It does not get dull or tiresome. But, at least for me it does get to be too much. The general action is much like that as well. I'd rather have a longer breather now and then. That said, Hamilton does do the action and the sexual theme very well.
The only serious weakness I saw in the book was a tendency to toss in tidbits of locale in the style of the worst cheap novels. The narrator says this or that happens at this named place or on that named street with very little description, as if she pulled the names out of a city atlas. I've seen cases like this where an author really didn't know what the heck they were talking about in terms of location and clearly didn't much care. Hamilton is a completely different story. She does know the locations around St. Louis where the book is set, very well She just makes little or no effort to describe them properly. The fact is if you know what areas she is talking about, you can tell she did a great job locating her action, and those locations do add something to the story. But, if you know nothing about St Louis there is no way of telling any of it from her writing.
I do find the emphasis on violence, abuse and physical subservience very disturbing. It is as if it were the full unexpurgated version of season one Buffy's 'court of the Master,' literally with attached tourist attractions added. There are plenty of comparisons to Buffy on the covers of Hamilton's books, which I think is unfortunate. From what I've seen Hamilton is a fine author, but she needs a completely mature audience, whereas Joss with Buffy has some very mature themes presented in a way that would be fine for most teens.