Who is Going to Read LKH's KISS THE DEAD?

[paulgoatallen]

Just curious about how you guys feel about the upcoming Anita Blake novel Kiss the Dead (Anita Blake Vampire Hunter Series #21) , which will be released on June 5th.

It's amazing that this is the 21st Anita Blake novel! Does this series still have legs or do you think it's time to wrap it up?

Paul

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[Chomp]

I am a few books behind in the series, but I need to catch up before Dragon*Con.

Carol

[Nelsmom]

I plan on reading the book but I also agree it is time to wrap up the series.

Toni

[SciFiCanuck]

I love this series and would be okay if she wrote 10 more books, or even more!  :-)  I don't think she should wrap up the series.  I am definitely looking foward to this one...but mostly I'm REALLY looking forward to the next Merry Gentry book!  That one has been taking forever!! ARGH!!

[ThirstyFlea]

Number 21! Impressive! I will read it, but I wasn't crazy about the last book.... so unless this one takes it down a notch in the 400 sex partners thing and brings back the "regular" characters with a decent story line, I may need to call it quits on this series, as much as I hate to admit that.... It just seems like it's gotten a little out of control in the last few books and I miss the gritty cases to solve, the necromancy, and some of the original characters and their development. It's too long between books to leave some of them out like that, IMO. 

There's a lot of good stuff out there now, and this series has some real competition these days... I will always love Anita and Jean-Claude, but in like books 1 - 15 or so. Gimme more of that!!

Maybe LKH is burned out? 

p.s. And about the Merry Gentry series- if it's going to take her 3 years between books, I'm over it. I liked the series, but give it up if it's too much of a struggle. 

[dhaupt]

wow, 21st in the series, I'm about 10 behind, believe it or not they got boring to me,but I wasn't sure if it was because they were actually getting boring or because I was tearing through them one after another, so maybe it's time to pick them up again and see.

[KMGCA]

I will not be reading her new book.  The last one was so poorly written and edited that I vowed never to purchase anything written by her again.  In fact, I rounded up all of her books and donated them.  I debated about keeping her earlier books in the series that were wonderfully written and edited; however, I decided that they had to go as well.  She had so butchered the characters that I couldn't stand reading even about their earlier lives.  She introduced me to urban fantasy/paranormal romance, and I will forever be grateful to her and sad for what might have been.

[Fangbanger]

I will definitely be reading Kiss The Dead.  The Anita Blake series is the series that got me into paranormal and urban fantasy and I can't imagine not picking up a new book in June, so I do hope that the series continues.  I, like others, do have some issues with the direction the series has headed, but I have to say since Skin Trade, I have enjoyed them more than I did the books between Incubus Dreams and the Harlequin.

I always think it is interesting when people complain about how books, these books in particular, are poorly edited.  I don't think this book is any poorly edited than any other book I have read.  Editors are not infallible and mistakes slip through, this is true for every book.  I don't think LKH's books are any worse than any others.

[Fangbanger]

Also, someone mentioned the Merry Gentry series.  I am ready for another installment as well, and from what I understand from Facebook posts, Tweets, and blog entries, LKH is in the process of writing the next book.  I am fine with it taking 3 years if that is how long it takes her to get inspired and write a good story for Merry and the boys.  I think the last two Merry books were some of the best in the series.

[dhaupt]

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Fangbanger wrote:

Also, someone mentioned the Merry Gentry series.  I am ready for another installment as well, and from what I understand from Facebook posts, Tweets, and blog entries, LKH is in the process of writing the next book.  I am fine with it taking 3 years if that is how long it takes her to get inspired and write a good story for Merry and the boys.  I think the last two Merry books were some of the best in the series.

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Thanks Fang, I'm excited to hear that I'm a HUGE Merry Gentry fan

[paulgoatallen]

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Fangbanger wrote:

Also, someone mentioned the Merry Gentry series.  I am ready for another installment as well, and from what I understand from Facebook posts, Tweets, and blog entries, LKH is in the process of writing the next book.  I am fine with it taking 3 years if that is how long it takes her to get inspired and write a good story for Merry and the boys.  I think the last two Merry books were some of the best in the series.

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After what happened in Divine Misdemeanors – which I loved – this next book HAS to be great. And by that I mean it has to be done perfectly – LKH took a pretty big risk by doing what she did in DM (babies) – now she has to continue but also change the tone of the storyline while not losing what it was that drew so many readers to it. This next book will be a "Big Deal" indeed.

[SciFiCanuck]

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Fangbanger wrote:

Also, someone mentioned the Merry Gentry series.  I am ready for another installment as well, and from what I understand from Facebook posts, Tweets, and blog entries, LKH is in the process of writing the next book.  I am fine with it taking 3 years if that is how long it takes her to get inspired and write a good story for Merry and the boys.  I think the last two Merry books were some of the best in the series.

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Yep that's how I knew another was on the way...been keeping an eye on her Facebook updates.  :-)  Maybe she meant to leave such a long gap between because of the twins?  Who knows...I'm just dying to see what happens.  I know she didn't want to have anything with the babies birth so she's jumping 3 or so months past it.  I'm a little disappointed about that but oh well...  

[ThirstyFlea]

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SciFiCanuck wrote:

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Fangbanger wrote:

Also, someone mentioned the Merry Gentry series.  I am ready for another installment as well, and from what I understand from Facebook posts, Tweets, and blog entries, LKH is in the process of writing the next book.  I am fine with it taking 3 years if that is how long it takes her to get inspired and write a good story for Merry and the boys.  I think the last two Merry books were some of the best in the series.

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Yep that's how I knew another was on the way...been keeping an eye on her Facebook updates.  :-)  Maybe she meant to leave such a long gap between because of the twins?  Who knows...I'm just dying to see what happens.  I know she didn't want to have anything with the babies birth so she's jumping 3 or so months past it.  I'm a little disappointed about that but oh well...  

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Ok, I complained about having to wait 3 years for this next installment. But I suppose I can understand as long as it doesn't start exactly where the last left off- if the babies are born and time has passed, I'm ok with that. Like the Anita Blake series, I may be a little on the negative side (I'm impatient and jaded), but I will read it! 

[SciFiCanuck]

Wow, it's almost like she has been watching this thread, LOL!  She just posted this today:

Why did I write two Anita books in a row and skip Merry? 1. My muse was ready for Anita, and not ready for Merry. I wanted to wait until Merry was ready to write, rather than pushing ahead and writing a book before I was ready. I like to bring my A game, and for that a little inspiration is a good thing. 2. I chose to consolidate both my series at a single publishing house, Penguin Putnam. Which ...means whatever series I'm working on it's their book. When I was at two competing publishers they both wanted their book, and it affected their profits if I missed a year. Publishers are in this to make money, so neither one wants their bestselling authors to skip a year, if they can get them to produce that quickly. But this meant I was able to do write just one book last year, rather than two. It's nice to have a little more flexibility in my schedule after ten years. :-) Now I feel rested and ready to tackle Merry and her world again. Sometimes a break is a good thing.

So there you go...makes sense.  :-}

[FaeryQueen]

LKH is one of my fave authors so even if I didn't like the last book, I'll always read the new one....I may not start it on release day but I will get to it before the next one is out.

I do think the cast of characters in the Anita books is getting too large.  I miss the scenes with Anita and her closest friends/lovers.  Sometimes they have flyby cameos but it's just not the same.  Its gotten to where I read the series more for Nathaniel, Micha, Jason, and JC than because I want to know what's going on with Anita.  I do like that more action and mystery are showing up in the newer books, but it's with new or newer characters.  

The large cast in the Merry books doesnt bother me as much I guess because it's been there from the start.  We still get to see a lot of Merry's main guys so I don't feel like anyone is forgotten.  

I know we talked about long waits between books on a Patricia Briggs thread and what I said there goes for LKH too.....I'd rather wait an extra year for a kick-a book that get something mediocre.  I remember reading in her blog a while back how stressed she was with the tight deadlines and how she needed to take more  time for herself.  If it heps her create better books for us, then go for it.  i'll wait and if I get impatient, I can always reread the older books to satisfy my LKH itch.  

[3monstersmom]

 I will read all the installments of this series simply because it is LKH.  Having said that, I agree with most that the series cast has become to large.  There is a serious lack of intimacy that allows me to care about the characters fates.  Not only can I not remember all the characters, their background stories, positions they are in, and the roles they play (highly unusual for one who remember useless facts like that in everything she reads), but I just don't care anymore who lives or dies besides for our basic two of Anita and JC.  It's a wonderful series that has diminished it's emotional connection to readers with it's overwhelmingly large cast of side characters.  There is a large part of me that hopes Anita goes to war with the vampire council and losses half of her posse.  Maybe then the emotional connection would reemerge for those precious few who survived.  

[Fangbanger]

I totally agree that Anita's manegerie has gotten out of control, but I do still care about the men who matter, or th emen that I feel that matter, JC, Richard, Asher, Jason, Micah, and especially Nathaniel.  Nathaniel is probably one of my favorite characters in the Anita Blake series.  I think he has really grown and became a really unique, three-dimensional character.  

I also noticed that there is a novella available for Kindle called "Beauty" that is being released April 24th.  I am not for sure if it is being released for Nook.  It is billed as an Anita Blake story.  I am interested in reading it and excited for a little something to tide me over until June 5th.

[Fangbanger]

That short story is available on Nook.  Here it is:

Beauty  

[Fangbanger]

I am going a little crazy, but here is a synopsis of Kiss The Dead from LKH's website:

When a fifteen-year-old girl is abducted by vampires, it’s up to U.S. Marshal Anita Blake to find her. And when she does, she’s faced with something she’s never seen before: a terrifyingly ordinary group of people—kids, grandparents, soccer moms—all recently turned and willing to die to avoid serving a master. And where there’s one martyr, there will be more…

But even vampires have monsters that they’re afraid of. And Anita is one of them…

Sound interesting.

[FaeryQueen]

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Fangbanger wrote:

That short story is available on Nook.  Here it is:

Beauty  

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Is this a new story or a reprint of one from an anthology?