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Laurall K Hamilton really knows how to draw in a reader and keeps me coming back for more. I am addicted to this series and can't wait to read the next book.
It didn't have overlong political descriptions, but the author still goes into wayyyy too much detail with some things (appearance, clothing, hair, etc). It seemed the author planned to end the series here.
If so, it wasn't as well done as it could've been. maybe.
I liked this one better than some of the previous books in this series, but it still had problems. I've skimmed in the last several books - it's not a good sign when a reader has to skim.
I'm giving this one 4 stars rather than 3 simply because it did have a better plot, and the balance between plot/action and descriptions/dialogue scenes was a little better this time around. It had a better plot, but it still happened over just a couple of days or so when I think a pacing it over a lengthier timeline would work better.
What could've been described in one paragraph sometimes goes on for pages.
Wonderful Item. Its absolutley wonderful and the plot is fantastic. This book was fantastic, the imagery is gorgeous and the charcacters keep you spell bound, its a book worthy of my attentions and everyone who reads them will kick themselves for not reading them before. I knew what I wanted when I ordered this book and the it got to me so very quickly that I was able to read it before christmas morning.
There were some situations that originally I was surprised how they were handled or didn't appear to really be handled at all. If you are looking for something in the same vein as the last couple of books in this series where there was lots of sex and pretty much nothing else you will be sadly disappointed. Overall it was nice to see several loose ends tied up no matter how they were handled. However as I thought more about what we as readers knew about Merry's life up to that point and what she had been exposed to during her life I realized that she would have an entirely different take on the situations and perhaps handle them much as they were handled in the book. The book actually made it to chapter sixteen before any sort of sexual activity between Merry and her men came along. If however you are looking for the book to start to move along some plot points and to tie up ends in this series than it is something you will want to read.
By no means. "Swallowing Darkness" starts off with Merry recovering after being raped, and shows the heartbreaking consequences of being the savior of her species and an heir to the throne. However, the preview for "Divine Misdemeanors" makes me think that the Gentry series will get back to the mystery writing it was good at, and that the sex will no longer be a huge chunk of the book. And even though the Gentry series is about sex, the lack of it, especially after Merry's rape, brought back a clarity that had been missing.Of course, "Swallowing Darkness" isn't perfect.
After the extreme disappointment of the last two Merry Gentry books, I was reluctant to purchase "Swallowing Darkness." Because much like Hamilton's Anita Blake series, the Gentry series had devolved into too little plot, far TOO much sex, and so much confusing action it gave me mental whiplash. But is it a vast improvement over the previous two books. So is it perfect. But after reading good reviews for "Swallowing Darkness," I decided to give the Gentry series another chance.
Nothing is really resolved as to Merry's inheritance, Merry seems to recover over her rape in record time, the Goddess arrives at Merry's every whim, and one of the twists in the end is far too pat for a series that seemed serious about loss and sacrifice. Definitely. And I'm glad I did."Swallowing Darkness" brought me back to what I originally loved about the Gentry series- a serious discussion of the wonder and pitfalls of power, the difficulty in having multiple lovers, and a main character who has the brains to protect herself and her family. There's no big mystery, but after how little plot movement there was in the previous two stories, "Swallowing Darkness" actually moves the plot along, with a twist in the end that made me smile.
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