A Kiss of Shadows by Laurell K. Hamilton

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Author: Laurell K. Hamilton
Release date: 26 February, 2002
Media: Mass Market Paperback
ISBN: 0345423402

great introduction -- where's the story?

I love Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake series; the books move fast, have monsters, magic, action, mystery, sex, moral dilemmas, and are narrated by Anita, my favorite tough woman...what more do you want? Unfortunately, I found it impossible to keep Anita out of my mind while reading "Kiss of Shadows," which is narrated by Merry Gentry, another tough woman with weird powers. Merry and Anita sound alike, are surrounded by gorgeous supernatural men, and look alike -- allowing for Merry's tri-colored eyes and glowing white skin; she is part sidhe, after all.

I think, on the whole, I prefer Anita. This has little to do with Merry herself, but more with the two women's respective worlds and Hamilton's plotting, or lack thereof. Anita has a sense of purpose and reality, despite her crazy circumstances. Merry has a job at the beginning of "Kiss of Shadows," but it's only used to introduce a sex scene and reveal her as the missing Princess Meredith NicEssus, niece of the Unseelie Court's Queen of Air and Darkness.

The whole book is like that; it lacks purpose, and meanders through tenuously connected episodes. After Merry's cover is blown, the sluagh come to town, and there is fighting. Then Doyle, the Queen's messenger, arrives to take Merry home. Then Merry meets some old friends at the airport. Then she confronts her cousin. Then she talks to her aunt, and the conversation takes odd turns. Then she is attacked by magic. And so on. Things just happen, one after another.

The episodes work well by themselves, and the society of the Unseelie Court is interesting, but the story lacks cohesion. Each Anita book coheres around a mystery, and often a change in Anita's character. If there's a uniting plot thread in "Kiss of Shadows," I couldn't find it.

"Kiss of Shadows" feels like a drawn-out introductory chapter. I assume it's the setup for a series, and the next book will do something with this book's exposition. But I think I'll wait to buy the sequel in paperback. - an Amazon customer review

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