Narcissus in Chains by Laurell K Hamilton Ponderings

Narcissus in Chains by Laurell K. Hamilton

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Ah, Narcissus in Chains. I’m getting to the point that I haven’t read these books so many times that I can remember what happens, which is a delight for me. However, I’m also hitting the point where the dynamics of these novels take a very drastic shift. I think from Narcissus in Chains onward is when Laurell K Hamilton really starts shifting her novel content to the erotic portion – it’s not as much as it is in later books, but here is where you can really start to notice, because it’s this novel that we really start to have to get a handle on the ardeur.

“Narcissus in Chains continues the adventures of Anita Blake. In this novel, Anita attempts to reconnect with her friends and allies after a lengthy separation, and to undo the damage caused by her absence. Even as Anita attempts to repair the damage and come to terms with her newly developing powers, she is also threatened by a series of attacks and disappearances within the shapeshifter community.” – From the Wikipedia

So, as the little blurb above states, Anita is having to deal with the emotional and metaphysical fall out of her deciding to take a year away from her world to get a handle on her ’emotional shit’, as decided at the end of Blue Moon. While Richard is having his emotional little fits, Jean-Claude, though leery and a bit scathing, welcomes her back with open arms. I won’t delve too deeply into that, lest I run into spoilers. However, let me give a highlight reel.

-Things have been happening in the werewolf pack since Anita has been gone, and Richard is obviously digging himself into quite a bit of trouble.
-Damian, without Anita as his Master, has gone insane, and she has to handle that.
-There are some new leopards in town, and Anita has to deal with the fallout of developing a new power, the ardeur, which allows her (and forces her) to feed through lust.

I love that introduction of Micha in this novel. He is a breath of fresh air in relation to Richard. That is all I will say on that matter.

I also love the idea of the main villain. I can’t go into it much, but I find his character some emotionally deep and complex that he floors me. Good job, Hamilton. Good job!

Also, I actually really like the character of Narcissus, and I’m glad he was introduced into this novel.

I think that overall, this novel does good setup for what is to come, including the ending which introduces the plotline for the next novel! It includes some of my favorite characters, and development on their personalities… and though it veers into a new direction, it really sets into motion the tone for a lot of the later novels!

Overall, 4/5. I do like this novel! Check please, and next on the list!

Until next time, Keep reading and Writing!

Author Amanda McCormick