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serynI read Bullet by Laurell K. Hamilton from the library.
Do not buy this book without careful consideration as to where you stand on child pornography. It contains references to sex with underage boys and sexual activity with three year olds. I found it offensive and appalling for those things alone.
It was bad in several other ways as well.
The editing was atrocious. Several times whole paragraphs of description were cut and pasted. Early in the book it happened on sequential pages.
There isn't any plot. There's "OMG, heap big evil cometh! We should solidify our power base." Then they go back to fucking.
The non-plot parts of the story go from idea to idea randomly. First they need to make Asher happy. Then they need to find a wereLion who fits their tribe. Then they need to bind a score of tigers to their cause. But they don't finish anything. Asher is miserable, there are not lion candidates, and actually the tigers aren't that keen to become food.
There were a couple enjoyable times. Mostly when Anita is being told off by just about everyone and finally gets a clue that SHE is the most worthless character in the story and actually all these things would work a lot better without her baggage and artificial drama. Since she's my least favorite character for those exact reasons, I was overjoyed by that.
The A/N in the beginning has Hamilton whinging about how hard she works and how she needs a vacation.
In a docudrama about Def Leppard where the three older guys remind the youngest one who hadn't ever had to work in a factory that playing music in a band and having platinum selling records is not work in the same sense as people who have sucktastic jobs. I realize that there is a lot of work in being a published author. There's always the overhead of dealing with publishers and fans and contracts and promotion and shit. But if you don't like the work aspect of your dream job, I'm sure there are slots open picking cabbages.
She writes, essentially, text-based pornography. There isn't even any real "erotica for women" aspect to it anymore either because the main character is all, "*sigh* I guess if we really have to have sex... but just because the magic insists." Then they proceed to having harsher sex than most people enjoy, even people who are extremely athletic. It just sounds brutal and the fact that she orgasms from it and it was consensual doesn't make it less violent or appalling. Anita wakes up with her body bruised, bitten in places she can't reach, and bleeding from the genitals. There is no way I consider that to be any sort of erotic. Anita clearly initiated it, and claims to have enjoyed herself, but it's not erotic for anyone who isn't into that "too much, too fast, too hard" kind of sex.
There's some stuff in this that's beyond appalling and actually counts as pedophilia. Anita has sex with a 16 year old in the previous book. She was somewhere it was legal then. They talk about it several times in this book, including the knowledge that the boy was a high school student and how hard it is for Anita to stay away from him now. In this book she willingly kisses a 3 year old boy on the lips, multiple times. That is over the line for me. I realize that Anita lives in fuck-wad Missouri where many family members have overly affectionate gestures. (I had a roommate who kissed her parents and grandparents on the lips. As an adult. In front of me. She said it was just how things were. She was from that region. So maybe there's a bit of that "Goodnight John Boy" thing where the whole family sleeps in one room there, even today.) But absolutely not. No way. NOT appropriate. Sick sick sick sick sick sick. Especially when the little boy says, "All the big boys kiss 'Nita." Her behavior sexualized a toddler. That's abusive and her continuing to participate in it is molestation (in my opinion).
It's not really worth reading. Catchy, but just as ridiculous in terms of describing a healthy relationship as the Twilight books are-- only on the polar opposite end of the spectrum.
There was still graphic violence in the book, including a close up view of Anita shooting someone in the head and getting splatted with brain. But it was mostly irrelevant to the book. Could have easily been omitted. But after you omit the sex that doesn't matter, the violence that doesn't matter, the mary sue super power magic that doesn't matter, you're not left with much.
It is my opinion that anyone considering reading this should borrow it from the library instead of purchasing it. Not only because the book is terrible in terms of quality, but for the liability. No idea how harsh the enforcement is on published books without illustrations or pictures in your possession, but it wouldn't be worth the risk to me.
Do not buy this book without careful consideration as to where you stand on child pornography. It contains references to sex with underage boys and sexual activity with three year olds. I found it offensive and appalling for those things alone.
It was bad in several other ways as well.
The editing was atrocious. Several times whole paragraphs of description were cut and pasted. Early in the book it happened on sequential pages.
There isn't any plot. There's "OMG, heap big evil cometh! We should solidify our power base." Then they go back to fucking.
The non-plot parts of the story go from idea to idea randomly. First they need to make Asher happy. Then they need to find a wereLion who fits their tribe. Then they need to bind a score of tigers to their cause. But they don't finish anything. Asher is miserable, there are not lion candidates, and actually the tigers aren't that keen to become food.
There were a couple enjoyable times. Mostly when Anita is being told off by just about everyone and finally gets a clue that SHE is the most worthless character in the story and actually all these things would work a lot better without her baggage and artificial drama. Since she's my least favorite character for those exact reasons, I was overjoyed by that.
The A/N in the beginning has Hamilton whinging about how hard she works and how she needs a vacation.
In a docudrama about Def Leppard where the three older guys remind the youngest one who hadn't ever had to work in a factory that playing music in a band and having platinum selling records is not work in the same sense as people who have sucktastic jobs. I realize that there is a lot of work in being a published author. There's always the overhead of dealing with publishers and fans and contracts and promotion and shit. But if you don't like the work aspect of your dream job, I'm sure there are slots open picking cabbages.
She writes, essentially, text-based pornography. There isn't even any real "erotica for women" aspect to it anymore either because the main character is all, "*sigh* I guess if we really have to have sex... but just because the magic insists." Then they proceed to having harsher sex than most people enjoy, even people who are extremely athletic. It just sounds brutal and the fact that she orgasms from it and it was consensual doesn't make it less violent or appalling. Anita wakes up with her body bruised, bitten in places she can't reach, and bleeding from the genitals. There is no way I consider that to be any sort of erotic. Anita clearly initiated it, and claims to have enjoyed herself, but it's not erotic for anyone who isn't into that "too much, too fast, too hard" kind of sex.
There's some stuff in this that's beyond appalling and actually counts as pedophilia. Anita has sex with a 16 year old in the previous book. She was somewhere it was legal then. They talk about it several times in this book, including the knowledge that the boy was a high school student and how hard it is for Anita to stay away from him now. In this book she willingly kisses a 3 year old boy on the lips, multiple times. That is over the line for me. I realize that Anita lives in fuck-wad Missouri where many family members have overly affectionate gestures. (I had a roommate who kissed her parents and grandparents on the lips. As an adult. In front of me. She said it was just how things were. She was from that region. So maybe there's a bit of that "Goodnight John Boy" thing where the whole family sleeps in one room there, even today.) But absolutely not. No way. NOT appropriate. Sick sick sick sick sick sick. Especially when the little boy says, "All the big boys kiss 'Nita." Her behavior sexualized a toddler. That's abusive and her continuing to participate in it is molestation (in my opinion).
It's not really worth reading. Catchy, but just as ridiculous in terms of describing a healthy relationship as the Twilight books are-- only on the polar opposite end of the spectrum.
There was still graphic violence in the book, including a close up view of Anita shooting someone in the head and getting splatted with brain. But it was mostly irrelevant to the book. Could have easily been omitted. But after you omit the sex that doesn't matter, the violence that doesn't matter, the mary sue super power magic that doesn't matter, you're not left with much.
It is my opinion that anyone considering reading this should borrow it from the library instead of purchasing it. Not only because the book is terrible in terms of quality, but for the liability. No idea how harsh the enforcement is on published books without illustrations or pictures in your possession, but it wouldn't be worth the risk to me.
no subject
Date: 2010-07-18 03:43 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-07-18 05:52 pm (UTC)You can see how that seems less like a "great auntie" kiss just from the description.
It helps to know what the criteria is for appropriate family kiss. It's definitely a cultural difference.
However even in your understanding the explanation the 3 year old gives Anita for why he wants to be kissed on the lips makes it not appropriate. He says, "All the big boys kiss 'Nita." He means it in that way because every man he's seen greet Anita is someone she keeps in her harem. To the child, fucking Anita is what's required to be considered an adult man.
no subject
Date: 2010-07-18 09:16 pm (UTC)+1 quick peck on the lips isn't much different from quick peck on the cheek, at least for the very old or very young. Agreed that there's potentially a bit of line-crossing in this book, given the other lines being crossed, but in general (outside of the book) I don't see a problem with it, nor does it automatically suggest incest to me.
no subject
Date: 2010-07-18 09:36 pm (UTC)I thought it was beyond the pale, but the roommate who kissed her grandmother on the lips squicked me by doing it, so it really might be a cultural issue.
Being a bestselling author probably widens the publisher's standards of acceptability, but to me this was over the line when Anita kisses the boy at the end of the book and describes it as him getting her lipstick and her getting grape jelly.
no subject
Date: 2010-07-25 08:48 am (UTC)I'll also point out that all the 3 year olds I've ever known tend to wear their food as much as they eat it; that could just as easily be grape jelly off his chin, lips, or cheek from a "peck" rather than a full-on tongue kiss.
And now, off to go scrub my brain.
no subject
Date: 2010-07-25 04:41 pm (UTC)Maybe she's playing off the sitcom images from the 1960s and hasn't thought about it. Maybe the author in real life wears $3 Wet and Wild from Walgreens lipstick so she doesn't know that lipstick doesn't do that anymore.
But in my experience anyone wanting to leave a lipstick print on a letter has to undercoat with Vaseline or the most they'll get on the paper is a smear of color from where it was rubbed.
Assuming that the main character, who is wearing a custom-made designer dress and $700 shoes, who had her makeup done by professional makeup artists who live with them, isn't wearing cheap-ass drugstore lipstick... then the kiss she gave that 3 year old is not an auntie kiss.
Personally I'm assuming the author wears drugstore lipstick and doesn't know any better. Because it's the only way I can deal with it.