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Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN num: 9780515144611
ISBN number: 0515144614
Label: Jove
Manufacturer: Jove
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 448
Printing Date: April 29, 2008
Publishing house: Jove
Sale Popularity Level: 3413
Studio: Jove
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Editor's Notes and Comments:
Product Description:
The 15th Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter novel now in paperback
Into Anita Blakes worlda world already overflowing with power come creatures so feared that centuries-old vampires refuse to mention their names.
User popularity level:
Rated by buyers 
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What can you expect after 16 books? Her story line has become so thin, she can barely flesh it out with sex. She needs to end this series and turn her talents to another.
Rated by buyers 
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From "The Harlequin" hardback page.
I guess we can't give zero stars. There should be a warning label on any new book LKH writes. And that warning should be: may cause loss of braincells and momentary blindness. I honestly think I got dumber just reading this.
Aside from the profuse amount of grammatical errors I find extremely hard to believe a professional editor could NOT find, it's a trite piece of literary vomit which reduces plot to nothing more than meaningless and unflattering sex scenes. The characters are flat, uninteresting morons who talk too much about insignificant dramas unimportant to the feeble attempts at plot.
LKH has reduced a strong, independent woman who had human inadequacies to a stretchy vagina which sucks the life out of those around her. She managed to mutilate the character of the vampire who dared to love her and instead made him a background fan boy with repetitive and meaningless one liners. And Richard has spent the last five books as nothing more than a sniveling idiot who annoys the reader whenever he is introduced into a scene. Every background character from previous books who were amazing and had personalities of their own, like Asher and Damian, are nonexistent. Meanwhile old friends like Ronnie and Dolph are made out to be enemies because they don't approve of Anita's rapid character change. If LKH continues to be under the fervent belief that her characters actually speak to her--are real to her to the point where she actually considers buying them Christmas presents--she might want to listen to the minor ones who went from good friends to enemies because they don't praise Anita's preachy monologues and are not willing to stand in the background and let her save them.
I will never be able to sympathize with Anita Blake's character again. I can't sympathize with a character who is so powerful that she doesn't have any vulnerabilities. What makes a good series author is one who understands that killing off characters makes readers realize their mortality, their fragility. Kim Harrison, for example, showed her understanding of this concept when she killed off a main character and love interest in her book For a Few Demons More (Rachel Morgan, Book 5). Harrison did it because it was necessary to plot development. LKH hasn't made the sacrifice of a good main character since book 1. Flash forward to book 15, The Harlequin. These characters have lost their voices, their individuality, to the point where in a group discussion, I can hardly even tell who's speaking. And the sheer amount of characters over the course of a 15 book series, with no one dead and hardly any leaving, makes each group scene simply painful to read. I don't connect to these characters anymore. I can't connect to characters who are invulnerable and who rely on a superhuman woman who is more villain than hero.
LKH wrote in her blog that she thinks those of us who hate her current literary efforts are prudes who don't like to read books which push the envelope. Bad furry sex and lesbian dream sex isn't pushing the envelope; it's absolutely shudder worthy and the writing alone makes me feel physically ill and clutch my head in extreme mental anguish. Someone, ANYONE, tell this woman to stop writing.
Rated by buyers 
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'IF AT FIRST YOU DON'T SUCCEED, TRY TRY AGAIN'.
So said my Mother some 50 years ago, and so I applied this to Hamilton's recent book 'The Harlequin'. Finally last evening in utter disgust (after getting two-thirds of the way through the book) I threw it across the room and gave up and I will not try reading it again. What a pity that the 'muse' has apparently deserted Laurell!!Her series about Anita Blake was so well-done, full of interest and creativity; perhaps she should create a new character completely different from Anita. I don't know, but she is now relying on REALLY far-out sexual activity and filling Anita with so many animals to call, that it makes one dizzy trying to keep track of 'who's who'. I have to compare it to a composer of music that has run out of ideas,so that every so-called new work is entirely predictable. BORING!
Although I read a lot of Fantasy, this book left me frustrated and bereft of any excitement. Oh well, 'c'est la vie'.
Rated by buyers 
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While I agree with other reviewers that the series has gone in a different direction than when it started, I don't see this as a bad thing. Isn't that the point of a series? To see where it can go and how the characters develop?
If it had stayed the same as the very first 5-8 books it would become static and then everyone would complain that there is nothing new in her writing, just a rehash of the very first books with different characters. That is why I stopped reading Feehan. Three of her series started out very intriguing and then it was all the same scenario with different people in a different place. If I want to read the same storyline I'll reread the very first of the books.
I enjoyed this book as much as the others with one exception and that's why it got a 4 rating instead of a 5. There were some editing errors that while small things, really irritated me. Some references were made to some of the previous characters that were inacurate. (Example: They refer to Willy's girlfriend as Candy, her name is Hannah. Sylvie makes a comment about not being into women and she was introduced as a lesbian with a live in girlfriend. Plus a couple of other nit picky things like these.) When you are involved with the characters and know who they are, then there is a drastic change it throws everything off kilter for me. Other than that, the book is full of action, sex, character insight, and an all around good read as far as I am concerned and I will continue to read LKH and see where Anita goes next.
Rated by buyers -
I was happily surprised by The Harlequin. It had a balance that has been lacking in the other books since the ardeur very first appeared.
Okay, yes, if I think hard enough I can pick apart all sorts of inconsistencies, but overall this book blended the old Anita with the ardeur. The plot moved, there was less arguing (no you have sex with her, no you, no you do it, no you do it etc...) and a lot less 'therapy'. There's some serious peril in this book to Anita,Jean Claude and Richard that really ramps up the tension and suspense. And Anita finally tells Richard to take a hike (which I liked, but really made me wonder about the fate of the triumervate and the 'rules' by which it operates).
The editing was much better as well. Or I was that much more tired as I have a newborn at home. Either way, I didn't find any silly typos or other gauche errors.
I think LKH is on the right track. This was a really well-balanced story with strong elements from earlier in the series blended with all the changes Anita has gone through.
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