Narcissus In Chains by Laurel K. Hamilton
01/12/2002 . Source: Stella Pang 

Pub: Orbit/Time Warner. 533 page paperback. Price: £ 6.99(UK). ISBN: 1-84149-134-9.

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Last year I reviewed a compilation of short vampire stories written by women and Hamilton was one of the authors in the book, if memory serves me right then I chose her story as one of the good stories (actually Geoff had to remind me of this!), so the question arose, 'would I be able to jump in and understand what was happening with the heroine, Anita Blake?' The answer: sort of.

From the front cover I thought this would be about someone going around and killing vampires (a'la Buffy). Well it isn't and it is definitely not like Buffy (well there are similarities).

Anita Blake is a registered vampire hunter/executioner of all the various 'monsters' in her world and works as a consultant to the police who have a 'Spook Squad'. However, the vampires have rights under US Laws and Were-creatures (-wolves, leopards, snakes, bears, swans and so on) also live along side the human population.

Hope you're following this!

From the first couple of pages of 'Narcissus in Chains', I gathered that Anita had a personal dilemma - which boyfriend should she dump. The choice was between Jean-Claude- vampire and Master of the City of St Louis or Richard - science teacher and Alpha male werewolf and Ulfric of the City of St Louis.

No ordinary boy-next-door types for Anita. Her best friend Ronnie (a Private Investigator) wants her to dump Jean-Claude because she doesn't like dead people and that's what a vampire is!

Thing is Anita is in lust/love with them both. From this genteel beginning the reader is plunged into another world (and some of you might not want to go there). It is the world of Submission and Domination and the story moves to the club in the title of the book.

She goes there to rescue two of the were-leopards because she is their protector, having killed their leader (in a previous book, I think). Well, she has to dress up in clothes suitable for this type of club (use your imagination or read the book, the author is quite descriptive). While at the club with Jean-Claude, her other boyfriend Richard (turns up at Jean-Claude's invitation).

The three of them become the main floor show for the night, something to do with 'mark of the vampire and were-wolf' and psychic connections. Anyway she rescues her were-leopards and the 'baddies' are introduced.

The storyline from here on is one of rescue, kidnapping of the were-creature leaders and sex. To be honest, the sex part seems to take-over the story. Does she kill any vampires? No, she doesn't but she does resurrect one that has been in a coffin chained with a cross on it (some sort of punishment Jean-Claude dished out).

She tries to help Richard whose pack has been infiltrated by the bad guys and she falls in love. And all the time she is fighting her own personal battle (with more than a little help from Jean-Claude) with the 'ardour', if I tell you what it is it might spoil the story, but here's a hint: sex.

So, to my opinion of this book, not any of the other previous nine just this one. If I walked into a bookshop and picked up this book, read the front and back cover, I would believe I was buying a book about a vampire hunter. But what I have bought would be adult literature in the guise of a vampire book. Sex in a story has its place. I have no objection to that, however here the story seems to take second place to the sex.

What worries me is that a 13 or 14-year-old could pick this off the shelf see the words 'vampire hunter' on the front cover and think 'this is like Buffy' and their parents would be none the wiser. It is a book that should have a warning about its adult content.

Some reading this may think that I am a 'prude', I am not. I work in a bookshop with a large adult section of books, magazines and videos. I have read Black Lace adult fiction that is tamer than this book! Just to make sure it wasn't me making more out of this than necessary,I lent the book to a regular customer who reads vampire stories.

He was taken back by the content (I can't quote him as it is not printable!). So Ms Hamilton and Orbit, in my opinion, put a warning of some kind on the cover about the sexual content of the book. I wouldn't want any children buying it.

Would I buy another in this series? Not after reading this one, when I buy a book about vampires etc. I expect to read about vampires and not sex. If the content had been 75% vampire story and 25% sex, then it would have been a good read but the percentages were reversed and I only finished reading it for this review.

Stella Pang