Swallowing Darkness: Amazon.co.uk: Laurell K. Hamilton: Books

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Skin Trade

by Laurell K. Hamilton

3.6 out of 5 stars (23) �8.49

A Lick of Frost (Meredith Gentry 6)

by Laurell K. Hamilton

4.2 out of 5 stars (16) �5.49

Midnight's Daughter

by Karen Chance

5.0 out of 5 stars (11) �5.49

Living with the Dead

by Kelley Armstrong

4.0 out of 5 stars (11) �10.49

White Witch, Black Curse (Rachel Morgan 7)

by Kim Harrison

4.2 out of 5 stars (12) �3.77

› Explore similar items

Product Description

Product Description
Merry Gentry is not your average private investigator. Half human, half faerie, she's caught in a struggle that threatens not only her life, but the lives of those she desires and holds dear. Her very existence and her rightful place on the throne of Faerie have long depended on her ability to produce an heir - and now, after many failed attempts, the services of her royal guards have found her pregnant...It is a triumphant moment, but revelation follows revelation: for Merry carries two babies, and she knows thay they have more than one father...And of course, there are those of her own flesh and blood who want Merry dead, but she is a fighter and wields a wild magic. And this is her world, where the magical and the mortal intertwine, where folklore, fantasy and erotically charged adventure collide... --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

About the Author
Laurell K. Hamilton is the top ten New York Times bestselling author of the Meredith Gentry novels - A Kiss of Shadows, A Caress of Twilight, Seduced by Moonlight, A Stroke of Midnight, Mistral's Kiss and A Lick of Frost - and the acclaimed Anita Blake Vampire Hunter novels. She lives in St Louis with her family. Her website is www.laurellkhamilton.org --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Inside This Book (Learn More)
Browse and search another edition of this book.

Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt

Suggested Tags from Similar Products

(What's this?)

Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)

urban fantasy(9)

magickal chick lit(9)

laurell k hamilton(9)

dark fantasy(8)

vampire hunter(8)

paranormal romance(8)

anita blake(5)

edward(5)

executioner(5)

merry gentry(2)

adult(2)

Customer Reviews

12 Reviews

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

Average Customer Review

3.8 out of 5 stars (12 customer reviews)

Share your thoughts with other customers:

Create your own review

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars poorly written., 9 Nov 2008

By	A. OBrien "bookworm" (Ireland) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Swallowing Darkness (Meredith Gentry 7) (Hardcover)

Laurell K Hamilton's books have been getting steadily worse for a long long time. I'm still reading in the hopes that she'll start to show some of what used to make her so enjoyable again. The early Anita Blake books were quite entertaining and when the Merry Gentry series started I really enjoyed the first few books too. Sadly things started to slide when the books lost all plot and descended into almost constant sex scenes that spanned the whole entire book. I enjoy sex in books but not to the exclusion of plot. This book can't be tarred with that reason for being bad however as the sex is kept to a minimum - well as minimum as LKH seems to be able to keep it these days anyway and there is a storyline of sorts.

To summarise the plot, the book starts directly after the events of A Lick of Frost (Meredith Gentry 6) with Merry in hospital after being raped by her Uncle Tarranis (Merry shows almost no signs of any trauma - very strange) then a plot to kill Merry's guards begins to unfurl and Merry calls up te wild hunt in revenge to go chassing after the plotters. And that's about it as far as plot goes, Merry reacting to all that the seelie and unseelie and the sluagh and the goblins can throw at her while gaining magical power ups from the Goddess. There is a plot, even if it's mostly the tying up of old threads and dealing with random people that get in her way.

The real problem I found was her repetitive and silly descriptions that read as if they had been lifted directly from one book to the next. On more than one occasion I laughed out loud they were so bad - it sort of spoils the mood of the story when the terrible prose distracts you from the plot. Everything is all sparkly and moonlight lit with detailed pointless descriptions of hair and clothes and rose petals raining from the sky.

I enjoyed the early Merry Gentry novels and I suppose that this book could have seen an end of the series as many of the loose ends from previous books have been tied off. Her father's killer has been unmasked and her enemies defeated for the most part. Unfortunately I don't think that this will be the case and more stories will be spun out with Merry doing more sparkly, magical, and wonderful things with new powers given conveniently by the Goddess just in time and with conversations that start in the middle of the action and just drag on and on to showcase Merry's wonderfullness. I think LKH need to take a break from writing for a while not churn out a Merry and an Anita book every year. She needs to go back and re-read all her books and rediscover her characters for herself and maybe things might improve. I'm still reading in hopes they do but i'm not sure how much longer I will be.

Comment Comments (2) | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)

45 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Swallowing tedium, 5 Nov 2008

By	E. A Solinas "ea_solinas" (MD USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Swallowing Darkness (Meredith Gentry 7) (Hardcover)

For her last few books, Laurell K. Hamilton has been toning down the sexual content in favor of what can be loosely termed "plot."

Well, turns out there are far worse things than endless sparkly-magical sex scenes. After the shattering cliffhanger ending of the previous book, the seventh Merry Gentry book "Swallowing Darkness" promptly goes on a road tour of Faerie instead of sticking to an actual central plot. It feels like Hamilton has gone as far as she can, and is flailing around instead of getting out of the water.

In the aftermath of being raped by her uncle, Merry is recovering in the hospital... and despite all the moping about how doctors "can't undo the damage," she gets over the rape by cuddling her favorite boytoy.

After ordering her various fey boytoys not to attack Taranis, she receives a visit from her feisty brownie grandma. Unfortunately there's a malign influence warping Gran's thoughts -- with disastrous and fatal results for three people close to Merry. Enraged, she and Sholto summon the Wild Hunt and set out to destroy the conspirators.

But it turns out that the conspiracy goes far further than Merry expected -- and that certain Golden Court sidhe are trying to weed out the stronger boytoys. And of course, divine magical favors just rain down on Merry whenever she sneezes. To keep her entire harem (half of whom I've forgotten) safe, Merry decides to take drastic steps in the human world... but only finds a new conflict with her cousin Cel.

Having knocked up her heroine -- which is supposedly the series' goal -- Laurell K. Hamilton seems to be at a loss for what to do to keep the series going ahead. So we end up with a bunch of vaguely connected crises, punctuated by interludes of Sparkly Magic From Goddess-Merry, magic horsies and lots of sparkly magic roses. It's a little like being alternately choked with flowers and clubbed with a rock.

"Swallowing Darkness" does manage an impressive amount of plot, including the resolution of couple half-forgotten subplots -- and a surprising twist during Merry's stay in the sluagh. Unfortunately most of the plot is just Hamilton slapping in new random problems whenever things get too peaceful. Whoops, somebody's suddenly dying! Eek, a traitor! Yikes, a royal challenge from out of nowhere!

Nor does Hamilton's writing help, since she seems to be bored with her own story when she isn't trying to channel Patricia McKillip's lush prose. Her incredibly stilted, rambling dialogue ("We ride." "To save your Storm Lord." "To save the future of faerie"), repetition (everybody seems to have "moonlight skin") and awkward descriptions ("Gold like the metal of a piece of jewelry") hamper the story even further.

And as with all Hamilton's fairy novels, we get hot pale supernatural men who all worship the heroine, dumb blinkered mortals, lightweight Wiccan theology, Christian-bashing, oral sex worship, and lots of nasty and/or crazy women who simply can't measure up to the heroine. Yes, even a sweet li'l old grandma, who is reviled for daring to hold a grudge against her mother's murderer.

But the book's biggest weakness is Merry Gentry herself. She floats through the book in a cloud of Convenient Magical Powers and occasionally pauses to cold-bloodedly kill people. Everybody is awed by her even if she kills them -- and she declares herself to be a goddess as well. It gets rather nauseating to have a heroine who is such a blatant self-insert.

"Swallowing Darkness" has some shreds of good plot in there, but they're surrounded by jack-in-the-box disasters and a main storyline that is being stretched way too far. And it's not over yet....

Comment Comments (3) | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Surprisingly better than expected!, 18 Dec 2008

By	Read Me (West Midlands, UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Swallowing Darkness (Meredith Gentry 7) (Hardcover)

Well I've been a fan of Merry from the start and while Anita Blake seems to have gone haywire Merry got lost in faerie politics. The reviews for this are mixed, and thats fair. There are still the usual confusing plots and alliances and I must admit that as usual I'd forgotten who some characters were! However the main storyline running through this is Merry's escape to LA away from the lands of faerie and the Seelie and Unseelie Courts with their plots and their tricks.
Now that Merry is pregnant with twins you expect things to get sorted out, and they pretty much do. She becomes Queen of the Slaugh with Sholto, regains the old weapons of power from the Goddess and even faces her ultimate foe; cousin Cel. There is more blood and guts than sex in this latest book, and thats a good thing as the plot seems to move along for a change.
If you haven't lost complete faith in the series then give this a try, my only hope is that this is the final Merry book as this seems to end things quite nicely. I can't imagine what would come after this and its sure to degenerate back into a trashy soft porn series again.

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review

› See all 12 customer reviews...

Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Bought as a Gift
I bought this book as a present for my sister's birthday, she has the complete collection of Laurel K Hamilton books. Read more

Published 3 months ago by M. Bagwandeen

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant
Brilliant!!
Last in the Merry Gentry series, so it seems. Boo-hoo!!
Well written, as always, with some nice twists and turns. Read more

Published 4 months ago by M. Farrell

5.0 out of 5 stars Another book I cannot put down
Finally Meredith has gained some backbone when dealing with other seelie and is prepared to use her hands of power to devastating effect. Read more

Published 4 months ago by J. Walter

3.0 out of 5 stars Better than previous books but not quite there
Having read all the books in the Merry series and all but the last book in the Anita book (which I had to stop reading after about ten chapters, less end up hurling it at the wall... Read more

Published 5 months ago by Gem - the bookworm

5.0 out of 5 stars Shows true followers of the Gentry Series
To all those previous reviewers just to clarify the whole situation on the supposed 'rape' which took place in the last book. Read more

Published 6 months ago by L. Lawrence

4.0 out of 5 stars A pleasant surprise
I was growing every more despondent with Laurell K Hamilton. Her Anita Blake books were getting steadily more dire and Merry Gentry may as well be filed under porn as anything... Read more

Published 6 months ago by Mr. P. W. Wooldridge

1.0 out of 5 stars Enough already
This book is just awful.

I gave up reading Anita Blake a few years ago but I still enjoyed the MG series. Read more

Published 7 months ago by Katia WolfSwan

5.0 out of 5 stars More magic battles and intrigue
I totally disagree with the first two reviewers. Yes the rape doesn't traumatize her as much as it would a normal person, but she is supposed to be a magical person descended... Read more

Published 7 months ago by Kristin

5.0 out of 5 stars Non stop action
So many things happen in such a short space of time that there is no chance to be bored with this book. Read more

Published 7 months ago by A. Hooper

› See all 12 customer reviews...

Listmania!

A few of my favourite books.: A list by Kirsty "has her head in the clouds."
My Favourite Urban Fantasy: A list by Claire Mill "Cem"
Official Sherrilyn Kenyon Dark & Dream Hunter Reading Order: A list by Jessica Simpson "Tigs"

Create a Listmania! list

Look for similar items by category

Books > Horror > Genres & Characters > Bestsellers
Books > Horror > Genres & Characters > Vampires
Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Authors, A-Z > H > Hamilton, Laurell K.

Feedback

Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.

Fun for Everyone

Achieve over 15,000 RPM with our great range of Powerballs.

›Shop the Powerball store

More From Laurell K. Hamilton

Skin Trade by Laurell K. Hamilton

The sensational new novel from the New York Times bestselling author... Read more
£12.99 £8.49

A Close Shave

Philips Nivea Coolskin HS8060 Moisturizing Rotary Shaving System

For all types of hair removal, stay smooth with Amazon.co.uk.

›Discover Shaving & Hair Removal

Treat Someone

With an Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificate, you can get them what they want (even if you don't know what that is).

›Learn more about Gift Certificates

	42% buy the item featured on this page: Swallowing Darkness 3.8 out of 5 stars (12)
	17% buy Skin Trade 3.6 out of 5 stars (23) �8.49
	16% buy A Lick of Frost (Meredith Gentry 6) 4.2 out of 5 stars (16) �5.49
	13% buy White Witch, Black Curse (Rachel Morgan 7) 4.2 out of 5 stars (12) �3.77


Amazon Home

International Sites: United States \| Germany \| France \| Japan \| Canada \| China

Business Programs: Sell on Amazon \| Fulfilment by Amazon \| Join Associates \| Join Advantage

Customer Service \| Help \| View Basket \| Your Account

About Amazon.co.uk \| Careers at Amazon

Swallowing Darkness (Paperback)

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Product details

Product Description

Suggested Tags from Similar Products

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

Customer Reviews

Customer Discussions

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight

Start a new discussion

Listmania!

Look for similar items by category

Feedback

Fun for Everyone

More From Laurell K. Hamilton

A Close Shave

Treat Someone

Where's My Stuff?

Delivery and Returns

Need Help?

Your Recent History