Swallowing Darkness

Swallowing Darkness by Laurell K. Hamilton
Meredith Gentry series
ISBN# 978-0-345-49593-8
Available now
Published by Ballantine Books/Random House, Inc.
Format: hardcover, 365 pages
Genres: fiction, paranormal erotica, urban fantasy

This series is for mature readers only since most of the books have a lot in common with porn. This series should also be read in order since it is an on-going story about main character, Princess Meredith NicEssus. In this seventh entry in the series the sex to plot ratio is finally turned around which makes a nice change and the story finally gets moving. If reading about the Fae isn't your thing there's also her longer running, Anita Blake Vampire Hunter, series. In those books you'll find vampires, zombies, necromancers, and a whole menagerie of were-animals. The later books in that series are also only for mature readers since Anita Blake basically turns into a succubus. If you just can't get enough of the Anitaverse the books are currently being turned into a comic book series, although the artwork I've seen so far is pretty awful. It might be just me, but every image of Anita Blake I've seen from the comics make her look like Wonder Woman with a bad afro.

** This review may contain spoilers if you haven't read the first six books. **

This book picks up almost immediately where A Lick of Frost left off. Merry is now in the hospital recovering from her uncle's (King Taranis) attack, but he and the Seelie court aren't quite done with her yet. When Hettie, Merry's grandmother and the one person that's always been there for her, visits and ends up losing control of her powers trying to kill Sholto and Doyle they all know that she would never do such a thing on her own. Once they figure out it was a spell and who was behind it Merry and Sholto call on the Wild Hunt for revenge. Their hunt takes them to the Seelie mound where they learn of another plot already in action to kill another of Merry's men, Mistral. They get there in time to see Mistral fall and to maybe save his life if they can find help soon, but since it looks like both courts are in on this they go to Sholto's kingdom, the slaughs' mound. When they wake up from an enchanted, healing sleep it's to find that a temporary king has been put in place and the mound is besieged by the Seelie claiming that the slaugh have kidnapped Merry and they want her back. The Goddess makes several appearances and wants her will known, but with both courts in denial and fighting all the way Merry is a little more concerned with just surviving the night.

I've read the reviews that say this is the best book Laurell has written in quite a few years and I can only partially agree. It's thicker than her past few books, in both series, have been in the past two years or so. There's more action in this one book than there has been in the entire series so this one's definitely worth the money. The main problem I had is that there is so much action, involving so many people that towards the end I was action fatigued and couldn't even really care about what happened anymore. Personally, I think she should end the series here since this book had a perfect ending paragraph for a series and it would end on a high note. There are plans for at least two more though so don't send me your hate mail quite yet. So, if you like this series you will love this book because a lot of things are finally dealt with and if you're new to the series do not start with this book or you will have all your questions answered before they've even been asked in the other books.

Zhye