76 of 89 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
The last Hamilton book I will read for a looonnnggg time . . . ., November 10, 2007
_A Lick of Frost_ is book 6 in Hamilton's "Meredith Gentry" series. The first two Meredith Gentry books were good execution of a GREAT concept -- what if all the fairies mentioned in the old folklore tales were real, and had come to live in the U.S. during the Jefferson presidency? What if one of the heirs to the throne of the Unseelie court was part human and had to return to the Unseelie court after living in disguise among humans for years?
The first two Merdith Gentry books were so good that I waded through the next three books hoping to see a return to that. The start of this book had some flaws but overall was REALLY good, and I was hopeful. But the second half was a return to the overly detailed sex, sadism, spitefulness, and treachery that has dominated the last three books.
There is still TOO MUCH TIME spent recounting conversations and sexual encounters that are emotional therapy for men I expect a little more emotional maturity out of, given that they are hundreds or thousands of years old. As another reviewer noted, is the overall theme here that all men with power are either needy morons or heartless psychopaths?
And yes, as readers WE GET IT that Merry likes sex and sometimes she likes it in unconventional ways. Anytime someone blushes or feels the least bit awkward, Merry has to sermonize on how stupidly judgmental and uptight other people are about sex, and it gets old.
There is an overall theme that the enemies are always ahead. Merry has the god and goddess on her side, boosting the power of her and her allies and performing miracles through her, but Merry is basically a poorly prepared medium-level pawn caught up in a major power struggle with people who know the rules better than she does -- and are more willing to play dirty than she is. Anyone Merry cares about becomes a target for her enemies. If Merry is kind, it's a sign of weakness and invitation to attack; if she is cold and cruel, then her enemies are colder and crueler and crazier. I'm not real fond of torture, and I read far more torture scenes in this book (and this series) than I wanted to.
Also, could Hamilton make up her mind about what Merry and her guards are or aren't capable of with regards to intelligence? If the guards have lived hundreds or thousands of years, then can they have enough experience to recognize uncontrolled ambition and paranoia, and start working to counter that? If Merry spent so much time as a child in the goblin court, then why all the agonizing in this book about what she doesn't know about the goblin court? Most importantly, if there have been strong hints since book one that some of the Sidhe are playing fast and loose with the rule that fae can't lie, then can Merry and her guards quit acting so stupefied (and quit being so slow to react) when Taranis LIES and breaks other rules too?
All that said, the plot does advance in some important ways:
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There is a large meeting of Merry, some of her guards, her lawyers, the U.S. ambassador to the Sidhe, and the prosecutors investigating the rape charges from the last book. During this meeting, it becomes clear that Taranis has broken yet another major rule by placing a spell on the U.S. ambassador. The St. Louis U.S. attorney mentions that one of the conditions for the fae coming to the U.S. are that there will NOT be a war between the Seelie and Unseelie courts. There is a conference call with all the attorneys, Merry, her guards, and Taranis, during which Taranis tries so hard to put a spell on Merry (another big no-no) that he incapacitates (and maybe permanently damages) one of the assistant attorneys. The rape charges from the last book are dropped, or probably will be, especially after Taranis finally loses it and directly attacks Merry through the mirrors. Doyle is seriously hurt in the attack. Taranis's guards intervene, and tell Merry that the Seelie court may vote Taranis incompetent. Merry and her guards tell Andais, who as usual initially reacts in a completely paranoid and unhelpful way, before Merry again reaffirms her loyalty, and Andais again says that she doesn't care how loyal Merry is, Andais hates her with a passion. Andais spends more time torturing people who like Merry, just so she can make Merry watch. More old magic starts appearing, particularly more fey creatures (like cu sith hounds), and Andais says the Unseelie sithen continues to change and show signs of renewed life. Rhys and Kitto come to a new understanding. There is drama and politics related to the goblins and the goblin court. Rhys is heart broken that Merry loves him, but not as much as Doyle and Frost. We find out Frost's origins. The red caps all pledge allegiance to Merry. Merry finally gets pregnant. Frost transmutes to a non-human form.
And then Taranis kidnaps Merry, who is out walking alone without her guards. This of course MAKES PERFECT SENSE on the part of Merry and her guards, as there's NO REASON to think Taranis might break more rules to attack Merry directly. After all, he's only: been attacking Merry through intermediaries since book two; been desperately trying to get Merry to come to the Seelie court since book three or four; been trying to bespell Merry through the magic mirrors since book three or four; been lodging false complaints against her guards since book five; and made a major effort to bespell her and kidnap her through a mirror in the beginning of book six. So why SHOULDN'T Merry go out walking by herself with no guards!!!????
At that point, I was so disgusted with the incredible stupidity Hamilton has written into her characters that I just skimmed the last chapter. Among other highlights, Taranis claims he raped Merry while she was unconscious.
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35 of 41 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
better but still troubling, October 29, 2007
I will preface this by saying that I no longer read the Anita books, but still hold curiousity on the Merry books.
This book is a LOT better than Mistrals Kiss, which was one long talky sex scene (and sex is a lot better doing, than talking about)..
Stuff does happen in this book... Merry gets pregnant(although the Daddy situation is a deux de machina if you ever saw one). How convenient...
We finally see some Seelie court and the political stuff that was interesting to me in the beginning of the series.
LKH still spends a lot of time talking about hair and makeup and the same alliterations litter up the scenery (like candy on your tongue, swallowed the moon, etc, etc). I fear she will never recapture her old snappy dialogue style that I enjoyed.
If this review seems disjointed, I apologize, but these books have become disjointed also. I sincerely hope that LKH takes the positives she gained with this book (moving the story along now peoples!) and manages to get this sucker tied up in a few more books, because she can, if she just concentrates on what is important...
I truly think that LKH should only write one series at a time, she tends to have them bleed too much into each other.
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31 of 36 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Back on track-thank gods, October 28, 2007
The latest installment of the Princess Merry story at around 300 pages is shorter than others have been but if it's a trade between quality and quantity I want Hamilton to keep the books short.
This book picks up a few weeks after the last book ended and the Princess' world gets pretty much shaken up when Taranis, King of the Seelie court pretty much loses it in public, allowing his nobles to move against him and potentially offer Merry, heir to the Unseelie throne, the throne of the Seelie court.
This does not make things any easier for Merry. She doesn't trust the Seelie court and suspects the hint of an offer is to use her as a poltical tool in their own games. The offer also outrages her aunt, Queen of the Unseelie court. And outraged Queen is usually a very BAD thing, as long time readers of this series know.
Through it all Merry is realizing that her having favorites are affecting things and not for the best as she must learn to let go of things that she might not be able to keep as queen. The book shows more of faerie, including finally more of the Seelie court and how they live. It also looks more to faerie outside of the mounds. If there is something missing from this it is Merry's LA fey contacts who seem to have dropped out of the author's site. Also this focus' on the original 4 guards and goblin from book one The dozen other guards she's picked up in the books in between have between them , maybe 3 spoken lines. This failure to pick up dangling threads is symptomatic of Hamiliton's latest books but if she's getting back in form, I odn't mind. (too much.)
This has been the first Hamilton book in years that I have had trouble setting down, she seems to have resolved her own sex demons that have been crippling her work for the past few years and gone back to form. This is very very good.
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