Micah is manageable. Review by S.K. Slevinski

Regular readers of ARWZ will recall that my first foray into Laurell K. Hamilton's world of Anita Blake was not a largely successful one (see my Incubus Dreams review). However, due to the confounding popularity of Hamilton's novels, I felt a responsibility to give her a second chance.

My first attempt to give Hamilton a second chance, and a fair shake, was with one of her Meredith Gentry novels, my thinking being that a new character might provide a new perspective. But when this novel turned out to be more of the same (a laborious dwelling on the details of the main character's sex life; and this was in a press conference, not in a bedroom scene), I put the book aside, figuring I just ought to give up on Hamilton altogether. However, when I stumbled upon the audiobook of Micah, I had new hope. I checked, re-checked, and checked a third time to make sure it was truly an unabridged novel on four discs—both of the other Hamilton audiobooks I had picked up were at least 24 discs each. Figuring that I could deal with anything Hamilton could dish out for the span of four audio discs, I decided to give Micah a try.

On Audio

I found Micah to be more of the same, however, due to the limited length of the novel (perhaps it counts as a novella, at least in contrast to the rest of Hamilton's work) it turned out to be the perfect dose of Anita and her consorts. The main problem I had with Incubus Dreams was its seemingly gratuitous mix of random episodes—Anita raises a dead person; sex scene; Anita deals with a magical crisis; sex scene; Anita chats with a friend; sex scene; and so on. The shorter scope of Micah provided just enough space for Hamilton to develop and play out one professional conflict (Anita stepping in to raise a corpse in Philadelphia in place of a colleague who had to bow out for a personal emergency) and to further her relationship with were-leopard lover Micah in one highly detailed sex scene. In most ways it was more of the same—overly belabored details of Anita's sex life, which too many characters seem to take an unrealistic interest in. But at least it came in a manageable dose—along with some useful tips on the layering of ladies' foundation garments.

If you're a Hamilton fan, this novel will likely not be enough for you, but if you're looking for a fun, tawdry little novel to listen to on a short car trip, pick up this audiobook. It makes for a fun guilty pleasure—just make sure there's no one under 18 in the back seat.

S.K. Slevinski is senior editor for ARWZ Literary Magazine and a long time reader of alternative reality fiction. She is currently a graduate student, specializing in folklore.

Alternative Reality Web Zine: ISSN# 1559-3037

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