After reading all these reviews, I though it was a mistake... the book couldn't be THAT bad!

well, I was wrong. What happened to the plot... suspense... the wonder? The only thing I was left wondering is who is left that Anita can have sex with?

I felt the need to read it because I've every other book in the series, so I guess you can read it if you want to waste your time. But please don't spend money on it...

EVERY situation Anita was in she had sex... maybe not "American" sex, but it's sex. And I don't mean ohhh sexy erotica sex, I mean I'm uncomfortable reading this sex. I think 95-98% of the situations Anita was in ended in some sort of sex/feeding. NOTHING could be simple... walking down the street was complicated. Having sex was complicated! Who, what, where, when, how, what does it mean... what does it means!?!? I wanted to rip pages out!!!

Please, Ms. Hamilton, explain in detail what everyone is wearing down to their unseen underwear. Please, Ms. Hamilton, explain Anita's every thought about everything even though it all contradicts. Please, Ms. Hamilton, tell me about Anita and how her powers keep growing and growing. I feel she has to reach God status in maybe two more books. In the other books she gained one, maybe two, more "powers". I think every time she had sex she got a new power in the books. I can't even count that on two hands.

The only thing I can give credit to, is that some of the characters know Anita is a dummy. So, obviously Hamilton knows Anita is a dummy (she could fix this...). These characters stand up to Anita and tell her to shut up and think like a normal person.

It's just too bad she (Anita and Hamilton!) don't really listen.

I first heard of Laurell K. Hamilton and Anita Blake Vampire Hunter on a toy collector's forum a few years ago from a fan of the series. I picked up Guilty Pleasures, the first book, and rather enjoyed. Now fast forward a few years. I just picked up the audio version of the book Incubus Dreams, which is book twelve in this series not having read the other ten books in between. So I had high expectations for this story.

I finally finished the audio version of Laurell K. Hamilton's Incubus Dreams. Thank god I was listening to the abridged version (only 10 discs) instead of the unabridged version (24 discs). Twelve hours of this droll was bad enough I don't think I could have made it through thirty hours.

So what exactly did they cut out of this story for the abridged version? I thought perhaps major plot points were dropped. But according to the reviews I was reading about the book that might not be the case. So did they must have cut out some of the sex or perhaps the sexual scenes had gone into to more graphic detail than what I was getting. I don't know and I have no intentions of finding out.

I will read her earlier works (I loved Guilty Pleasures when I read that a few years ago and now in comic book form from Marvel), but I don't think I will bother with any of the books beyond this one. Incubus Dreams is 12th in the Anita Blake series so I will have plenty to check out before I finally give up on this author.

If I wish to read (or in this case hear) pure Vampire/Werewolf erotic fantasy I will look for books like Deep Inside: Extreme Erotic Fantasies by Polly Frost. With Anita Blake I was hoping for a Vampire mystery with a little sex in the mix, not that the entire story would be filled with only sex. We lost the whole aspect of any mystery or case a few chapters into this storyline and never got it back again until the very end of the book. Everything in between was one sexual experience after another. We had characters come and go too easily without any story development. What happened to the Vampire servant Damian? Anita f--ks him and he has a complete vampiric break down only to drop out of the story completely without resolving the problems brought on by the encounter. That is only one of many, many flaws with this story. The story ends with what else, more sex and the mystery is left unresolved. Not that I will be picking up book 13 in the series any time soon to see if this author bothers to fill her readers in or not.

My suggestion is to stay away from this story. Go ahead and read the earlier works of this author but don't bother with this book. Even better check out the comic book version of Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter: Guilty Pleasures (at least she is actually hunting vampires, raising the dead and dealing with werewolves instead of just f--king them all).

As I said I was listening to this story. I did not yet touch on the flaws in the audio version, which is published by Brilliance Audio and read by Cynthia Holloway. Cynthia does a good job of rendering the characters and keep our interest even if the story can't. My biggest problem with the audio version is the production. The publishing company Brilliance Audio sees fit to add unneeded audio at the beginning and end of each disk. Most people today take their discs and turn them into MP3s, which is what I did and that is why I found the fade in/out music and notice to put in the next disk a real distraction. Combine that with the repeated two or three lines of text from the previous disc and the annoyance only compounded. So drop the unwanted extras from your audio discs and maybe they will be easier to listen, although even that would not have helped this story.

First off, this is the lowest review score I have ever given I dont usually do bad reviews...I dont know where to start but to say others arnt exagerrating this book is not up to the standards of the others. I will admit I wanted there to be more sex, more bedroom type fun ;) I had no idea that when it came everything else would suffer a GREAT deal! She screwed everyone and please no more its "tight...he's so big" please ANITA stopped being tight a while back lol and lucky her all her men are sooo biggg. So is it worth reading, yeah its barely ok, I would try to get it from a library im selling my entires series...I will continue to read it probably im very forgiving but its just not the same she has a Harem of supposably ALPHA males who are complete chumps,sex toys, and weak....WOW...and WOW what the heck is up with Anita the only way I was able to finish it was to Skim.

First off, this is the lowest review score I have ever given I dont usually do bad reviews...I dont know where to start but to say others arnt exagerrating this book is not up to the standards of the others. I will admit I wanted there to be more sex, more bedroom type fun ;) I had no idea that when it came everything else would suffer a GREAT deal! She screwed everyone and please no more its "tight...he's so big" please ANITA stopped being tight a while back lol and lucky her all her men are sooo biggg. So is it worth reading, yeah its barely ok, I would try to get it from a library im selling my entires series...I will continue to read it probably im very forgiving but its just not the same she has a Harem of supposably ALPHA males who are complete chumps,sex toys, and weak....WOW...and WOW what the heck is up with Anita the only way I was able to finish it was to Skim.

There are porn directors out there that are saying " This book needs more plot and a little less sex". I do not know how I actually got through half of this book , but I did and it was one big sex scene. There was about a page and a half devoted to a mystery, but after that it is Anita and the "ardeur" all the way. I sent this book back to the library ( I have not spent money on an Anita Blake book since " Obsidian Butterfly") unfinished, which is something I rarely do. I did decide to check out " Danse Macabre", and it seems to be better. There is still way too much time on the stupid "ardeur", but wayyyy less than " Incubus Dreams". My advice to a reader is to skip " Incubus Dreams" and either go on to "Micah" or " Danse", because this book does nothing for any of the characters and does not add to the storyline whatsoever. Or, if you want to be really smart, check out a new author like Keri Arthur, Charlaine Harris or Kim Harrison. They do some really solid work in the supernatural/mystery/romance line.

A really weak book.
Practically no plot and way too much sex.
Believe me, I don't begrudge Anita her sex life with all the beautiful and supportive were-men. I was delighted when she overcame her prudery and hang-ups - how long can you whine about a cad that ditched you back in college, after all.
This book, however, really overdoes it. First there are hundreds of pages of "we have to talk" scenes and endless discussion of everybody's sexual needs. Then there are hundreds of pages of sex. Towards the end there is (finally!!) a mention of bad guys and a brief visit to a crime scene that solves nothing.
I really wish Anita would put on some clothes and go back to work.

I don't mind sex scenes...even if some are graphic (the first time Anita and JC are together is HOT). However, this book was just a string of graphic sex scenes, one right after another. I love the characters in this series of books. I hope the author returns to her earlier plot and character driven writing style and stops relying on graphic sex to sell.

I gave up on page 345 (of 722). The mystery hasn't been mentioned since page 24, and Anita has had sex with seven men so far. This from the character who wouldn't sleep with her fiance six or seven books ago. There is no plot, only poorly written, highly improbable, overly detailed sex scenes strung together with dull dialog and cliches. It's mind-numbing. The author has taken a great premise for a series and thrown it away. There are too many books in the world to give this series any more of my time -- I'm done with Anita Blake.

If she wants to write what someone on a forum I saw somewhere called Fangfrackers, that is fine.

Don't dress them up as monster hunting books though, and call a
spade a spade, and throw in the erotica word. Will that hurt sales that
badly? If she put out a line of books purely focused on women shagging monsters, can't imagine she wouldn't do really well with it, as she seems to have some talent in that area.

The plot here is of the thin crust variety, no doubt about it.
Personally, in a ghost busting or monster hunting book, I want some
stuff to happen.

Very stimulating stuff. This and 100 Percent Erotica by Suzie Van Aartman really helped me make it through the night.Its the first of Laurell's books for me, but I shall be seeking out more. Thanks for a good read. also check out Zane's The Sex Chronicles.

Like most readers, I've been waiting for Ms. Hamilton to return to the days when there was such a thing as a plot in one of her books. Waiting oh so patiently because of how hooked I'd become despite my earlier determination to hate her poor writing style.

The only reason I looked forward to this book was because I was tricked into thinking we'd get more on Nathaniel--a character I find completely endearing. The parts that did feature Nathaniel were disappointing as hell. All this build-up, then Anita shags him and right away (literally) he's filed away with all the other guys Anita gets it on with and that leads into another mundane sex scene with two other characters. Not very appealing.

And speaking of not appealing...my guess is that most readers of this series are women. Why would LKH feel the need to go into detail during the "rain-making" session with Nathaniel as well other aspects of sex no one needs emphasized even in erotic stories. C'mon, this is fiction. Why would any good writer emphasize those gross details? I felt like my face was being shoved into her...stuff. I wasn't thinking "Wow, that's hot!". I was thinking "Wow, that's TMI...but thanks for sharing, I guess...(gag!)"

It's like she keeps trying to "up" the erotica facter by becoming more and more graphic each time, making each encounter supposedly bigger than the last. Really the only thing bigger than the last is the size of her lovers' genitals. Each guy seems to wow her with his size until the next guy comes along with a bigger toy. Get real, lady... There's fantasy and then there's just plain ridiculous.

There are so many new characters randomly thrown in the mix that the interesting ones get pushed to the sidelines too often. I'm not the only one who's tired of all the talking where there should be action. They converse WAY too much. I feel that the author keeps starting things that she's either unable or too unmotivated to finish in the last couple of books before this.

Y'know, just because you have a big fan base doesn't mean that you don't have to try as hard. It also doesn't mean you'll always have all of those fans. There's always going to be another writer who's better.

I'm just glad I borrowed all of her books from a friend. I didn't waste a cent and from now on, I won't be wasting any of my time either.

First and foremost, let me say this: I think it is extremely dishonest and inappropriate of Amazon to cull reviews that speak negatively of items they sell. This is the second time I have written this review, and I know from browsing the site that others have had their negative (or at least not-so-glowing) reviews erased.

This book wasn't terrible, but it sure as hell wasn't very good. Ms Hamilton needs a proofreader and a better editor. There are words misspelled in this book that should not be. There are grammatical errors and spelling mistakes that even Spell Check would catch. To let these errors make it to the finished product is uncalled for. And there are phrases and expressions that Hamilton uses that do not have the shelf life she imagines they do. For instance, please find proper substitutes for the phrases "flat out does it for me" and "take one for the team."

I loved the first 8 or 9 AB books. I couldn't read them fast enough. Even characters I wasn't too fond of, like Richard, grew on me. But with the ardeur comes what so many writers dread, because they aren't easy to write: sex scenes. A properly written sex scene is a glorious thing to behold - if the writer is adept at creating them. Anita's first encounter with J-C was great: it was sweet and hot and the same time. Those of us who wanted them to just do it already pumped our fists in the air and reread that passage several times.

Incubus Dreams was just an awkward book, like a pubescent boy that hasn't quite grown into his height or voice. You can see where Hamilton wants to go, but at the same time, you can see that she doesn't quite have any idea how she will get there. Anita gets new powers willy-nilly and seemingly out of nowhere. She no longer comes across as a consummate professional, be it as an animator or as a Federal Marshal. Hamilton is going to have to figure out some way for Anita to further control the ardeur, because having her walk into a place and screw people that she has barely laid eyes on does nothing for her respectability and likeability.

Lastly, the Nathaniel situation is not my favorite. Such a damaged boy, and for Anita to decide that to keep him on as a pet/houseboy (because that is what he is, despite anyone's objections) would help him more than hinder him just makes me sad. You would think that as a woman and as a member of the fairer sex, Hamilton would have a little more insight on such enabling behavior.

I will finish this series, because I started it, and I will always give it a chance. I don't want to dislike these books, I want nothing more than for them to get better, as they used to be. I will not be purchasing books to come until I have read them first, and until Hamilton has redeemed Anita a little. It's very hard to enjoy a character that you no longer respect.

I was drawn into this written, imaginative story within the first few pages. A woman with emotional conflict; a vampire hunter with a few secrets other than solving murder cases. I was influenced to read this book because of its title, "Incubus Dreams."
The main characters are Anita, Micah, and Nathaniel, they all live under the same roof. They aren't exactly human, and their everyday lifestyle isn't what you would call normal. Anita is a necromancer, and possesses some abilities that don't have. Despite these abilities, there is a major downfall, the arduer...only feed-able by sex or blood. Anita is solving a series of murders, while trying to contain her arduer and person conflicts.
This book is only one of the beautiful novels in this series. It's wonderful because even without reading the previous books, you can easily understand the novel.
I couldn't put this book down it was so captivating. This is a very graphic novel and I wouldn't recommend it to a young audience. Overall there is some necessary sex, but in my opinion it intensifies the storyline. This book was very enjoyable, mainly because of the level of detail. If you find intense, suspenseful, romantic graphic novels enjoyable to you, I think you should read Incubus Dreams.

Each word will leave you wanting more, her best book yet.

I'm too devoted to the series to give it anything but 5! I read the books back to back three times before I've gotten my fill. And I was especially happy since this one had so many pages.

While there is a lot of sex (and it's all very packed into a consequitive amount of pages), there's also a murder mystery and a plot once more. We get to meet some fun new vamps. Anita discovers new levels to her powers and, best of all, Nathaniel starts growing into his own.

It's nice to see the character development there and Anita's starting to get a better feel of her powers by the end of the book, so I was happy.

Having finished the book, I had these impressions:

(a) Hamilton wanted to set up future books with certain background development
(b) Hamilton made a list of the points she wanted covered
(c) Hamilton gave this list to her housekeeper with a note about what needed to be thrown out of the fridge if it went bad while she was on vacation, and told her to write the scenes she wanted done, so she could later string them together with scenes that would provide structure to the book
(d) Hamilton never actually wrote the scenes that would reveal plot to the reader, and submitted the background drafts ghosted by her maid without further adornment

There is a theme among many of these posts, and it runs "It was such good noire/vampire/fantasy/what-have-you, then she started writing pornos." This is not the problem. The problem may be that Hamilton is so taken with her characters that she can no longer judge the quality of what she writes about them. Perhaps she's so lost in her romp that editing just isn't important any more. In a few books, the typos and misplaced punctuation had really convinced me this was the case, but someone has returned to make sure the spelling is right and the commas are mostly defensible. Or maybe my standards are falling.

But just to make sure nobody mistakes my concerns:
(1) I don't mind reading sex scenes.
(2) Hamilton eventually demonstrated, after the first yawners with Jean Claude many books ago, that she could write sex when she bothered to try.

This book is not a worthy effort. The main adversaries are not dealt with in a way that enables the reader to see she's won anything, or showing her defeated and needing to re-group. She just misses the boat, the bad guys get away.

What DOES happen in the book? Background. The main character is introduced to the SWAT-equivalent of her town and gains their respect (killing little minions an enemy left as a smoke-screen), while leaving longtime readers dumbfounded that the police would want to close a case that's so obviously not closed (who's the cop in this story? didn't we establish many books ago the cops now trusted hard evidence on supernatural things? didn't Blake provide the hard evidence? why the sudden incompetence?). The main character's vampire allies are buttressed with convincing muscle, some of it famously good (OK: we expect a fight later; could be exciting ... where is it?). We hear about recon against the local werewolf pack (OK, more conflict being set up). Distant and extremely powerful vampires are illustrated for future use (allies and enemies, no doubt, but ... for later ....). The possibility that mundane adversaries will drop in by surprise increases (hmm, where's Edward? Is he no longer necessary now that Obsidian Butterfly proved him mortal? No, he'll show up with intel on the mundane powers ... he's just not showing up here, or he was murdered before the mundanes came to town last time). The ongoing build up over Dolph's son's fiancee is discussed, again, but the dinner where Blake meets the boy's vampire love-interest still goes untold. Supernatural sex compulsions drive Blake to bone numerous new specimens, some now apparently complete strangers, and she does 3-ways while you wait for some plot to arrive, like cavalry, to save the book. One hopes that all this background is setting up volumes that will really rock -- volumes in which Hamilton invests time, thought, and craftsmanship.

Incubus Dreams is not the first dud in this series. However, Micah is also weak (even aggressive typesetting tricks fail to make Micah even appear the same length as a "normal" Hamilton novel). Micah is not bad, but a Hamilton novel has several threads going on (her life is supposed to be confusing, her dangers complex and multi-faceted). Obsidian Butterfly, the other book besides Micah in which Blake leaves town without Jean Claude or Richard, is easily complex and fulfilling in ways neither Incubus Dreams or Micah have bothered.

So while I'm optimistic Hamilton is building a great tale down the road, I'm not willing to bet a book's price on it. I'll not read more of her until I get confirmation (from a trusted reviewer) that Hamilton's actually working to make a good book again.

Unfortunately, as long as Hamilton's sales stay up, she'll have little incentive to do solid work if pride in her craftsmanship has failed. It's great for her to live on a hobby -- I think everyone should do something they love -- but it's rotten to see a good series lost like this. Not to sex -- sex is fine, and the series hasn't been lost to sex (though this book positively drowns in it, and since there's no plot for the sex to advance, it comes off as utterly gratuitous, which isn't what Hamilton is after: she obviously wants the reader to see what increasing power does to her appetites, and how she needs to take care of herself and those who depend on her in order to avoid disaster ... the fact that Hamilton has failed to make the reader feel it, and leaves you to suss it out afterward, simply shows how little care she's taken in her work).

The series is lost, rather, to laziness. It's been lost to lack of pride of craftsmanship.

And it's a shame.

This book was downright awful. I was not able to even finish reading the last few chapters. It is really frustrating that the books (after Obsidian Butterfly) have a crime scene at the very beginning of the book, which misleads the reader to believing that there is going to be an action-packed, rich story with amazing characters to follow and mysteries to solve. Do not get your hopes up !!! Anita is so busy having sex with anything with a pulse , that there is no space for anything else. The woman is sexually frustrated.

I truley miss the "old", the real Anita Blake series. She was such a strong character, taking no nonsense from anyone. Someone who had her priorities fully sorted out.
The main men characters were strong-minded and actually had a personality. Now they are only lining up to see who is going to get jumped next, when she gets "hungry" again.

Even after reading these last horrible books, I am still hoping for a miracle to happen...... book 15, The Harlequin is going to be published soon, and I am hoping that the author at least tried to save the series !!!

This series is going, going.. hopefully not gone.

Anita Blake-The Executioner. That was great reading. Anita Blake big skanky slut is not so great a read. Sure it is magically induced "Ardeur" but...I miss zombies, solving murders and shooting the bad guys. I MISS tough Anita who was the underdog who succeeds against the odds. Super Anita who easily wins because she out sexs, out magics, out supers the bad guys is getting OLD fast.

The Meredith Gentry series is actually getting more character and less orgy driven and Anita Blake is going the other way. Sad, sad day when Anita Blake is in a downward spiral. I am sticking with it and hoping for a series recovery but losing hope as story lines are getting flimsy, and developed character traits and back stories are ignored.

I picked up the book from the library and still felt cheated after I'd read it. There is only enough plot to keep the erotica progressing. This really should have been published as a Harlequin Romance, except it might even be too graphic for that.

To add insult to injury, this book has not been proofread. I stopped counting incorrect spelling, bad grammar and the use of incorrect homophones about halfway through. Does Jove employ editors?

I picked up the book from the library and still felt cheated after I'd read it. There is only enough plot to keep the erotica progressing. This really should have been published as a Harlequin Romance, except it might even be too graphic for that.

To add insult to injury, this book has not been proofread. I stopped counting incorrect spelling, bad grammar and the use of incorrect homophones about halfway through. Does Jove employ editors?

From the moment I picked up a copy of GUILTY PLEASURES and started reading it, I was hooked on Anita Blake and pretty much devoured the succeeding books. Anita became like a friend and I simply had to know what the author had in store for her, hence I used to pick up the next book as soon as I get to the last page of the previous one. Sadly, this series also proves that all good things must come to an end as we see in the decline of the quality of Hamilton's writing after OBSIDIAN BUTTERFLY.

When I write reviews, I do like to summarize the plot. However after reading INCUBUS DREAMS, I was stuck trying to figure out how to begin my review. The problem is that this book has no plot, even though the back cover may suggest otherwise. This is so far the lengthiest book in the series, but there was hardly any of the kick-as* action that I have come to love in the other books, especially the first few. Ask me what I liked about the other books and I can go on about it. Ask me what INCUBUS DREAMS is about and all I can remember is that Anita spent more time feeding the ardeur, which meant getting down and dirty with any man that was available several times a day, whether in private or in front of her numerous male friends. I am certainly no prude but the sex scenes in this book were simply gratuitous and boring. Anita has spent more time on her back and knees than killing those monsters. I miss the old Anita whose sarcasm and no-nonsense attitude I found entertaining and actually endearing. Will someone please tell Ms Hamilton to bring her back?

I will not ramble on much further, but I can tell you now that MICAH is actually worse than this one. I still have DANSE MACABRE to go, but I am leaving that for much much later since I am not sure I can handle any more of Anita's sexual antics at the moment.

I love all Laurell K Hamilton's imaginings. For all you non-believers out there, patience is a virtue.... Even though the sex seems to get tiresome, and Anita's mind is a jumble, it helps you to feel some of what she is feeling. After all, it is written in the first person. One must also consider that there are now two books after Incubus Dreams. Micah may be disappointingly short, and I have not yet read Danse Macabre, but it is apparent to me that you just have to keep reading. The books are going somewhere, and as far as I am concerned, I don't want them to end! They are my escape from the mundane. So, do not desert our fair heroine!

Incubus Dream finally got me to a point where the sex is starting to aggravate me in this series. I think Hamilton can get her point across about the ardeur without having the whole book be nothing but about sex. What I missed most in this book was the good police mystery part. Don't get me wrong, there was a mystery but it want barely there as if the sex stuff had been written and she found a way to write in an actual case to work on. It just took away from the other stuff I love so much about Anita. I enjoyed her finally getting it on with Nathaniel because her moral choices just don't make much sense, which the character admits herself, and Anita really does love Nathaniel. It's just frustrating when the story didn't seem to have a point a lot of the time except for all of Anita's new powers which revolve around sex. Most people have talked bad about the way the character was going before now but it was really, really evident in this book. I'm going to continue with the series but only because the past eleven titles have been so great.

Does anyone still care about this series at this point? I guess I do because I checked the book out of the library. And now I see why there was no waiting list. Simply put, if you feel the previous books had not enough sex and too much plot, this one's for you. Otherwise, steer clear and don't tarnish your memories of what this series and its feisty protagonist were.

Sure, Anita wasn't perfect. The books were occasionally stiltingly written, some characters were not that well fleshed out (Micah, we're all looking at you now) and Anita's sociopathic behavior could be really aggravating and nonsensical. And Ms.Hamilton was often guilty of drawing too many times from the same simile well; how many times have we heard about someone's pulse feeling "like candy on my tongue"? But the concept of this alternate universe was original and the stories were fun. But the fun evidently couldn't last. Every man who meets Anita now must have her or simply die. Who doesn't she have sex with in this book? Nathaniel, Damian, Micah, Requiem (wait-who??) Oh yeah-and Richard and Jean Claude. At the same time. Because, see, that's the only way to share power within the triumvirate or...you know, I really have no clue. Anyways, be prepared to want to shower for the rest of your life if you make it that far into the book.

The mystery has something to do with some strippers being suspiciously killed but honestly I couldn't make it till the end to see what all that was about; I couldn't even make it far enough to see when or if that particular thread was ever resumed. Unlike the Amazon review, I say this is exactly a bunch of sex scenes strung together drunkenly without context. It's like a supernatural key party. I lament I must give the book one whole star. Clearly, I'm not alone.

While I thought that nothing could be worse than Dance Macbre, Hamilton proved me wrong with this installation of the Blake series. This book has lost the luster of the early books of the series. The grand battle that usually happens at the end of the books is sadly replased with disturbing sex scenes. The intreguing growth of Anita's powers has been replaced with the growth of her lust. Serriously, Hamilton, if you want to write a romance series, write one, but don't forsake one of my favorite characters for an outlet for your sexual frustration!

This "Book" (and BOY, do I use the term loosely) was like a train wreck.
It was excruciating, and you really didn't want to see it, but you were so transfixed by the degree of it's horrendousness that you just couldn't look away.
Don't buy it, and for gods-sakes, do not read it.
If I could give negative stars, I would.
You can't find the plot between the badly-written porn and the glaringly obvious fact that Laurell K. Hamilton is living (ew) vicariously through Anita.
As a reader, I'll find it hard to get past the fact that I was reading an author's disgusting sexual fantasies even if LKH ever does learn how to write again (unlikely).
The author and her books have proved themselves to be one thing: Garbage.

I was so disappointed. I bought this in hardcover, so eager to read Anita's adventures, to find out what was going on after CS, to see if the Mother of Darkness was coming back and what was going on with Stephen and Gregory and their father, but did I find any of that out? NO! None of the dangling plots were mentioned in ID. In fact, I don't think this had a plot at all.

The story starts off with a wedding, and then proceeds to near sex outside the wedding, to full blown sex (that doesn't stop for most of the book) and then maybe a little plot at the end. I read this book twice, and I still can't find any mention of some of the new characters that were supposed to be in here. I aslo skipped most of it because I have had it with the sex.

Don't get me wrong, I like sex in books. I read romance novels a lot. However, they have never left me feeling as dirty or violated as ID did. I was disgusted. Sex is one thing, but the kind of sex Anita has, plus the fact she went from being someone with morals to a jumping in bed with anything (and I do mean anything) that would have her made me ill. The series took a turn for the worst, turning our beloved strong and independant Anita into Wonderslut. She, who used to swear she'd never have casual sex, has gone from just being with one, maybe two guys, to bedding half of St. Loius. And those who oppose her sudden change, are shown unfavorably and will probably be killed in the next book (assuming that book has a plot).

I, for one, will never buy any more books by LKH. She lost a very loyal fan in me.

I know there are a lot of people out there that aren't happy with the 'turn' that Anita Blake has taken. But I tend to enjoy it. I understand that she is a tad bit more promiscuous - okay, more than a tad - but if we are to take this 'ardeur' seriously doesn't it require the extreme? Honestly, sooner or later, yes, she should become master of the ardeur, not the other way around - but until then. . .

I am not happy with everything that is happening - but nobody is going to be. That is the price for everyone having their own opinions. But until we all think as one organism (no, Anita, not orgasm) everyone is going to have their own feelings and have the right to them. Until then, I will enjoy the ride.

I was a big fan of LKH. I loved this serries from the start. I could even forgive the occassional clunker, but this piece of offal pretty much broke me of the habit.
The serries originally started as a pulp detective type setting only the bad guys were vampires and the occassional lycanthrope or serrious head case. Then it started to change. Anita went from tough and self assured to whiny self indulgent and self hating. she went from not letting anyone getting close to being very friendly to lots of people. By this book she's the town bicycle-anyone can have a ride.
The book reads like a porn screenplay. Sure it starts at a wedding and there's a shoot out at the end with an apartment full of nasties but it's a long, boring, pointless road to get there. Basically Anita goes to scene A- has sex or vampire foreplay that's almost the same. Goes to scene B Repeat. again and again and again.
LKH said that her fans, who have loudly complained at the bent the serries took, should bare with her, but it's getting old fast. The only scene in here that is worth rer-reading is when she rescues a drunken friend from herself at a stripper bar and has to flash her badge. But in general- this is a waste of unparralleld proportions.

Anita Blake, vampire executioner and consort to the Master of the City continues her journey into the world of preternatural creatures in Incubus Dreams. As her connection to Jean Claude gets stronger she learns more about herself and her conflicting emotions. Anita has a hard time admiting that she loves anyone, seeing it as a weakness, but as her need to choose lovers to satisfy the hunger that Jean Claude has awoken in her, she finds she must admit she cares for her growing stable of men. She struggles to keep up her commitment to the police, helping them solve a new round of unusual crimes and fight her own hunger. This struggle is what makes the Anita Blake seires intriguing as well as exciting. A satisfying addition and pure Laurell K Hamilton!

m not offended by Hamilton's shift to erotica. I simply wish she had developed another cast of characters to do it. I understand that a large part of Anita's relationships to her male "harem" is by nature sexual; however, in a novel of 700 plus pages, for what seemed to be at least 500 pages to be devoted to the ardeur in its many permutations and complications is a little much. Anita's role as the executioner is somewhat jarring because the book is not really about Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter; it's about Anita Blake, sexual woman.
Yes, I read all of the book because Hamilton does an excelllent job of writing erotica most of the time and because I really did want to find out who was doing the strippers.

Another one of Laurell K. Hamilton's outstanding Anita Blake series. Laurell continues to provide the reader with an outstanding - stimulating and can't put the book down, Anita Blake saga. The entire series is a must buy.

this author has a great imagination I have read all the Anita Blake stories

This book was awesome! I think the series got hotter and better with each book. Main character really evolves in this book. I could not put it down and read through a 6 hour flight! Must like this genre and not mind sex and gore.

There's a plot here. I'm sure. I read through all 752 pages of this, the 12th Anita Blake novel, and there were vague hints of a plot toward the end. I think. The rest of the book, though, should have been subtitled, "How I Stopped Worrying and Came to Love Wanton Sex."

I mean, really. By the end of the first chapter, Anita -- erstwhile vampire hunter and current multi-discipline sex queen of St Louis -- has boffed two strangers. A few more chapters, a few more strangers. By the end of the book pretty much every lycanthrope or vampire Anita's run across -- certainly every series regular -- has gotten down and dirty with her.

There are a few moments where there's, well, interesting stuff happening. All's not well with the vampiric Church of Eternal Life, there are some rogue vamps doing Very Bad Things, there's another powerful vampire doing cunning things, and ...

... and, of course, Anita has New Amazing Powers, which lead to New Mystical Complications, even as she continues her steady evolution toward being the Mystic Queen of the Midwest (one must assume).

But enough of that trivial leavening. We're here for the hot, sweaty, and other-fluidly vampire-necromancer-lycanthrope sex, right? Am I right? Evidently I am. And that's not to mention frequent polemics on sex, strangers, B&D, S&M, following your bliss, accepting your kinks, and other received wisdom from the woman who can't decide if she's being driven to being a slut because of metaphysical compulsion or because it's fun.

Not that I necessarily have a problem with sex, or books with sex scenes -- but, really, fergoshsakes, after a while it gets repetitive. And boring. And repetitive. Most books would be satisfied with a cut scene from when things get hot and heavy to the aftermath. Not Incubus Dreams (or, frankly, most of the recent AB books); we end a chapter just as things are getting hot and heavy -- and the next chapter is all about the hot-and-heaviness. At length (which is ironic on multiple levels).

(Note to copy editors: the synonym for "god" you are looking for is "deity." Not "diety." No matter how many times you let it be typed that way.)

Mercifully, the next installment, _Micah_, is ... well, at least a decent echo of the original books in this series. Skip this one, go to that, and at least feel like you've gotten a story for your [...].

Incubus Dreams continues the shift in content that began with Narcissus in Chains and continued with Cerulean Sins and takes it up a notch. After the coming of the aurdeur, and the subsequent increases in Anita's powers, the mood and content of this series has permanently shifted (I believe in a good way). I personally prefer the Anita Blake series after book nine, but it appears that I am in the minority. It is true that starting with the previous book (and continuing here), there is a great increase of graphic content, but given the plotline I believe it adds to the story, and causes the series to rise to a new plateau in quality. Readers need to keep in mind that for whatever other genres are mixed in, this series is primarily vampire fiction. Being an avid follower of vampire fiction I must say that graphic content is (among other controversial elements) par for the course. Hamilton does an excellent job in keeping the series from stagnating and she does it quite well. I found this book to be a great read. My advice for those who have read the first eleven books is if you enjoyed book ten and eleven then continue on here, if not just keep rereading the first nine. Personally, I love the change in direction that began with Narcissus in Chains.

After giving the first 9 novels of the Anita Blake series an unequivocal 5 stars, I must sadly give this latest offering a much reduced two star rating. I can't quite give it a one star because there were a few scenes that I liked. Unfortunately they were eclipsed by page after page of Anita and various interchangeable males discussing having relations or doing it. I don't mind a little torrid prose but this is ridiculous. It is debatable as to whether the discussions were more boring than the activity.

In addition, there were so many typos and spelling errors that it seemed that I was reading an unedited manuscript. Things like "he" for "me", "diety" for "deity", "wretch" for "retch", "decore" for "decor". Some of these should have been caught at least by a spellcheck! And at times it was impossible to tell who was speaking during the dialogue--no designators were used.

It just seemed someone was in a rush to get this out and didn't bother to craft this work. The formerly finely crafted tales with the nice balance between interpersonal relationships and mystery are no more. I can only assume Hamilton is burnt out and doesn't care about her character anymore. It's too bad because her fans do.

You need to be on it in order to enjoy this travesty of a book. I'm sorry, but I've never read a book so bad, I don't remember what happened in it. What must LKH be thinking if she thinks this book is some of her best work. Makes me wonder who wrote the other books in the series if this is her "Best".

Booooo! I suggest reading D.N. Simmons or Jim Butcher for your vampire/shifter fix. At least those two author put their hearts in their stories.

Anita Blake used to be interesting. Now she's just a superhuman sex-machine that's laden with Catholic guilt and typoes. At one point I accidently skipped ahead 50 pages and didn't even notice. Nevertheless I will probably still read anything else that LKH comes out with because I'm a completist like that.

Incubus Dreams was 722 pages (paper back) devoted to finding increasingly ridiculous ways for Anita to have sex with EVERYONE! If it isn't the ardeur, its something else, some beast, some force, some outside interference from anyone that is making her HAVE to have sex with everyone who walks within a five foot radius of her. In one day, she woke up and had to have sex with Damian while Richard watched and Nathaniel sort of had sex by osmosis. Then she went to work and was forced to take Nathaniel along in case she needed to have emergency sex, and guess what!! Gasp! She DID need to have emergency sex! Then she ended up taking Nathaniel to work at Guilty Pleasures and GUESS WHAT! She needed to have emergency sex YET AGAIN! This time with some completely unknown guy named Byron while another unknown guy named Requiem bit her neck and she "brought him" no less than 8 times, possibly more. Also while Nathaniel watched. All right! I get it! Anita is hot and sexy. Every man and some of the women want Anita. The ones who do get Anita are astounded by how totally awesome she is to have sex with. Now can we please have SOME PLOT? Some STORY? I like a good sex scene as much as the next girl. For instance, in the Kim Harris series, when Rachel and Kisten have sex for the first time, that is a good sex scene. I read it probably three times at least (blush!) The only sex scene worthy of reading more than once in the Anita series is the first one with Jean-Claude. The point being that all this gratuitous sex is not lending itself well to the series. Its not making this a better, more interesting read. Its degraded the entire series to the point that unless you simply have a need to read soft core porn, then there is becoming very little reason to keep going with this series. Tune in next time to find out if Anita can recover some of her tough, fun, wise cracking ways.

Dear Edward
You've always claimed that you wanted to kill Anita, please do us all a favour, get your finger out and do it.
Yours Sincerely
Ex fan.


Any signs that Laurell K was going back to a plotted Anita Blake story have been shot down in flames and we have yet another bloated windy, whining porn fest. It's got more pages than that abysmal rip off Micah, but that doesn't make it any good.
To be fare it may be worth more than one star, but Laurell K Hamilton is capable of five star work and her persistent fobbing off of her fans with this dross is making me mad, so one is all it gets.

I was entertained by this book pretty much as with the others. Don't worry about characters that were not emphasized in this one. Many of them return in the next book and the plot lines get intertwined nicely. I like Anita's growing powers and wonder where it is all leading. Probably at some point to a grand battle with Belle Morte herself! I'll stick with them as fast as Ms.Hamilton can write them.

There is no way that LKH or her publisher deserve to make money off of this book. The editing was laughable, and hopefully a fireable offense. LKH keeps writing books, one right after another, and I'm beginning to wonder if she's either burnt out or has simply lost respect for her readers. Aside from the problems with this particular book, I still can't wrap my brain around two of LKH's core concepts: 1) Despite living for centuries,and LKH's own interest in the minor details of Anita's psychology, vampires have even less awareness of their own psychology and the psychologies of those around them than a ten year old human does; and 2) Also despite living so long, and being master hunters, they lack enough self respect to keep out of the stripping business.

Another concept of LKH that I have a personal issue with is that really, really short, muscly guys with incredibly long hair are not attractive. I mean, if you're into video games or LOTR, then dwarves are interesting to play or watch, but when it comes to having sex with them... ummm... no. The thought of Gimli begging to be tied up and spanked does not turn me on. (Oh, and once you've had your fourth three-some in under three hundred pages, you are no longer aloud to talk about your "innocence" like it's something that still exists.)

Love, Sex, Blood and Power

These are the ingredients of the triumvirate formed between Jean Claude, Richard and Anita; Incubus Dreams is an examination of the characters and how they dealing with the changes in their relationships both physical and metaphysical.

Just when our main characters begin to feel comfortable with their gifts and relationship to one another, a new complication has arisen with Anita at its center. She inadvertently forms a second triumvirate including Damian as well as Nathanial. This has pros and cons with the major benefit of elevating the original triumvirate's power at the cost of magnifying the demands of the Arduer upon Anita. The book is predominately of how the characters cope with the changes and the moral questions associated with their powers. There's a RPIT investigation involving a group of rogue serial killer vampires that Anita is involved in but that's secondary to the novel's goal of character development.

Overall, the book is a good read. Maybe not her best work but still a worthy endeavor deserving of 3.5 to 4 stars. Many have complained about the turn towards prolific sex in recent works but I find her devotion towards character development admirable. So many authors spend little time on it, yet here, she has spent nearly the entire book! Face it, major ingredients in the mythos of vampires and magic are sex and blood. It's going to be there especially in the lives of young adults achieving sexual maturity under what amounts to combat stress....a stress that's eating at the character of Anita. The killing is taking its' toll and it appears sex is the escape she has chosen.

I too would like to add my name to the list of fans who would like to see a return to the mysteries and actions of old but does Anita have it in her? Only time will tell

This book has a lot of metaphysical and a lot of sex. I didn't mind the latter as much as the former. Also ridden with typos and writing errors. I'm a newcomer to Hamilton's books, I read only "Guilty Pleasures" and "Burnt Offerings" before, so I'm not burnt out on the series yet. I like this book quite alright. It was a tad too long, sure, but still entertaining.

What really bothered me was her repetition of phrases, especially "That did it for him, flat out did it for me" used like 4 times in the book, not to mention "metaphysical," every other freaking page. About 3/4 into the book, I decided that she did it on purpose, as a running joke, inserting metaphysical every chance she could and giggling at herself.

Should you read the book? Only if you like sex. Anita's got a harem, how great is that? She has threesomes with beautiful men. I'm jealous. This book is a great chance to live out vicariously your fantasies of being an all-powerful nympho whom all men find irresistible.

First let me say, I am a fan of the Anita Blake series, and have been since the beginning. I have even bought the paperbacks, then went back and bought the hardbacks to keep as part of my permanent library. But, I have got to agree with the bad reviews on this book.
Ms Hamilton, please get back to stories with a plot (maybe a visit to her old home-town and family).
I was 200 pages into this book and had yet to find a plot! Then when I thought I had found the story-line, off it went again. The night-club Incubus Dreams from which the book got it's name, wasn't even mentioned until some where around page 500.
The plot was lost in the emotional musings, pointless and tedious sex passage and past issues being re-hashed and re-re-hashed. I mean really! If a sex scene goes on for pages and pages and even stops in the middle of the action for a past issue discussion, it gets tedious. And there are just too many males she is having sex with to keep track of.
And by the way I can't stand Nathaniel. He in no way advances the plot (once you find it), and should be the first regular character to be candidate for getting offed. Micah is next on the list, followed by Daimen.
I have not sworn off the series yet but any more of this caliber and I will not waste my money.

This series just keeps getting better and better. I have read all of the Blake series up to this one, and I have never read one yet that is disappointing. Excellent!!!

Marina Kushner
Author
The Truth About Caffeine: How Companies That Promote It Deceive Us and What We Can Do about It

As can be seen by the majority of reviews- Too much sex and not enough Executioner. I'm no prude and have enjoyed the sex in the previous books, but they weren't the main thrust (pardon the pun) of the story, and didn't go on endlessly- the stories were mysteries and that is what I liked about them. If I wanted a pure sex romp I would read her Meredith Gentry novels.

At this point you begin to look forward to the next book! I've read them all and feel as if the characters are part of my, well, life! Anita Blake just keeps getting better! THANK YOU, LAURELL.

I agree with all of the above. I have read all the books, but lately I feel like Anita Blake has left the building. Where is the Executioner? I understand that she contracted the ardeur and must then "feed" it, but does the whole book have to be about her sex? I am nearing the end of the book and I feel like there is about 10% story in there and 90% porn. If I have to read the phrase "endless loop of pleasure" one more time I will absolutely shove a pencil through one of my eyeballs. It is that bad. There is so much overanalyzing over everything and so much review....HELLO! Why would someone start a series at the 12th book?! I don't need to know who Jean Claude, Ronnie, Asher, Richard, etc are. And I don't need to hear about each of the characters eyes every single time they enter the room. I get it, LKH has said it in EVERY book...Jean-Claude's eyes are midnight blue. I get that Nathaniel's eyes are lavender. I get that Micah has his leopard eyes all the time. Jeepers, enough is enough. It just feels like LKH has had enough success that her editors will distribute [...] just because her name is on it. I'm sincerely sorry over the loss of my beloved Anita Blake.

Okay, I'm into the Vampire books. So I thought to myself; I will try Laurell K. Hamilton - give her a whirl and see what Anita Blake is all about! Well let me say; I'm half way through this particular book and it's KILLING ME! I'm not even sure if I can finish it; this book is THAT bad! Basically I guess the book is about the following: 1. over analyzing your feelings 2. kinky/porn sex 3. talking about kinky/porn sex with friends or girlfriends 4. talking, talking, talking, talking about the Aurder but not really telling anyone what it is 5. having sex anywhere when the mood strikes you and not minding that several others are either in the room, participating with you or are just watching you have sex with one or more people. Anita needs to feed the aurder, well what is the AURDER? Maybe I need to start this series from the beginning, but like I said; I'm halfway through this book and I HAVE NO CLUE WHAT'S GOING ON! I will finish the read; but it's doubtfull that I will purchase any more of this series. A good author would be able to bring a reader in on the 12th book as well as the 1st book if the circumstances and events were explained; however this book doesn't do that. I give this book 1 star because over 600 pages is a lot of work. Try Christine Feehan - excellent Vampire Series, it's called her Dark Series, you can find a complete list of her books on her website.