Lacking Natural Simplicity

Bloodstone, by Karl Edward Wagner; Warner Books, March 1975. I reread Karl Edward Wagner's Kane books every so often. They are wonderful examples of Sword & Sorcery fiction, filled with blood, sweat, strange magic, intrigue, foul rituals, and things from outside space. Bloodstone is probably my least favorite of the Kane novels, but it's still very good.

Guilty Pleasures, by Laurell K. Hamilton; Ace, October 1993. Hamilton's Anita Blake books are also on my regularly-reread list. They started out as an interesting mixture of action adventure, detective story, horror, and romance, and have intensified each of those elements as the series went on, with latter books adding a big dose of sex. This book is the first, and sets up the situation and introduces a many of the recurring characters. Very good.