Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I've been a devoted fan of Piers Anthony, and the Incarnations series in particular, for a very, very long time. I remember thinking while reading the first 7 books "Man, it would be fantastic is he tackled Nox sometime!" And I was wrong. So, so, so wrong. "Under a Velvet Cloak" is shockingly bad, and so wildly out of writing-character for the guy that I truly have a hard time believing he wrote it. I'll allow for the fact that in an extended series, which has been in progress for decades, there's going to be some inconsistency in the writing and the quality of the work. And that's fine- that's to be expected really. But #8? The characters and plot are hasty throw-togethers. The overarching story is devoid of the themes which tied the previous novels together. The entirety of the novel(la) feels as though it were written by Stephanie Meyers, having been told "Do what you've always done, make tons of spelling and grammar mistakes, write it so a 2nd grader doesn't feel challenged but make every single character have sex with every other character. Badly." And I can't in good conscience let this review end without mentioning how abhorrent the sex in this book is. It's not lascivious. It's not sensual. It's not erotic. It's not romantic. It's not artistic. It's not emotionally charged. It's not well-rendered. It's not even efficient. It's the driest, lamest, LEAST sexy approach to mating that I have ever encountered in prose or elsewhere. Watching mange-ridden stray dogs going at it in an alley would be more exciting, poetic and meaningful. Honestly, this book was the kind of bad that makes the 7 prior novels weaker upon reading it. And that's the worst part; not that he's written a bad book, but that he's written an installment so bad that it takes something precious away from other good books.