The whole D'angeline thing culture and mythology does not stand up to close examination. It's like someone crossed lady-porn with fantasy and that DaVinci code BS back-story, and Carey ran with it. On the other hand, the inevitable comparison that springs to mind with a world set up to glorify the absurd sexual exploits of the heroine is Laurel K Hamilton, and not only can Carey write rings around her, but her masochist prostitute comes across as a more decent, more admirable and less slutty human being than Anita Blake