7 Fatal Flaws of J. R. Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood Series ...

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7 Fatal Flaws of J. R. Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood Series ...
7 Fatal Flaws of J. R. Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood Series ...

The Black Dagger Brotherhood Series is, by far, the most extensive piece of paranormal romance slash urban fantasy literature I’ve read so far and, as such, has my undying love! I also find it incredibly annoying which, in turn, makes me love it even more, if you can believe it! Because, come on, if a piece of literature can make you want to roll your eyes and flip the page all at the same time, it’s got to be worth something! The author of the Black Dagger Brotherhood Series, J.R. Ward, definitely knows how to keep her readers entertained, but entertainment, as you know, doesn’t come without a cost. And in order to enjoy these books, you will need to learn to deal with these obvious flaws.

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1. The “H”

The good news is that J.R. Ward is trying to match famous fiction writers language for language, the bad news is that she fails horribly! I mean, come on… aHvenge, seHclusion, coHntest? Seriously? Err, seHriously? Adding a letter to a word that already exists doesn’t make it new, just grammatically incorrect. And we need a glossary of these new/old terms in every book…why? I would have enjoyed the Black Dagger Brotherhood Series infinitely more had I been able to talk my eyeballs out of rolling in their cavities every time an unneeded H appears!

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J.R. Ward’s insistence on linguistic gymnastics is not the only vexation. Oh no, the series also drowns in the throes of melodrama. Each character wallows in such exaggerated agony that empathy fatigue is an actual risk. Readers might yearn for a story where every glance doesn't carry the weight of the world. It does have us wondering—could these warriors be any more emo? Less angst and more action would serve the Brotherhood far better, sparing us all from emotional overload with each turned page.

2. Ridiculous Names

Wrath, Tohr, Rehvenge, Phury, Aghony, Zadist, Rhage – I kid you not! And what is worse – I’m short-listing only! But ridiculous names are reserved for the Brotherhood only, right? Err, well…I guess it’s better you hear it from me first –NO! We’ve got this unlimited supply of Lessers who, upon induction into the Society, lose everything but the first letter of their name, becoming Mr. First Letter. Because alphabet doesn’t consist of a limited number of letters, I guess. But hey, maybe that’s the grand plan – you send a group text message, “Mr. M do fetch me a beer on your way to the headquarters,” and voila, 3758 cans of beer are coming your way. Oh, but let’s not forget Butch O’Neil either! And, if I may add -eat your heart of, Mitch Buchannon!

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3. Bland Female Characters

Contemporary romance means that we’re bound to run into some strong female characters, right? Nothing fancy, I mean, just some ladies with careers, ladies who know how to get things done, anything but the silly damsel in distress scenario. Well, the BDB Series is not the place to look for that. The author either gives her heroines a life they are more than happy to escape or makes their future so grim that escaping seems like a best case scenario. But that’s all cool because they get their men and a chance to live happily ever after all holed up in the Brotherhood mansion. I mean please, do we really need to keep our friends, families and meaningful jobs?

4. Gang-Slang

Okay J.R. Ward, I get it, you’re Eminem’s biggest fan! But, wait, didn’t you get the memo? Em has grown out of the Slim Shady phase, I’m told, do excuse me if I got it wrong. As hot, likeable and often funny as they are, Brothers are nothing if not complete dudebros! And oh, check this out – we’re talking about hundreds of years old vampires that came from Europe and remember it from the time when it was all proper speech patterns, gallantry and aristocracy! Hey now, they used to be that very same aristocracy! I’m still surprised they don’t headbutt each other for good morning.

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Yet here we are, in the midst of their man-cave banter, sprinkled with f-bombs and street-slang that seems straight out of a '90s gangsta rap video. These eternally youthful heartthrobs are surely having an identity crisis because last time I checked, a vampire warrior's lingo didn’t include “aight” or “fo’ shizzle.” I can’t help but giggle when a centuries-old bloodsucker talks like he’s fresh off the hood instead of a timeless crypt. It’s like seeing your grandpa in a snapback hat, trying to breakdance at the family reunion – amusing but oh-so-wrong.

5. Product Placements

But Brothers aren’t your everyday lumberjack type of guys, mind you! When they aren’t wearing leather, de-throating their enemies Dothraki style, brooding or fighting their inner demons, they like to bond over all the fine things old money can buy. They’ll swoon over the impeccable craftsmanship of Tom Ford suits, discuss the pros and cons of various Gucci luggage bags, drink crazy amount of expensive liquor and refer to their earthly possessions by full name only. In Black Dagger Brotherhood, nobody ever puts their training shoes on, lights their cigarette or decides to make some coffee – they give their Nikes a run for their money, fist their gold DuPonts or work the KRUPS machine! They are so cool!

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6. Super Weak Storyline

Brotherhood, as the ultimate force of good, has been fighting The Lessening Society since the beginning of time, vampire race or whatever. And while Brothers are genetically superior, high-class, fast-healing warriors with every weapon money can buy at their disposal, the Lessening Society is nothing but a bunch of half-trained, half-mad human converts whose boss (the ultimate force of evil known as Omega) enjoys having his fun with new inductees and doesn’t bother to invest a penny in his troops. Brotherhood should have nuked these guys half a century ago, one could presume. But yet, the battle continues (and that scraping noise you hear is Sauron rolling in his grave). And with the way dudebros are “chilling in their crib” most of the time, verbally comparing their male parts and arguing which drink is the manliest one, I have a feeling that long awaited happy end is still another half a century or so away.

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The Brotherhood lounging at home might be excusable if their enemy was, say, a formidable shadow organization with unlimited resources and cunning strategies. But no, it’s a wonder they're not twiddling their thumbs, waiting for the Lessers to finish a 101 Evil Schemes course. The Brothers' lack of urgency is as confounding as a daytime soap opera stretching a single conversation over a week’s worth of episodes. Excitement fizzles out when the so-called monumental battle seems like an eternal game of 'who cares less wins.' Their procrastination is the kind of plot hole you could drive a truck through, backwards.

7. Anger Management, Anyone?

Every warrior in these books will find his soul mate, so brace yourself for some serious old fashioned romance! And when I say “old fashioned,” I actually mean prehistoric old! The “let me pound your cranium, and drag you to my cave” kind. “Here, take this necklace, my love- it’s made of real human ears. I plucked them off your ex-boyfriends all by myself…do you like it?” Cue the eye roll! Every male character in the BDB series is consumed by this jealous, possessive rage, but we’re supposed to love that because Neanderthals are so hot y’all! Gotta get me one of those, you guys, this modern freedom and the ability to have as many male friends as I please is so last year.

How many times did you feel the need to do an eyeroll while reading BDB Series and why? I wasn’t really counting, but “a lot” should definitely cover it. But then, I did laugh a lot too and enjoyed exploring the BDB world just as much. And that’s what made the effort to ignore these oddities really worth it.

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Where Thoughts and Opinions Converge

I agree with Josette. I read the books and enjoyed them; however, I noticed a lot of the points listed in the article and they did bother me and take me out of the story. Let's be honest, no one loves every part of every book.

You have the nerve to call yourself a fan? You tore EVERYTHING down. And some of the things you pointed out were not correct. In all this sounded arrogant and borderline mocking. Like you this you could do better. How about not tearing apart someone's life work. If you don't like it, don't read it. Simple as that.

I agree with everything. I'm only on book 10, but I agree the girls can get a bit cliche. They can barely have kids but suddenly most of them are good with staying home ALL the time. I really do like the series but I have to agree that even though I plan on buying more books I feel that the lessening society is too unorganized to be still going. The straight guys can be a bit too gay sometimes like I get it with the gay guys (I'm excited for Quinn and Blay) but the straight guys all comment about each other as if they are gay but their Glymera still disagrees with gay marriage so like they wouldn't be this cool realistically. I feel like there are a lot of things I have to push through and just overlook to feel more relatable but overall totally recommend it. I think you can love this series and still have a lot of personal criticisms.

I really liked the BDB thought they were good books

For how olds is this originated to?

Still a sizzling series and a good read in my opinion. But, I do understand her comments to some extent. That being said, I will read the next one!

I personally love the names they match the character of each of the brothers and yes being honest i love everything about this series. Ever since i read Dark Lover i was hooked and always pre-order my book and i got most of my friends and family hooked on the series as well. i also agree with Brittany if you don't like, don't read it and don't try to ruin it for everyone else. As for me nothing you say can ruin it for me. I LOVE J. R. WARD AND BDB!!!!!!!!!

i was only able to see #1 wheres the other 6?

You obviously have not read the entire series if you honestly think that any of the points you're trying to make are valid. First, adding a letter to a word that already exists doesn't make it new, it makes unique. I personally love the names of all the characters, and the names J.R. Ward chooses for all of her warriors perfectly match their personality. Second, bland female characters? Seriously? Have you not read Jane and Vishous's story? Or Payne and Manny's? If there's one thing that Payne is DEFINITELY not it's a "damsel in distress". She's the definition of badass. All of the female characters in her stories have authority, and well respected places in the Brotherhood, and they are not holed up in the mansion. Third, the "gang-slang" is funny. It's camaraderie between brothers , and it stems not from the old country, but from living in New York for so long. They're not "dudebros" they're just being silly. And when they're being serious they speak to each other with the utmost respect. Especially when they're speaking in the old language, which is extremely formal and contains no slang whatsoever. Fourth, if I was mega rich and could buy the best of everything I would. And I would enjoy it. Don't hate. Fifth, the Lessening Society keeps growing in numbers despite the efforts of the Brothers because they can convert ANY human they please to join their army. The Brotherhood can't do that at all. It takes years to train a Brother, and only a matter of hours to turn a human into a lesser. And if you paid attention, you would realize that while some of the Brothers might stay back and "chill in their crib", there is ALWAYS at least two of them out patrolling the streets. And lastly, yes. The Neanderthal type is motherfucking sexy. I would let any of the Brothers "pound my cranium and drag me to his cave" any day. Please don't bash something that you obviously have not put any serious thought into. It's just disrespectful to the author, and the TRUE fans of their stories.

Yeah I was a bit confused... Is this a hate or love BDB post?!

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