Release Date: 07/06/11
SYNOPSIS:
A serial killer is hunting the Pacific Northwest, murdering victims in a gruesome and spectacular way. The local police suspect monsters are involved, and have called in Anita Blake and Edward, US Marshals who really know their monsters, to catch the killer. But some monsters are very real. The Harlequin have been the bogeymen of the vampire world for more than a thousand years; they are a secret so dark that even to speak their name can earn you a death sentence. Now they are here in America, hunting weretigers, and human police. The Harlequin serve the Mother of All Darkness, the first vampire. She was supposed to be dead, but only her body was destroyed. Now she needs a new one, and she's decided that Anita Blake's is the body she wants. Edward thinks the serial killings are a trap to lure Anita closer to the most dangerous vampire they've ever hunted. The vampires call Edward Death, and Anita the Executioner, but Mommy Darkest is coming to kill one, and possess the other, and she doesn't care how many others have to die along the way.
REVIEW:
OK, to be honest I used to be a fan of the Anita Blake series, then I was hit by book 13 and started to wonder what the hell happened. Since then I’ve followed the series and prayed that Anita would make a break from the mattress and fresh wipes and get back the serious business of being “The Executioner”, but, as each tales developed it really does feel that all that seems to happen is that Anita gets mind blowing orgasmic sex about twenty times a day, the plots thrown out the window and the interesting arc is pretty much sorted out in about five or six pages.
Luckily in this title there’s only the one sex scene but a lot of the recurring themes are starting to get a little repetitive so much so that a lot of the readers will be able to say it with me. Anita questions her principles, Anita gets a new addition, Anita gets mind-blowing sex, Anita fights supreme evil (Mommy Dark), Anita wins, title swiftly wraps up.
All in this series did start out with so much promise, however as its progressed it has sadly started trying to shock the reader and catered to a minority and as such has now sadly suffered. If it doesn’t pick up soon, a certain “Executioner” needs a trip to the headsman themselves which, all in is a sad ending.
BOOK BLURB:
The fantastically addicitive first Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, novel
‘I don’t date vampires. I kill them.’
My name is Anita Blake. Vampires call me the Executioner. What I call them isn’t repeatable.
Ever since the Supreme Court granted the undead equal rights, most people think vampires are just ordinary folks with fangs. I know better. I’ve seen their victims. I carry the scars...
But now a serial killer is murdering vampires – and the most powerful bloodsucker in town wants me to find the killer.
REVIEW:
With the whole Anita Blake series now coming under a new UK publisher, we thought that perhaps now was the time to review it from the beginning as each offering arrives through the mail. So here is book one, Guilty Pleasures, the tale that began it all, as seen through the eyes of a new initiate to the series, Lady Eleanor.
At first I was a little bit worried that this book was going to go the way of the Merry Gentry series, too much sex, very little plot. I was relieved and slightly surprised to find Anita Blake, in this offering, appearing to be a conservative young woman and I did feel that this novel felt like jumping into a story that was half way through before it even began. Personally, I’d have loved at least an info dump as to why and how she became a necromancer but perhaps that’s a story that will be picked up on later in the series and if it hasn’t been perhaps there is a prequel in the offing.
The story itself was a fairly average tale with repetative phrases alongside no real twists and turns, fairly bland characters (due to no real descriptions or history) with an ending that felt not only rushed but an anticlimax. Don’t get me wrong it was OK and did fill my reading time however, overall for a debut novel, I’m surprised that this one led to so many sequels.
BOOK BLURB:An enthralling Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, novel
‘The older the zombie, the bigger the death needed to raise it.’
After a few centuries, the only death ‘big enough’ is a human sacrifice. I know because I’m an animator. My name is Anita Blake. Working for Animators, Inc. is just a job – like selling insurance. But all the money in the world wasn’t enough for me to take on the particular job Harold Gaynor was offering. Somebody else did, though – a rogue animator. Now he’s not just raising the dead... he’s raising Hell. And it’s up to me to stop it.
REVIEW:
The second Anita Blake novel and this time she battles the shambling Living Dead (Zombies). The plot for this story, whilst still not perfect was better than the original outing with the tale being mainly about Anita with no real additional character subplots that distracted me from her exploits and could be read as a standalone if you haven’t read the original novel.
However, what got to me was the dreadful fashion sense of Anita and I’d have liked better character description as to be honest I’m still in the dark about how Anita looks other than her short stature. I also felt that there still isn’t enough character depth to give her a more rounded feeling and with hints within the tale that there were deeper issues only heightened my need for this information which was sadly denied. On the whole I still have issues with the series but its going to be one I’ll stick with so that I can see how it pans out, there are worse books out there and with the hype surrounding LKH it might be a fun journey.
BOOK BLURB:
Anita is scared. Really scared. And not much gets under the skin of a US Marshall with jurisdiction over preternatural matters, who also happens to be a necromancer. Anita's life is dangerous, and she wouldn't have it any other way, but the scars - both mental and physical - are starting to show. You'd think that her connections with the vampire, werewolf and wereleopard communities would come in handy. However, as her powers grow and develop in new and uncharted ways, her links to both friends and lovers could endanger them all.
REVIEW:
To be brutally honest I have to say that this time Laurel was quite restrained with the sex. Why? She waited until page 13 before starting to give the readers a 10 page sex session. What really infuriates me about this is that it appears that Laurel really can't write anything that doesn't end up with an orgasmic session sacrificing the plot on the alter of nepotism.
Whilst this may work with an immature audience, we the readers who helped her establish herself have been thrown by the wayside in order for her to indulge her vanilla sexual fantasies. But wait, whats that? In this book there's reference to... SHOCK HORROR, BDSM. At times I do wonder if this author knows anything about personal relationships as its completely ridiculous. Anita would earn more cash flat on her back than she seems to make doing anything else plus the way things are going it's a case of any excuse to make the beast with three, four or five backs. Also throw into the mix the lack of mental stimulous and Anita really should be a case book study for any number of psychologists as the human brain really does need more stimuli than is actually presented to the character.
Anita must obviously be suffering from at least one brain injury now that is turning her into a sexual addict as it seems to be her only answer to anything. "What your Dad's dying? Quick jump into bed with me and lets have sex." "What do you mean that your dog died yesterday, you know what helps you get over it? Lots of sex."
Whilst I'm not coming over as a real fan I've more than paid my dues to this author and so I want to lay down a challenge. I want her to write a book that whilst it can have the occasional sexploit within, rests purely on plotline with characters that we care about that have real hooks in them, where sex is there as an aid to the plotline and allows a relationship to develop rather than the "flat on her back for "vanilla" sex with all and sundry." After all Laurel appears to be a one trick (and yes, I do realise the irony of that statement) pony. The challenge is set so lets see if she can attempt to create such a book however should this turn out to be the mythical white whale, I really do think that Laurel should personally have to repay all her long suffering fans every penny they've spent on the dross that is so dire it cant even be classified as "literoritca."
BOOK BLURB:
Anita Blake’s reputation has taken some hits. Not on the work front, where she has the highest kill count of all the legal vampire executioners in the country, but on the personal front. No one seems to trust a woman who sleeps with the monsters. Still, when a vampire serial killer sends her a head from Las Vegas, Anita has to warn Sin City’s local authorities what they’re dealing with. Only it’s worse than she thought. Several officers and one executioner have been slain – paranormal style...
Anita heads to Las Vegas, where she’s joined by three other federal marshals, including the ruthless Edward hiding behind his mild-mannered persona. It’s a good thing Edward always has her back, because, when she gets close to the bodies, Anita senses “tiger” too strongly to ignore it. The were-tigers are very powerful in Las Vegas, which means the odds of her rubbing someone important the wrong way just got a lot higher...
REVIEW:
As many who have read Falcata Times before can attest to, I’ve not been the biggest fan of Laurell’s writing in the more recent Anita Blake novels primarily as she changed the character of Anita from the first few books from a pure heroine to a character who spent most of the book flat on her back doing little else. Making her books more about the sex rather than about the character and a descent plot to which most readers originally fell in love with.
In this offering, book 17 of the Anita Blake series, Laurell seems to go back more to what made the series a must own with a full plot driven devices over the sexploits. It is refreshing and it is more of what I wanted within the novel. Yes, there is sex and yes, there is some questionability of one of the acts (which thankfully we’re not witness too) that will make a number of readers shout with anger. Its well written, its back more to the original form, and brings a surprise of two. Whether you’re a fan of the series of not its perhaps not the best book to start with but if your up to date and an initiate in the LKH cult then this will be a must purchase and perhaps the first showing that she’s going back to what made the character so fascinating in book one.
Release Date: 07/06/11
