Anita Blake, Laurell K. Hamilton

[darkjetti81]

Okay, I know alot of people feel these books are romance novels.  But I read the first one out of curiosity called "Guilty Pleasures," and before I knew it, I had read all 12 in the series.

I like them because it is writen in a seductive first-person narrative, and the main character Anita Blake is one big ball of bitch!    

A brief overview:  In the future (today)  we know about the existance of vampires and lacanthropes, and they live as citizens among us.  Anita Blake is a certified executioner and zombie raiser.  She's tough, witty, and a real badd-ass.  Nothing Like any of the cliche's with vampire slayer novels.  There is lots of bloody revenge, sex, and suspense.

So, has anyone else read these?  I didn't even bother looking for an old thread, because god knows what happens when you bring up an old topic...  

[JenaRey]

I read the first several books of this series and then put it down forever because of the depth of the sexual content and the fact that by about book six I did NOT like Anita anymore.  She went from a woman with some very secure lines in the granite that defined who she was and what she would not do to breaking EVERY one of those.  Very often she broke her own rules for no particular reason save that she felt like it that day, and she took advantage of characters that were vunerable and trusted her for her own gain.  She stopped being the hero and became worse than much of what she was fighting with very little desire for any kind of redemption, justifying that it was okay because it fed into her increasing power base, or because it felt good or whatever.  

Don't even get me started on the LKH faery series that comes down to less than fifty pages of plot if you take the sex out.  So I suppose if you're looking for books about sex with a supernatural angle her stuff appeals.  If you're looking for a paranormal story with some romance/sex there are several series that better fill the bucket.

I feel that Jim Butcher's Harry Dresden series is a much better read with characters that remain true to themselves, while still allowing for some wicked plot twists and a strong element of surprise.  I own his books, reread his books and will be purchasing the next one out in a couple months.  His fantasy series is also very good.

~J

[Mr_Pleasington]

When I was in Australia I dug my heels into The Song of Fire and Ice series and loved it.  Then I was looking for some lighter reading and someone suggested the Anita Blake novels.

I read the first three and then gave up.  Anita became unlikeable and the plots started revolving more and more around sex.  While I certainly don't mind a little sex in my fiction, when appropriate, it was horribly, horribly implemented.

Anita was obviously becoming an extension of the author to fulfil any fantasy she might have at the time.  And I hear it only got worse in later books.

Not to mention the constant cut and pasting as the author had to describe everything about the world in every book.

Horrible.

[fuzzyoctopus]

See, I actually didn't read those first, I tried the Merideth Gentry series first, so what Anita Blake turned into didn't surprise me at all.

I'll say this - as fantasy erotic thriller, the Anita Blake books do an excellent job. That's what they are, and they do an excellent job of being that.  It sells, and so obviously there is a market for it.  I enjoyed Obsidian Butterfly very much... the one where her two "boyfriends" were in another state.  Part of me hopes Laurell K. Hamilton will start a PG-13 rated series - under a pen name if need be!! - with a similarly strong and hardcore heroine.

[darkjetti81]

I agree with "fuzzyoctopus."  

I know they are not literary works of art, but they are fast-read-anti-conformist books that have a different approach to erotic-thrillers, and the whole "vampire-hunter" genre.  

Hey, I'm 25 and single!  give me a break!