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Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter #1-3
Club Vampyre
Club Vampyre brings together the first three Anita Blake novels, this collection looks at the adventures of the woman vampires call The Executioner.
I'm Anita Blake, expert on creatures of the night. 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 carry the scars. . . In my job -- I'm an animator; I raise the dead -- I've seen just about everything. I've dined with shapeshifters, danced with werewolves and been wooed, but not won, by Jean-Claude, the most powerful bloodsucker in St. Louis. When a serial killer started murdering vampires, it was Jean-Claude who wanted me to find the killer. Later a rogue vamp named Alejandro hit town and wanted to make me his human servant. A war of the undead had begun. Over me. I'd have been flattered, if my life weren't at stake.
Books in this collection:
* Guilty Pleasures (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, Bk 1)
* The Laughing Corpse (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, Bk 2)
* Circus of the Damned (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, Bk 3)
I'm Anita Blake, expert on creatures of the night. 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 carry the scars. . . In my job -- I'm an animator; I raise the dead -- I've seen just about everything. I've dined with shapeshifters, danced with werewolves and been wooed, but not won, by Jean-Claude, the most powerful bloodsucker in St. Louis. When a serial killer started murdering vampires, it was Jean-Claude who wanted me to find the killer. Later a rogue vamp named Alejandro hit town and wanted to make me his human servant. A war of the undead had begun. Over me. I'd have been flattered, if my life weren't at stake.
Books in this collection:
* Guilty Pleasures (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, Bk 1)
* The Laughing Corpse (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, Bk 2)
* Circus of the Damned (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, Bk 3)
727 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1997
About the author
Laurell K. Hamilton
426 books25.9k followersLaurell K. Hamilton is one of the leading writers of paranormal fiction. A #1 New York Times bestselling author, Hamilton writes the popular Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter novels and the Meredith Gentry series. She is also the creator of a bestselling comic book series based on her Anita Blake novels and published by Marvel Comics. Hamilton is a full-time writer and lives in the suburbs of St. Louis with her family.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 66 reviews
March 22, 2008
A few weeks ago, I was feeling pretty overwhelmed and stressed and was looking for a good book to escape in - an engrossing page turner that sucks you in and doesn't require a lot of thinking but also doesn't insult your intelligence. This is where I ended up after a misguided side trip into Charlaine Harris' Dead Until Dark which I,found easy to read but kind of silly.
This volume contains the first 3 books (Guilty Pleasures,The Laughing Corpse and Circus of the Damned) in Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake series and it totally fit the bill for what I was looking for. After the first one I was hooked and devoured the next two.
These first three books are tightly plotted mysteries mixed with horror and the supernatural. They take place in St. Louis in an alternate reality to our own where all seem basically the same except for vampires, werewolves and other supernatural creatures are newly recognized legal citizens. Anita Blake is the intriguing main character. She is a reanimator - she raises zombies - which is not only okay but is a business now. You can raise a murder victim and ask them who killed them, or a relative who didn't leave a will and ask them to explain their wishes. Very convenient. When she's not reanimating corpses she is a legal vampire executioner and a consultant for the police's preternatural crime team. And while she has these supernatural abilities and a fascination with the preternatural she is terrified of and a bit disgusted by the creatures in societies midst, particularly vampires. She deals with her fear by cloaking herself in layers upon layers of bad assitude.
In these first three books Anita is a great cahracter - independent, a little bitchy, sarcastic and brazen though the author makes sure we always see her inner fear and vulnerability. She is also rather isolated, a workaholic, who seems afraid of dependency and connection. I did have one little nitpick - Anita's age, which is 24 and doesn't fit with the battle-hardened, scarred, weary and wise warrior Hamilton portrays. Another fascinating character that Hamilton teases us with is the enigmatic vampire Jean-claude who with mixed motives is extremely interested in Anita. Hamilton doesn't overdo it with Jean-claude - he's in the books enough to whet your appetite for more and that's about it.
So I recommend all beginning three of this series. They are great stories with interesting characters and a little bit of an adrenalin rush. They can be quite gory so beware if you're squeamish.
I have since moved on to the next four and sadly the quality doesn't last in my opinion but these three are great reads!
This volume contains the first 3 books (Guilty Pleasures,The Laughing Corpse and Circus of the Damned) in Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake series and it totally fit the bill for what I was looking for. After the first one I was hooked and devoured the next two.
These first three books are tightly plotted mysteries mixed with horror and the supernatural. They take place in St. Louis in an alternate reality to our own where all seem basically the same except for vampires, werewolves and other supernatural creatures are newly recognized legal citizens. Anita Blake is the intriguing main character. She is a reanimator - she raises zombies - which is not only okay but is a business now. You can raise a murder victim and ask them who killed them, or a relative who didn't leave a will and ask them to explain their wishes. Very convenient. When she's not reanimating corpses she is a legal vampire executioner and a consultant for the police's preternatural crime team. And while she has these supernatural abilities and a fascination with the preternatural she is terrified of and a bit disgusted by the creatures in societies midst, particularly vampires. She deals with her fear by cloaking herself in layers upon layers of bad assitude.
In these first three books Anita is a great cahracter - independent, a little bitchy, sarcastic and brazen though the author makes sure we always see her inner fear and vulnerability. She is also rather isolated, a workaholic, who seems afraid of dependency and connection. I did have one little nitpick - Anita's age, which is 24 and doesn't fit with the battle-hardened, scarred, weary and wise warrior Hamilton portrays. Another fascinating character that Hamilton teases us with is the enigmatic vampire Jean-claude who with mixed motives is extremely interested in Anita. Hamilton doesn't overdo it with Jean-claude - he's in the books enough to whet your appetite for more and that's about it.
So I recommend all beginning three of this series. They are great stories with interesting characters and a little bit of an adrenalin rush. They can be quite gory so beware if you're squeamish.
I have since moved on to the next four and sadly the quality doesn't last in my opinion but these three are great reads!
August 28, 2007
This series is not for the faint of heart! There is lots of action, violence and sex! Anita Blake is a kick ass kind of girl who makes no apologies about her habit of making bad people dead. This whole series is a truly inventive look on the modern world of the whole preternatural community: vampires, wereanimals, necromancers, and witches included. If you like fast paced, action packed and no holds barred...this one is for you!
December 8, 2018
Each one of theses books tells the exact same story from a person with zero talent for writing. She cannot write. Each book, it seems like, she tries to improve on her ability to be descriptive or tries to retell this same story using better words. It's all a repeat and it's no good. I bought this book because someone wrote a review on Amazon calling it the greatest writing of our time. The cover art is amazing. But like I said, I think Hamilton has no talent and each story is a rip off.
Laurell K Hamilton once said in a interview that I saw on youtube, that 10000 books later she felt like it was "getting easier to write about Anita Blake." That's because she's not a writer. She sucks.
Laurell K Hamilton once said in a interview that I saw on youtube, that 10000 books later she felt like it was "getting easier to write about Anita Blake." That's because she's not a writer. She sucks.
January 18, 2012
GUILTY PLEASURES
Guilty Pleasures is Book 1 of the prolonged ongoing saga that is the Anita Blake series. Enter Anita, a necromancer by night and a vampire hunter...by night. You can imagine she has her plate full, raising the dead and staking fanged baddies.
And speaking of which, we meet Nikolaos, a 1,000 year old vampire. She's the most powerful in the city all the while inhabiting a body of a 10-year-old. She's causing a few problems for Anita that leads her to become allies with other vampires. Who better to help her than the second most powerful vampire, Jean-Claude? The other worldly beautiful, but dangerous man wants to take over and happily joins with Anita, as he's interested in more than just an alliance. While drawn to him, Anita resists the temptation since she kinda has a problem with those allergic to sunlight.
While on the darker side, I found myself drawn into this mid-western city of St. Louis with it's grit, excitement and thrills. Anita gets her hands dirty and isn't afraid of a few scars...and boy does she have them.
The plot is definitely fast-paced and the read is short but focused, telling the story fine enough. No worries if you think this series will only be short books. There will be plenty future volumes that are lengthy.
THE LAUGHING CORPSE
While the first book was a bit more vampire hunter focused, this book seemed to focus a little more on Anita as a necromancer. She's been offered $1 million dollars to raise a 300-year-old zombie. The only complication--it requires human sacrifice. Anita turns it down, but as deaths start to crop up, she puts two and two together that someone else has taken on the job.
We meet a new adversary for Anita, a voodoo priestess that seems to be controlling the zombie. While I personally prefer focus on vampires (Jean-Claude won me over in the first book, so I missed him), this entry wasn't a bad read. I was certainly wondering what was going to happen next and how Anita would get to the bottom of it.
This book is really dark and gory, giving you a true horror feel, so if you want something a little less gruesome, you may want to look elsewhere. But aside from that, as it is I would say that it's pretty well done. If you liked the first book, this one should keep you reading the series.
CIRCUS OF THE DAMNED
The third installment of the Anita Blake series pits our favorite necromancer against a vampire looking to make her his human servant and a giant cobra. Of course, Jean-Claude's none too thrilled about that as he wants Anita for himself. She needs him, too, but she also has her reservations.
This series introduces us a bit more into the world of lycanthropes and we meet another big player in the series, Richard Zeeman. He's Jean-Claude's wolf to call, and more competition for Anita's heart.
Building on the themes of the first two books, Anita grows more into her powers. I was glad to see Jean-Claude get more screen time in this book compared to the second. There is plenty of action and I enjoyed this book a bit more than the second. It's less gory, but you still feel the grit of the underworld. At this point in the series, I recommend continuing onto book 4.
*Review also posted to Amazon
Guilty Pleasures is Book 1 of the prolonged ongoing saga that is the Anita Blake series. Enter Anita, a necromancer by night and a vampire hunter...by night. You can imagine she has her plate full, raising the dead and staking fanged baddies.
And speaking of which, we meet Nikolaos, a 1,000 year old vampire. She's the most powerful in the city all the while inhabiting a body of a 10-year-old. She's causing a few problems for Anita that leads her to become allies with other vampires. Who better to help her than the second most powerful vampire, Jean-Claude? The other worldly beautiful, but dangerous man wants to take over and happily joins with Anita, as he's interested in more than just an alliance. While drawn to him, Anita resists the temptation since she kinda has a problem with those allergic to sunlight.
While on the darker side, I found myself drawn into this mid-western city of St. Louis with it's grit, excitement and thrills. Anita gets her hands dirty and isn't afraid of a few scars...and boy does she have them.
The plot is definitely fast-paced and the read is short but focused, telling the story fine enough. No worries if you think this series will only be short books. There will be plenty future volumes that are lengthy.
THE LAUGHING CORPSE
While the first book was a bit more vampire hunter focused, this book seemed to focus a little more on Anita as a necromancer. She's been offered $1 million dollars to raise a 300-year-old zombie. The only complication--it requires human sacrifice. Anita turns it down, but as deaths start to crop up, she puts two and two together that someone else has taken on the job.
We meet a new adversary for Anita, a voodoo priestess that seems to be controlling the zombie. While I personally prefer focus on vampires (Jean-Claude won me over in the first book, so I missed him), this entry wasn't a bad read. I was certainly wondering what was going to happen next and how Anita would get to the bottom of it.
This book is really dark and gory, giving you a true horror feel, so if you want something a little less gruesome, you may want to look elsewhere. But aside from that, as it is I would say that it's pretty well done. If you liked the first book, this one should keep you reading the series.
CIRCUS OF THE DAMNED
The third installment of the Anita Blake series pits our favorite necromancer against a vampire looking to make her his human servant and a giant cobra. Of course, Jean-Claude's none too thrilled about that as he wants Anita for himself. She needs him, too, but she also has her reservations.
This series introduces us a bit more into the world of lycanthropes and we meet another big player in the series, Richard Zeeman. He's Jean-Claude's wolf to call, and more competition for Anita's heart.
Building on the themes of the first two books, Anita grows more into her powers. I was glad to see Jean-Claude get more screen time in this book compared to the second. There is plenty of action and I enjoyed this book a bit more than the second. It's less gory, but you still feel the grit of the underworld. At this point in the series, I recommend continuing onto book 4.
*Review also posted to Amazon
June 25, 2013
Enjoyed & am finally donating as I need to cull bookshelves before moving.
March 30, 2020
Individual Reviews for books:
Guilty Pleasures
#1 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The Laughing Corpse
#2 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Circus of the Damned
#3 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
End - Anita is still a likeable character in these, she is growing as a character and while she starts out saying, "damn you." frequently it is much less so by the third book. Still irksome when it comes up because it appears to be conversational and makes the whole thing... flat. I guess.
Jean-Claude is becoming more of a character to sympathize with by book#3, the author introduces Richard in the third book as the counter-love-interest. Anita is still bad-ass without being too powerful. It's revealed by the end that she's not just an animator, but a necromancer (I guess these are based on power levels...?) which explains some of it.
Guilty Pleasures
#1 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The Laughing Corpse
#2 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Circus of the Damned
#3 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
End - Anita is still a likeable character in these, she is growing as a character and while she starts out saying, "damn you." frequently it is much less so by the third book. Still irksome when it comes up because it appears to be conversational and makes the whole thing... flat. I guess.
Jean-Claude is becoming more of a character to sympathize with by book#3, the author introduces Richard in the third book as the counter-love-interest. Anita is still bad-ass without being too powerful. It's revealed by the end that she's not just an animator, but a necromancer (I guess these are based on power levels...?) which explains some of it.
May 18, 2015
Guilty Pleasures
What a great introduction to this world. Vampires are legal, as in they own businesses and may even get to vote soon. The supernatural isn't hidden anymore. The MC raises zombies for a living. But like when most things change, they are people who protest.
Anita Blake, zombie raiser and legal vampire slayer, understands the supernatural better than most. It is after all her job. When vampire corpses are found brutally murdered, Anita is put on the case - both by the police and the Master vampire of the city.
I enjoyed every part of this book. The introduction to the world was done so smoothly that I believed instantly that this world exists. But Hamilton doesn't just romanticize the vampires. They are dangerous and violent and that shows in the fighting scenes.
And then there's Jean-Claude...
The Laughing Corpse
For some reason, when I think back on this book, I always think that I don't like it that much. But rereading it, yes there were parts that I wasn't too fond of, but overall I really liked it. This book focuses more on the zombie side of things. There's a rogue zombie on the loose killing people - killing innocent families.
What I like about these books is how everything is interconnected. One tiny detail because paramount later.
Circus of the Damned
This is where things start picking up. We get introduced to more characters including one Richard Zeeman. I like the introduction of Richard. There's finally someone to challenge Jean-Claude's feelings with Anita.
Speaking of Jean-Claude, Anita is so wanting to get away from him that she allies herself with another Master who wants Jean-Claude's throne. What comes out of this is something Anita never saw coming and she's then forced to choose once and for all what side she stands on.
I read somewhere that either Richard or Jean-Claude was supposed to die in this book. I can't for the life of me remember which one it was. Having read up until I think book 20, I can't imagine this series without either of them.
What a great introduction to this world. Vampires are legal, as in they own businesses and may even get to vote soon. The supernatural isn't hidden anymore. The MC raises zombies for a living. But like when most things change, they are people who protest.
Anita Blake, zombie raiser and legal vampire slayer, understands the supernatural better than most. It is after all her job. When vampire corpses are found brutally murdered, Anita is put on the case - both by the police and the Master vampire of the city.
I enjoyed every part of this book. The introduction to the world was done so smoothly that I believed instantly that this world exists. But Hamilton doesn't just romanticize the vampires. They are dangerous and violent and that shows in the fighting scenes.
And then there's Jean-Claude...
The Laughing Corpse
For some reason, when I think back on this book, I always think that I don't like it that much. But rereading it, yes there were parts that I wasn't too fond of, but overall I really liked it. This book focuses more on the zombie side of things. There's a rogue zombie on the loose killing people - killing innocent families.
What I like about these books is how everything is interconnected. One tiny detail because paramount later.
Circus of the Damned
This is where things start picking up. We get introduced to more characters including one Richard Zeeman. I like the introduction of Richard. There's finally someone to challenge Jean-Claude's feelings with Anita.
Speaking of Jean-Claude, Anita is so wanting to get away from him that she allies herself with another Master who wants Jean-Claude's throne. What comes out of this is something Anita never saw coming and she's then forced to choose once and for all what side she stands on.
I read somewhere that either Richard or Jean-Claude was supposed to die in this book. I can't for the life of me remember which one it was. Having read up until I think book 20, I can't imagine this series without either of them.
December 26, 2018
I came across this on a list I'm reading my way through, and I actually read the three collected volumes some time back, so this is just for my own records. The rating is an average of what I gave the individual books: Guilty Pleasures got three stars from me, mostly because I was impressed by the sense of pre-existing world. The Laughing Corpse and Circus of the Damned, on the other hand, only merited two stars each. Basically, I found the same issues cropping up in all three books. Firstly, Anita seems remarkably (if inconsistently) thick. In the first book I figured out the culprit long before she did; in the third Richard's identity was so obvious Helen Keller could have picked up on it... but it took our heroine forever to grasp. Secondly, the villains have a habit of being initially and genuinely threatening - and then prone to making mistakes so basic it was no wonder they lost in the end. I mean, I really enjoyed the world-building, but the characters are beaten so often with the idiot stick that it can get a bit frustrating to read.
July 21, 2011
I have to say with all of the hype I've heard on Anita Blake I was disappointed.
I had heard that the beginning of the series was fantastic, awesome, great. I didn't think so. I am now hearing that the last few didn't quite measure up to the rest. That scares me. I started them anyway thinking that if they started getting stale or just not for me I'd stop. I think I've already gotten there. I have so many books on my to-read/review list that I can't waste any more of these.
Very disappointing.
I had heard that the beginning of the series was fantastic, awesome, great. I didn't think so. I am now hearing that the last few didn't quite measure up to the rest. That scares me. I started them anyway thinking that if they started getting stale or just not for me I'd stop. I think I've already gotten there. I have so many books on my to-read/review list that I can't waste any more of these.
Very disappointing.
February 27, 2012
I loved it and I am so very glad I got a chance to read the Blake books that were created before LKH went off to her male harem dream land and lost the art of making a book worth reading which includes an actual plot and not repetitve sex. I so wish she had kept the books more along this line and kept them growing without losing Anita in sex. It was so wonderful to not have to skip pages/ chapters to get past sex scenes I was tired of reading and having an actual story to read.
January 27, 2015
Non sono brutti, anzi. Però siamo sempre al solito punto: la protagonista non sbaglia mai, è sempre pronta, non gliela si fa manco per sbaglio.
Sono decenni che i protagonisti dei generi non si discostano da questi cliché, solo che ora sono donne.
Un po' più di realismo nei protagonisti non guasterebbe.
Sono decenni che i protagonisti dei generi non si discostano da questi cliché, solo che ora sono donne.
Un po' più di realismo nei protagonisti non guasterebbe.
July 5, 2011
A Reminder of why we love Anita Blake when Ms. Hamilton is spot-on. Love Anita, Jean Claude, & Richard.
July 24, 2017
Just what I needed, kick-ass Anita!
Good series are hard to come by. I didn't expect much of this saga by the looks of it-but book covers are deceiving and a lot of failed series make you underwhelmed. But this definitely exceeded my expectations. I was laughing and crying and freaking out with ever action of said Anita Blake, bad-ass vampire slayer.
She's very relatable, to me, at least and it's very comforting to read about her drama and her world and vaudun and Masters of the Cities and zombies. Pretty much anything that goes bump in the night.
Jean-Claude is an interesting character. I loved the unfailing attempts at winning her over time and time again- just to be met with avoidance or a blunt no-way-in hell. Please please let something come out of their budding romance! However bloody and gruesome. Definitely looking forward to the upcoming novels!
Good series are hard to come by. I didn't expect much of this saga by the looks of it-but book covers are deceiving and a lot of failed series make you underwhelmed. But this definitely exceeded my expectations. I was laughing and crying and freaking out with ever action of said Anita Blake, bad-ass vampire slayer.
She's very relatable, to me, at least and it's very comforting to read about her drama and her world and vaudun and Masters of the Cities and zombies. Pretty much anything that goes bump in the night.
Jean-Claude is an interesting character. I loved the unfailing attempts at winning her over time and time again- just to be met with avoidance or a blunt no-way-in hell. Please please let something come out of their budding romance! However bloody and gruesome. Definitely looking forward to the upcoming novels!
March 11, 2018
Technically, I didn't finish it but I compromised by at least finishing the story. I never got emotionally anywhere, for me. There were a few moments where I might have connected or started to at least but I never found myself giving enough of a crap. I even forgot who Edward and not wanting to take the time to go back and read it. I read this and Midnight Cafe back in the day as I think I was in a SciFi book club. I can see why I didn't keep it then although I might have been more interested back then.
Read
March 9, 2020THE FIRST LIKE FIVE ANITA BLAKE BOOKS WERE RLY GOOD BEFOAR LAURELL K. HAMILTON WENT OFF THE RAILS. :(
I WOULDN'T SAY THEY WERE REALLY GOOD, BUT THEY WERE DEFINITELY READABLE.
LOL I'M NOT COMPARING IT TO SHAKESPEARE, MEMER. COMPARING THEM TO OTHER URBAN FANTASY NOVELS, THEY WERE DEFINITELY TOWARDS THE TOP.
I'M NOT EITHER AND I'M STILL SAYING THEY WEREN'T RLY GOOD. THEY WERE READABLE, WHICH IS A HUGE DIFFERENCE FROM WHERE THE SERIES IS NOW. LOL THE ARDEUR.
I WOULDN'T SAY THEY WERE REALLY GOOD, BUT THEY WERE DEFINITELY READABLE.
LOL I'M NOT COMPARING IT TO SHAKESPEARE, MEMER. COMPARING THEM TO OTHER URBAN FANTASY NOVELS, THEY WERE DEFINITELY TOWARDS THE TOP.
I'M NOT EITHER AND I'M STILL SAYING THEY WEREN'T RLY GOOD. THEY WERE READABLE, WHICH IS A HUGE DIFFERENCE FROM WHERE THE SERIES IS NOW. LOL THE ARDEUR.
July 25, 2021
Anita Blake is truly one of my favorite heriones!!! Even in the face of danger, she takes it head on. This book is feeding my supernatural side and I love it!!! It truly portrays the intricacies of the supernatural world and all its creatures. Thank you Laurell K. Hamilton!!!!
May 24, 2018
BEWARE ALL NEWBIES!!!! This series starts off as one thing (AWESOME) and quickly turns into being about fashion and kinky (not in a good way) sex! Oh, and a lot of taking about sex:/ PATHETIC!!!
July 28, 2018
Couldnt keep myself from laughing while trying to read this. Maybe it was good back in 2004 but it did not age well.
December 18, 2018
The last book saved this series for me. Out of all the Action in this book the final battle in the 3rd book was wonderful and got me excited.
December 30, 2019
I own this copy, it's what introduced me to LKH and made me fall in love.
Read when it first came out, but listened to audio this year 2019
Read when it first came out, but listened to audio this year 2019
October 30, 2020
The early Anita Blake books are some of the best contemporary magic stuff with lycanthropes, vampires, and such. The later books, not so much.
August 31, 2012
Je n'avais pas vraiment été convaincue par le premier tome de cette saga si populaire. Mais avec ce tome 2, je le suis déjà nettement plus.
En effet, ce tome est beaucoup plus intéressant et original que le précédent. Ici, l'auteure se concentre sur le métier principal d'Anita : la réanimation. On se trouve donc avec deux intrigues plutôt bien réussies qui ne tournent que sur ce sujet. On en apprend donc plus sur son travail avec la police et donc sur certains flics, ainsi que la façon dont Anita est, non seulement devenue réanimatrice, mais aussi comment elle a rencontré son patron. On découvre également certains de ses collègues comme Mani ou Charle.
Bien entendu, puisqu'il n'est point question de vampires, ceux-ci sont donc mis de côté. Ce qui n'empêche pas Jean-Claude de faire une petite apparition pleine de mordant ! En effet, se retrouvant tous les deux liés, ils vont devoir trouver un terrain d'entente, ce qui n'est pas une mince affaire. A voir s'ils trouveront la solution dans le tome 3 !
En outre, non seulement on parle réanimation avec un zombie tueur en série, mais aussi vaudou avec l'arrivée de deux nouveaux personnages dont un que nous seront peut-être amené à revoir, à savoir John Burke.
Ce tome est assez sombre, mais l'héroïne est plus cohérente que dans le tome précédent. Cela n’empêche pas certains passages d'être drôles, notamment les joutes entre Jean-Claude et l'héroïne.
Pour conclure, j'ai nettement préféré ce tome au premier et j'espère que le tome 3 continuera sur la lancé de celui-ci.
Tome 3
Ce tome est dans la lignée du premier tome. En effet, on met de nouveau de côté les deux jobs principaux d'Anita à savoir réanimatrice et collaboratrice de la police (mis en arrière plan bien que présent).
Ainsi, l'histoire tourne autour des vampires et autres "monstres" : Anita doit faire un choix : assumer les deux marques ou tuer Jean-Claude. Ce tome est donc plus dans l'introspection et les sentiments de l'héroïne. En outre, elle en devient presque un pion dans l'affrontement des maîtres vampires.
De nouveaux personnages entrent en scène : de nombreux vampires, tous plus puissants les uns que les autres, mais également des métamorphes. Enfin, Anita se retrouve à former une nouvelle recrue Larry, qui est à la fois très énervant par sa naïveté et très touchant.
Anita comme dans les tomes précédents manque de mourir assez fréquemment et parvient à tuer des vampires très puissant avec beaucoup de chance plus qu'autre chose !
Au niveau de l'intrigue, elle est assez confus au départ puis réside essentiellement dans la rivalité pour récupérer la ville de Saint Louis. Heureusement, certaines créatures poilus font leur apparitions et viennent apporter un rythme supplémentaire à l'intrigue.
En résumer un tome intéressant du point de vue des relations entre les différents personnages mais un poil en dessous des autres concernant l'histoire.
En effet, ce tome est beaucoup plus intéressant et original que le précédent. Ici, l'auteure se concentre sur le métier principal d'Anita : la réanimation. On se trouve donc avec deux intrigues plutôt bien réussies qui ne tournent que sur ce sujet. On en apprend donc plus sur son travail avec la police et donc sur certains flics, ainsi que la façon dont Anita est, non seulement devenue réanimatrice, mais aussi comment elle a rencontré son patron. On découvre également certains de ses collègues comme Mani ou Charle.
Bien entendu, puisqu'il n'est point question de vampires, ceux-ci sont donc mis de côté. Ce qui n'empêche pas Jean-Claude de faire une petite apparition pleine de mordant ! En effet, se retrouvant tous les deux liés, ils vont devoir trouver un terrain d'entente, ce qui n'est pas une mince affaire. A voir s'ils trouveront la solution dans le tome 3 !
En outre, non seulement on parle réanimation avec un zombie tueur en série, mais aussi vaudou avec l'arrivée de deux nouveaux personnages dont un que nous seront peut-être amené à revoir, à savoir John Burke.
Ce tome est assez sombre, mais l'héroïne est plus cohérente que dans le tome précédent. Cela n’empêche pas certains passages d'être drôles, notamment les joutes entre Jean-Claude et l'héroïne.
Pour conclure, j'ai nettement préféré ce tome au premier et j'espère que le tome 3 continuera sur la lancé de celui-ci.
Tome 3
Ce tome est dans la lignée du premier tome. En effet, on met de nouveau de côté les deux jobs principaux d'Anita à savoir réanimatrice et collaboratrice de la police (mis en arrière plan bien que présent).
Ainsi, l'histoire tourne autour des vampires et autres "monstres" : Anita doit faire un choix : assumer les deux marques ou tuer Jean-Claude. Ce tome est donc plus dans l'introspection et les sentiments de l'héroïne. En outre, elle en devient presque un pion dans l'affrontement des maîtres vampires.
De nouveaux personnages entrent en scène : de nombreux vampires, tous plus puissants les uns que les autres, mais également des métamorphes. Enfin, Anita se retrouve à former une nouvelle recrue Larry, qui est à la fois très énervant par sa naïveté et très touchant.
Anita comme dans les tomes précédents manque de mourir assez fréquemment et parvient à tuer des vampires très puissant avec beaucoup de chance plus qu'autre chose !
Au niveau de l'intrigue, elle est assez confus au départ puis réside essentiellement dans la rivalité pour récupérer la ville de Saint Louis. Heureusement, certaines créatures poilus font leur apparitions et viennent apporter un rythme supplémentaire à l'intrigue.
En résumer un tome intéressant du point de vue des relations entre les différents personnages mais un poil en dessous des autres concernant l'histoire.
August 9, 2009
After having read a couple of the Meredith Gentry series I was not sure how the Anita Blake stories were going to play out, but I liked them alot better than I though and cannot wait to continue the series. This is actually and amnibus of the first three books so I am going to summerize each one on its own.
Guilty Pleasures:
Book one introduces us to Anita Black, she is an animator and a vampire hunter known as The Executioner. Vampires now have rights and people cannot just kill them, but have to get a warrant. There is a master vampire who wants to control Anita. So does the second most powereful vampire who gives her the first and second marks to making her his human services. What follows is both suspenseful and humorous.
The Laughing Corpse:
This book starts out with Anita being offered a million dollars to raise a zombie that is 300 years old. Anita refuses and the Harold Gaynor (the man who wanted the zombie raised) will stop at nothing to get Anita to agree to his plan. At the same time there is a renegade zombie on the loose and not only do the police (with Anitas help_ have to ind out who raised it they also have to stop it before more innocent people die.
Circus of the Damned:
After avoiding Jean-Claude as much as she can (for giving her the first 2 marks of a human servant) Anita needs his help in a murder investigation. There is a master vampire and his "crew" killing people. It turns out that this master vampire is actually being ruled over by the oldest vampire Anita has ever met. When Jean-Claude gives Anita the third mark she turns him over to the master vampire, Oliver, to get him killed not realising that Oliver has tricked her. The vampire who is ruled by Ol;iver makes him her servan by force in the bog battle in the end, but she kills him freeing erself of both Jean-Claude and the other vampire.
All in all I really liked these books. Anita is 24 and sounds like a 24 year old isntead of an older person trying to sound like a 24 year old. Te books are suspenseful and humorous and the characters are likeable. Even Jean-Claude.
Guilty Pleasures:
Book one introduces us to Anita Black, she is an animator and a vampire hunter known as The Executioner. Vampires now have rights and people cannot just kill them, but have to get a warrant. There is a master vampire who wants to control Anita. So does the second most powereful vampire who gives her the first and second marks to making her his human services. What follows is both suspenseful and humorous.
The Laughing Corpse:
This book starts out with Anita being offered a million dollars to raise a zombie that is 300 years old. Anita refuses and the Harold Gaynor (the man who wanted the zombie raised) will stop at nothing to get Anita to agree to his plan. At the same time there is a renegade zombie on the loose and not only do the police (with Anitas help_ have to ind out who raised it they also have to stop it before more innocent people die.
Circus of the Damned:
After avoiding Jean-Claude as much as she can (for giving her the first 2 marks of a human servant) Anita needs his help in a murder investigation. There is a master vampire and his "crew" killing people. It turns out that this master vampire is actually being ruled over by the oldest vampire Anita has ever met. When Jean-Claude gives Anita the third mark she turns him over to the master vampire, Oliver, to get him killed not realising that Oliver has tricked her. The vampire who is ruled by Ol;iver makes him her servan by force in the bog battle in the end, but she kills him freeing erself of both Jean-Claude and the other vampire.
All in all I really liked these books. Anita is 24 and sounds like a 24 year old isntead of an older person trying to sound like a 24 year old. Te books are suspenseful and humorous and the characters are likeable. Even Jean-Claude.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 3, 2008
it's been many a year now since the first time i picked up these super fun Anita Blake books, the words that launched a thousand imitators and were pretty well the start of the whole modern-times supernatural adult fantasy/horror/mystery genre (see also: Jim Butcher, Patricia Briggs, Lilith Saintcrow, Kim Harrison, etc etc). this is the first book-club edition of her stuff, comprising books 1,2, and 3 of the series, and up through book 6, this is the best it got.
the series deals with an outwardly-feisty but internally-prudish/shy/haunted animator (as in, she raises the dead for a living. go ahead and ask dad about that disputed clause in his will.) and the occasional work she does helping out the police with supernatural-based crimes. over the course of these first 6 books, our heroine is involved with bounty hunters, hit men, vampires, fairies, and a dizzying plethora of were-creatures of every stripe. it's every bit as fun and action-packed as it sounds, and each book is a breezy quick (nearly un-put-down-able) read.
while you don't have to read any of the first 6 strictly in order, there's solid story arc and character development going on over the course of these books. the world the characters inhabit is real in a matter-of-fact way, just different enough from ours to make you consider the fact that it might actually be that way in the next state over.
a word of caution: after book 6, the author started taking this series in a radically different direction (detour to porn-land) that just didn't work out so well with the established characters. so if you like a good story, read these first ones and then stop. if you like more erotica, pick it up at book 9 and go from there.
the series deals with an outwardly-feisty but internally-prudish/shy/haunted animator (as in, she raises the dead for a living. go ahead and ask dad about that disputed clause in his will.) and the occasional work she does helping out the police with supernatural-based crimes. over the course of these first 6 books, our heroine is involved with bounty hunters, hit men, vampires, fairies, and a dizzying plethora of were-creatures of every stripe. it's every bit as fun and action-packed as it sounds, and each book is a breezy quick (nearly un-put-down-able) read.
while you don't have to read any of the first 6 strictly in order, there's solid story arc and character development going on over the course of these books. the world the characters inhabit is real in a matter-of-fact way, just different enough from ours to make you consider the fact that it might actually be that way in the next state over.
a word of caution: after book 6, the author started taking this series in a radically different direction (detour to porn-land) that just didn't work out so well with the established characters. so if you like a good story, read these first ones and then stop. if you like more erotica, pick it up at book 9 and go from there.
August 6, 2009
Guilty Pleasures
This is the first Anita Blake novel I've read. Gotta say, pondering the possibilities of vampire civil rights legislation can be more fun than the average person should have in a day.
Action packed to the end, there was no wind-down. Once business was done, the book was over. Good thing the next one, The Laughing Corpse is right here in the same volume.
The Laughing Corpse
This one was a lot gorier than the first. But still good, a little more scary. Only thing that bugged me was Jean-Claude. Why does he always have to be wearing tight black jeans and a loose shirt that billows openly around his chest? He is such a frigging cliche! But Anita is a little spitfire! Regularly able to beat down even the biggest and scariest foes.
Circus of the Damned
Wow, this book kept you on the edge of your seat. I know there are more books with Anita Blake, animator/vampire hunter, so when so many crazy things happened to her I wondered if I would read more books with her so drastically changed. I don't want to give anything away, but there were just huge life altering things going on around every corner.
Suffice it to say, I'm still looking forward to reading the next book.
This is the first Anita Blake novel I've read. Gotta say, pondering the possibilities of vampire civil rights legislation can be more fun than the average person should have in a day.
Action packed to the end, there was no wind-down. Once business was done, the book was over. Good thing the next one, The Laughing Corpse is right here in the same volume.
The Laughing Corpse
This one was a lot gorier than the first. But still good, a little more scary. Only thing that bugged me was Jean-Claude. Why does he always have to be wearing tight black jeans and a loose shirt that billows openly around his chest? He is such a frigging cliche! But Anita is a little spitfire! Regularly able to beat down even the biggest and scariest foes.
Circus of the Damned
Wow, this book kept you on the edge of your seat. I know there are more books with Anita Blake, animator/vampire hunter, so when so many crazy things happened to her I wondered if I would read more books with her so drastically changed. I don't want to give anything away, but there were just huge life altering things going on around every corner.
Suffice it to say, I'm still looking forward to reading the next book.
Read
March 2, 2016I ASSUMED SHE HAD ALWAYS BEEN BAD BUT WHEN I READ THE FIRST ANITA BLAKE BOOK THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THEN AND NOW RLY IS SHOCKING. ANITA WASN'T A HORRIBLE, THIN-SKINNED WHINER, THERE WAS AN ACTUAL PLOT AND WHILE THE VAMPIRES WERE PRETTY SILLY, IT WAS KIND OF ENTERTAINING. NOW IT'S JUST A BUNCH OF TERRIBLE PEOPLE HAVING TERRIBLE SEX OR SITTING AROUND TALKING ABOUT HAVING TERRIBLE SEX.
I'M THINKING ABOUT REREADING THE EARLY ANITA BLAKES TO SEE IF THEY'RE AWFUL.
THEY'RE AWFUL.
THEY'RE NOT THAT BAD. I MEAN, THEY'RE RLY CHEESY BUT CONSIDERING THE SERIES DOWNSLIDE, THE FIRST FIVE OR SO ARE MASTERPIECES.
IDK IF I SHOULD REREAD HER FIRST FEW BOOKS OR NOT.
THEY'RE SURPRISINGLY NOT AS BAD AS THE LATER BAD PORN TRAINWRECKS WOULD LEAD YOU TO BELIEVE.
MOST DISAPPOINTING BOOK SERIES?
THE ANITA BLAKE SERIES IS GOOD FOR SEVERAL BOOKS, THEN THE AUTHOR DRINKS HER OWN KOOLAID AND IT BECOMES A MARY SUE BAD EROTICA SERIES.
I'M THINKING ABOUT REREADING THE EARLY ANITA BLAKES TO SEE IF THEY'RE AWFUL.
THEY'RE AWFUL.
THEY'RE NOT THAT BAD. I MEAN, THEY'RE RLY CHEESY BUT CONSIDERING THE SERIES DOWNSLIDE, THE FIRST FIVE OR SO ARE MASTERPIECES.
IDK IF I SHOULD REREAD HER FIRST FEW BOOKS OR NOT.
THEY'RE SURPRISINGLY NOT AS BAD AS THE LATER BAD PORN TRAINWRECKS WOULD LEAD YOU TO BELIEVE.
MOST DISAPPOINTING BOOK SERIES?
THE ANITA BLAKE SERIES IS GOOD FOR SEVERAL BOOKS, THEN THE AUTHOR DRINKS HER OWN KOOLAID AND IT BECOMES A MARY SUE BAD EROTICA SERIES.
December 12, 2008
This is the book club edition of the first three Anita Blake books. Whether or not, you love or hate the later Blake books, you have to admit that the early books contributed in to the urban fantasy/ paranormal romance genre. There are problems with the books. Anita's back story changes slightly (sometimes in the same book) as does her age, every woman who is more powerful than Anita is bad. However, Anita is a far more sympathetic if not likeable here than in the later books. While Hamilton is not the writer that Huff or de Lint is, her world is interesting and fascinating, at least in the early books where her main character has some internal conflict and the vampires still have bite.
October 11, 2017
The first three books in the Anita Blake series!
Guilty Pleasures
The Laughing Corpse
Circus of the Damned
Hmmmm that last one...naked Richard. Happy day.
Signed by Laurell (in California, I made the trip just to get books signed!)
**July 2017**
I am deciding where to stop my collection of the Anita Blake books (I still enjoy reading them, but there is a point in the series where I don't need to keep the books for re-reading purposes) - so I am starting at the beginning and reading them through again.
Finished this before heading off to Vegas - Oct 4, 2017...and I still enjoyed this reading as much as I did the first one...such a good start to a long running series - so this first book (containing the first three stories) will be remaining on my Permanent shelf.
Guilty Pleasures
The Laughing Corpse
Circus of the Damned
Hmmmm that last one...naked Richard. Happy day.
Signed by Laurell (in California, I made the trip just to get books signed!)
**July 2017**
I am deciding where to stop my collection of the Anita Blake books (I still enjoy reading them, but there is a point in the series where I don't need to keep the books for re-reading purposes) - so I am starting at the beginning and reading them through again.
Finished this before heading off to Vegas - Oct 4, 2017...and I still enjoyed this reading as much as I did the first one...such a good start to a long running series - so this first book (containing the first three stories) will be remaining on my Permanent shelf.
March 15, 2010
I reviewed each book individually (if you want to read them just look for them by title). I will definitely continue the series, however I'm not sure I like it enough to actually own any more books. I don't think I will be reading any of these for a second time. I'm not even sure I will be able to suggest this to friends yet, with the exception of one friend who may like it. Some books I read & I just have to talk about, this was just something I could mention in passing, but not really rave about. Hopefully the further I get in the series I can say otherwise.
October 5, 2010
Anita Blake is an animator and a necromancer. She is also a vampire slayer, very petite and an object of interest for the Master of the City of St. Louis. I quite liked the character, although she wasn't always internally consistent (her lack of suspicion of the lamia in the last book seemed very out of character to me).
This series will probably appeal to fans of Jim Butcher, Patricia Briggs and Charlaine Harris.
This series will probably appeal to fans of Jim Butcher, Patricia Briggs and Charlaine Harris.
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