Customer Reviews

Ardeur: 14 Writers on the Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter Series (Smart Pop series)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

If you are interested in this book because you believe it's about the Ardeur, you will either be vastly disappointed, or incredibly relieved, because it's NOT about the Ardeur.

Fourteen authors have written essays covering fourteen different aspects of Anita and her world. This is by no means a book touting how wonderful the Anita Blake series is. As a matter of fact, you'll find some authors that think the series lost it's value either when Anita finally had sex with Jean-Claude (no more sexual tension or leaving readers wondering who she'll pick) or by doing a 180 with her issues on monogamy in Narcissus in Chains.

What we do have are some interesting and thought provoking theories covering topics such as:
*Anita's relationships with other women
*Romance, and why vampires are such a hot topic
*How cold English words are for different parts of the body and how Laurell has avoided them
*How Anita has to save someone before she can trust them, and why
*How death shaped her
*Edward
*What becoming a monster has done for Anita
*Why the level of violence exhibited by a woman was such a breakthrough in this series
*The law and why it's so unfair to the preternatural community
*And a whole lot more - and yes, there are a couple regarding sex

Each essay is prefaced by a message from Laurell, not pointing out what she believes is right or wrong, but of her own experiences related to the topic and how they affected her writing or Anita's character. This adds a great deal of insight to the hows and whys.

This is a really good book for making you see things in a new light. Of course if you have already stopped reading the series because you don't like the direction it has taken, this book probably isn't going to make you suddenly want to go play catch up with the books you haven't read yet. But I do believe you'd appreciate the insights and theories offered in this book.

I am not that picky about the electronic versions even though they do tend to be full of incorrect words, missing spaces, missing punctuation (question marks seem to be almost completely MIA)and odd order of sections such as the table of contents at the end of the book. Usually I just go with the flow. However, this one is really bad. Apparently, Laurell Hamilton wrote a little blurb before each essay. The Kindle insists on starting the book with the essay so you don't know there is a pre-essay blurb. If you chooce an essay from the table of contents once again it takes you to the essay bypassing the LH comments. I stumbled on the LH comments in between two of the essays otherwise there would be no indication they exist. In addition, there are odd blank pages scattered throughout. There are also many missing spaces with words just running together. Honestly, don't publishers have proofreaders anymore? I volunteer my services for anymore LH books - I will proof them for free! It is just too painful to read when they are this rife with errors.

Let's face it: It was the kiss of death for "Ardeur: 14 Writers on the Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter Series" when Laurell K Hamilton suddenly became the editor. In theory, this little book contains fourteen essays on various aspects of Hamilton's popular urban-fantasy series... but with Hamilton hanging over it like a tattered glaring vulture, there's really little here but bootlicking.

Among the essays: why the series is supposedly uproariously funny (and why Hamilton's vampires are too dumb to live); how Anita Blake is the TOUGHEST COOLEST AWESOMEST heroine ever, and how her world is so much cooler than traditional horror; a defense of Anita's sociopathy and revulsion at "normalcy"; an exploration of the skin-deep legal system of the Anita Blake series; vampirism as a metaphor for race; Anita's arsenal of superpowers (especially the "ardeur"); and Anita's "Death" buddies.

Particularly bad are Marella Sands and Heather Swain's essays,both of which are incoherent rambles. One is about how English doesn't have any good sexual words, and how LKH's vampires are SO much sexier than those fusty repressed Victorans like... Dracula. The other spews venom on the classic "Jane Eyre" (apparently Bertha didn't REALLY go insane -- oh no, it was the Evil Sexist Rochester's fault!) while glorifying Anita because... she kills people and has sex. Whoopdeedoo.

There are some good explorations of Hamilton's work -- Nick Namatas explores "Guilty Pleasures" while deftly sidestepping the later novels; Lilith Saintcrow provides an intelligent look at how sexual relationships gutted the complexity and noir atmosphere of the series; Devon Ellington makes some good critical points; and L. Jagi Lamplighter holds the series up to romance tropes (much to Hamilton's dismay).

But for the most part, "Ardeur" is about singing Anita Blake's praises rather than taking an objective look at the series -- the good, the bad and the ugly. The writers dodge the problematic content in Hamilton's series, such as the homophobia, misandry, misogyny, Anita raping others and/or being raped by the sparkly perfect Micah, torture, and even sentencing a man to death for refusing to have sex with her.

Instead, we're told about how Anita is so strong/compassionate/tough/conflicted/manly/powerful, and everything she does is JUST WONDERFUL. Hamilton's massive writing defects (Mother of All Darkness' POSSIBLE death) are sidestepped, and sometimes outright praised (according to Swain, legal murder is "fun!"). There are some critical moments, but they're smothered under an oily veneer of forced praise.

To make matters worse, Hamilton elbows her way into "Ardeur" by cramming a prologue to each essay -- most of which revolve around her Tragic Life, her ex-husband, her evil grandmother, and how very dark and sexual she is. In other words, the sort of stuff she blogs about on a near-daily basis.

"Ardeur" has some good and insightful moments, but they're drowning in a sea of soupy praise and fannish worship. There was an interesting book in there, but Hamilton puts a stake in its heart.

This is just the worst book ever. I didn't think that anything could be worse than the last few books in the Anita Blake series, WRONG. I just can't believe that I actually spent money on this #*!#!! Don't waste your money or your time. Sorry I did.

I'm a huge fan of the Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter series and reading essays focusing on many different aspects of the series was a wonderful experience. While most of the contributing authors were unknown to me, all had interesting viewpoints on the series.

Having Laurell K. Hamilton herself edit the book concerned me. I felt that her involvement in the project may have caused the book to be less candid than it could have been. The Anita Blake series often invokes strong feelings, for and against Anita's actions. While the subject of her sexuality was touched upon on a few occasions, there was never a strong voice against how the series has progressed, which made me wonder if that just wasn't allowed.

I did enjoy Hamilton's introductions to each essay. She spoke about personal times in her life that seemed to influence the topic each contributor was speaking about. Hamilton is known for being very open about her personal life and these introductions are on par with what fans know of her personality.

The essays will vary in interest according to the reader. Some focus more on the series itself while others focus on the comparisons to either other literary works or "the real world." As I mentioned earlier, all are interesting, but some will be more relevant to fans than others.

Ardeur is a fun look at the entirety of the Anita Blake series, often delving deep into a variety of topics. Much of what is covered in these essays will cause readers to consider aspects of the series in entirely new ways. A must for any Anita Blake fan.

After recently finishing Flirt, and while waiting for Bullet, I found Ardeur to take the edge off of my Anita Blake craving. With 18 books chronicling Anita Blake's adventures as a vampire executioner/necromancer/succubus, it was nice to read something that reflects on the series and all that it accomplishes.

Ardeur includes 14 essays on a variety of subjects all pertaining to the Anita Blake universe. Everything from how the ardeur has helped Anita to develop and overcome personal boundaries, to lack of racial diversity among vampire characters, to how the series is helping our culture to heal its hang-ups on sexuality, is explored. Each essay is also introduced by Laurell K. Hamilton herself, who discusses some of her thought processes while writing the series as well as experiences in her personal life that subconsciously or consciously made their way into the books.

One essay that stands out particularly to me is "Bon Rapports" by Marella Sands, a member of Hamilton's writing group. According to Sands, Hamilton had determined at the beginning of the series that Anita was to never, ever have explicit sex--"No sex on stage" as she says. Her essay also explores the lack of good words available in English for writing sex scenes. Something I had never thought on, but about which she makes a great point!

Overall, an eye-opening and interesting read that makes you think twice about how Hamilton and Anita Blake have changed an entire genre.

this is not a group of short stories by other author's writing in Laurell's world. its like listening to sports commentary over analyzing her works. not worth the money.

If you like to read essays and comentaries on your favorite series, you will enjoy this one. A nice look at the various aspects of the Anita Blake universe, this book addresses a wide range of issues about the series. The only thing I would have done differently is that Laurrel Hamilton comments on each essay and the comments are before the essay. I would have preferred to read her comments after the essay, as a kind of response to the commentary on her novels. This is just one of several books about various current popular novels/TV series and I have read several others and enjoyed them all. Dorothy

Some read the "Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter" books for the many and varied sex scenes, others for their own motivations... "Ardeur" is are varied and excellent in-depth views into the characters and their motivations. Laurell K. Hamilton's novels are an acquired taste, the characters mature and evolve as the story-line unfolds. NOT for the shy or naieve types!