Circus of the Damned (Anita Blake Vampire Hunter) [Paperback]

Laurell K. Hamilton (Author)

Book Description

Series: Anita Blake Vampire Hunter | Publication Date: May 1, 1995

Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, battles a centuries-old vampire with the soul of the city-and Anita's life-at stake in this supernatural thrill ride from New York Times bestselling author Laurell K. Hamilton.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The third novel of Hamilton's Anita Blake series has the petite necromancer fighting a giant cobra and a rogue vampire, Alejandro, who wants her for his human servant. Anita is still resisting the advances of Jean-Claude, St. Louis's master vampire, but she does need him on her side, if not in her bed. Anita's reluctant involvement in the odd goings-on at the supernatural Circus of the Damned introduces her to Richard, the werewolf of her dreams, and Larry, her powerful but nervous partner in zombie-raising.

Mystery fans will love the tightly plotted, Paretsky-esque action, and horror fans will love just about everything in this unusual series.

Review

An R-rated 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer.' -- New York Review of Science Fiction

The sexiest vampire in the business. -- Jayne Ann Krentz

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Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Ace; later printing edition (May 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0441001971
• ISBN-13: 978-0441001972
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (163 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #610,781 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Laurell K. Hamilton is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of two series that mix mystery, fantasy, magic, horror and romance. Her Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter novels from Berkley Books began with GUILTY PLEASURES (now a hugely successful graphic novel from Marvel - the first sexy paranormal comic ever!) and continues with the SKIN TRADE, number seventeen in the series, in which Anita's complex personal and professional relationships with a master vampire and an alpha werewolf continue to evolve. There are now more than 6 million copies of Anita in print worldwide, in 16 languages. Hamilton's Ballantine series features Fey princess and private investigator, Merry Gentry and there are now six novels exceeding one million copies in print. Divine Misdemeanors, the eighth in the series will debut Octobe 29, 2009. She lives in St. Louis County Missouri with her husband Jonathon Green, daughter, one pug dog and one boxer/pug dog.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars In Full Stride, June 30, 2001

By 

Marc Ruby™ "The Noh Hare™" (Warren, MI USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Circus of the Damned (Anita Blake Vampire Hunter) (Paperback)

Having led off with "Guilty Pleasures" and "The Laughing Corpse," Laurell Hamilton has laid all the necessary groundwork to make this series work. In "Circus of the Damned" she builds on the previous to volumes give a fuller, and more frightening picture of an alternate earth where vampires, werewolves and other monsters are commonplace members of modern society.

While helping the St. Louis Police investigate a pair of human murders carried out by an unknown vampire pack Anita Blake realizes that there is a new master vampire in the city. One that is intent on terrorizing the populace and challenging Jean-Claude as Master of the City. In a series of startling confrontations she finds out there are not one, but two such vampires. The first, Alejandro, was young when the Aztecs were spilling the blood of sacrifices. The other, Mr. Oliver, has roots that extend into time immemorial. Either vampire is powerful enough to challenge Jean-Claude, and neither has any intention of observing the uneasy truce between humans and the undead.

In addition, Anita must deal with a Lamia, weresnakes, out-of-control zombies, and a whole host of vampires that are envious or opposed to her relationship with Jean-Claude. And Jean-Claude himself keeps pressuring her to take the third and fourth marks of the vampire, becoming his human servant. If dealing with all the really bad guys isn't hard enough, Anita has to deal with a new romantic interest, Richard Zeeman and an overly enthusiastic apprentice animator, Lawrence Kirkland. Did I mention Edward the assassin and a very large number of werewolves?

When the conflict between the three masters come to a head, Anita finds that she has become one of the focuses for the battle to come. Not only Jean-Claude, but Alejandro as well, are intent on having her as human servant. Alejandro, however, has no intention of being polite, and is capable of forcing the role on Anita - the vampiric equivalent of rape. The story moves fluidly from scene to scene, building steadily to the inevitable and spectacular final showdown which has enough surprises to satiate even the most finicky reader.

Hamilton has proven herself willing and able to handle complex plots and still keep her characters from becoming two dimensional. "Circus of the Damned" is no exception. All of the characters, from the illustrious Jean-Claude to the lowliest human servant come brilliantly to life. The effect is hypnotic, and I find Anita Blake stories too easy to read in one or two sessions, leaving me looking forward to her next book. With this, the third in the Anita Blake series, Laurell Hamilton fully demonstrates the strong writing skills that have made the vampie hunter a best-selling series.

29 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another out of the park homerun, January 26, 2001

By 

A Customer - See all my reviews

This review is from: Circus of the Damned (Anita Blake Vampire Hunter) (Paperback)

A friend introduced me to the first Anita Blake book, Gulity Pleasures, and I've been hooked ever since. Circus of the Damned, is a wonderful, violent, exciting and a real page turner and a hell of a book

What I really like in this series, is that Anita Blake get's stronger and stronger as a female character. Anita is everything you want in a hero, tough, sexy, and smart. Anita lives in a work of Werewolves, shapeshifters, vampires and zombies.

In this book, Jean-Claude still wants Anita to be his human servent...the problem is that there is another vampire (who is very old and very powerful) who wants Anita for his human servant as well. Anita does the only thing she can...and I won't tell you what what is. If you want to find out what happens, you'll have to read it for yourself. :) I can promise you, you won't be sorry. One would think that 2 master (and powerful) vampires are enough for this book....but Anita has to battle aganist a giant snake!! I can't stress enough how good this book really is.

Laurell K. Hamilton is a wonderful story teller who keeps the reader glued to the book with a wonderful style of action, suspence, humor and horror. Hamilton offers the reader a solid plot with many, many twists. Once you start reading Circus of the Damned, you'll have a hard time putting it down. If you start this book you won't be sorry.

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Anita Blake is a marked Vampire Hunter/Animator/Necromancer, May 9, 2001

By 

Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Circus of the Damned (Anita Blake Vampire Hunter) (Paperback)

After her great success in "The Laughing Corpse," one of the finest horror novels I have ever read, Laurell K. Hamilton tries to reach the same heights again in "Circus of the Damned," the third volume in the Anita Blake Vampire Hunter series. For the first time the focus is primarily on the vampires, although Anita's job as an Animator has always been more accurate a description than Vampire Hunter. Once again she is the target of every character in the novel: Jean-Claude the Master Vampire of St. Louis wants to put his final two marks on Anita to make her his human servant, but so does Alejandro, an even older vampire who wants to take Jean-Claude's spot. On top of that there are two other master vampires in town this time around: Yasmeen, who simply wants to rip Anita's heart out, and Oliver, who wants to slaughter humans so that this nonsense about vampires having legal rights will come to an end. Meanwhile, over on the human side of the equation, the leaders of Humans First want to take out Anita for not helping them slay the Master, Edward is back wanting the name from Anita so he can do the same thing, Dolph wants her help in tracking down a pack of vampires that are killing humans, Bert wants her to train Larry Kinkaid the college student turned animator, and just to make things really interesting, Richard, the middle-school teacher who hangs out with Jean-Claude at the Circus of the Damned, wants to go out on a date with Anita where they spend the day spelunking.

While we do find out a bit more about Anita's discovery that she is a necromancer and the issue of her being the human servant of a vampire is finally (?) resolved, the conclusion of "Circus of the Damned" is a bit too reminiscent of the climax of the previous Anita Blake novel. However, Hamilton scores points by continuing the exploring the "real world" implications of her America where vampires have legal rights and the characterization of Anita Blake continues to develop nicely. There is plenty of action and the book is not as gory as its predecessor, but is still one of those "may be too intent for younger children" type reads. Do not come here expecting Buffy.