Customer Reviews

Laurell K. Hamilton Boxed Set - Guilty Pleasures, The Laughing Corpse, Circus of the Damned and The Lunatic Cafe

5 star:		(37)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

These are the first four Anita Blake books, before Hamilton went off the rails with the S&M stuff. (One of the later books is titled Narcissus In Chains. There is a reason why.) Anita isn't the unstoppable ubermonster she later becomes. She changes during the course of the books, positively in some ways, negatively in others. (Mostly, she starts on a trip down a certain river in Egypt wrt her two boyfriends. The last line of Circus of the Damned: "Most women complain that there are no single, straight men left. I'd just like to meet one who's human." Nor is her sex life the only thng she's in denial about.) Character development is _not_ in short supply. Not only does Anita change, but so do most of the supporting characters. (Except, of course, for those who get killed off. And as this is a series of books about vapmires, werewolves, and zombies, being dead doesn't necessarily mean you're written out of the series.)

In these books Anita starts as an ordinary zombie queen (she prefers 'animator') who's a consultant for the St. Louis police as well. Except that it's established in the very first chapter of the very first book that she's not quite as ordinary as she thinks she is. Think of that chapter as the headwaters of the Nile. By the end of The Lunatic Cafe it's clear to all (except her) that she's _way_ more than ordinary. An ordinary zombie queen would have been long since dead. Permenently.

In addition to vampires, ghouls, flesh-eating revanant zombies, hostile zombie queens, werewolves, wereleopards, wererats and other weres, and necormancers, Anita has her problems with just plain humans with guns. Anita's got guns of her own and knows the Master (vampire) of the City and the local alpha werewolf very well indeed (see that last line of Circus of the Damned) and has friends in the local police and another, well, 'friend' may be too strong a word, who likes to give her UZI submachineguns as gifts. There is a _lot_ of action to go with the character development. Those who don't like blood should stay clear. (Those who don't like kinky sex should avoid the last two books...)

These first four Anita Blakes were the best in the series, so putting these for a group sale together was good thinking from an author going bad. Most people read vampire novels to read about vampires, not about the extreme sexuality that plagues the later novels and rid's them of an even relatively good plot line. The beginning 4 novels in the series are filled with intense character's who almost always draw you in, even the heroine Blake does a relatively good job in these books of maintaining her renowned status. The best part about these installments in the Blake books are the muder mysteries that are incorporated with her police identity. Hamilton does a good job of pulling the reader's in with intense and interesting stories filled with supernatural politics, character's past lives, and the old fashioned plotline, will Anita save the day again? WARNING: not for the faint of heart or those who can't stomach some serious gore.

Pound for Pound this set is going to entertain as well as any.

Anita Blake is as quick with her gun as she is with her mouth, she never takes a step backward against ancient powerful vampires or the local detectives ribbing her. These first four books are argueably the best in the Anita Blake series where LKH's imagination and world are brought to life.

If you enjoy murder mystery, action and intrigue in large quantities you will love this series. Be warned if you do start reading these books there are seven more at the time of this review and you will not be able to resist reading them all once you start.

Okay first off, I'll admit coming to these early LKH novels by reading her later stuff. In some ways these are an excellent perspective on seeing a writer grow as she writes through the years. LKH is excellent at world building and characters, but her actual technique and plots are not always the best, especially earlier on. She has a bad tendency to repeat descriptives within the same book. Say on page 27, someone has dark flowing hair, that shone... so on and so on, well guess what, on page 97, they do too.

Now all this may make it sound like I don't like her work, which is not the case. She creates truly marvelous worlds and wonderful characters that are worth (to me) going through the rest of it, and she has improved technically since these books. So I would say honestly, go ahead and read her Fae/Merry Gentry books first. Those are further along in her process, if you enjoy those, then go back and read these. It's an interesting exercise as well as enjoyment in a new world that she created.

Being a guy who's interest range from American Revolutionary History and Classical Music to Technology, Electronica, Tom Clancy and Garrison Keillor.... How would I actually find this appealing? A friend was taking a shower and it was just lying there....now I just can't wait till the next book comes out.

Who is Anita Blake?

Plain and simple the Anita Blake series is an outstanding read which combines the qualities of Horror, Romance, Parallel realities, mystery, action and crime. In a world where preternatural beings coexist with mortals, she possesses certain talents which transcend the boundaries of the two realities. By night she works for an agency and raises the dead to solve estate issues, at other times she consults to the local law enforcement community as an expert on supernatural creatures...and when they get out of line....she's the court appointed executioner.

Reminiscent of Bujold's character Cordelia Naismith, Blake is a small statured woman in her early 20s and of Latin ancestry that's many times older than her years. One of the draws of her character is her mental and physical toughness, often taken for granted by her adversaries...she has no qualms about using it to her advantage and literally ripping her adversaries head off. As a matter of fact "when vampires can bench press a bus" it's the only advantage she has. So how can she use it, how can she succeed? Moxy, intelligence and no pity.

No pity, no compassion, no forgiveness...when she has to get down dirty with the monsters....she more of a monster that the monsters. As she progresses in the series, this worries her and is a constant battle. She feels she is losing her humanity and from her perspective you can see why...humans are capable of such deceit and greed at the cost of their own. Ultimately she's drawn to the society of the monsters and the clear cut rules that establish their society...which only the mortals could hope to aspire. Will she ultimately evolve into the thing she despises in this book? Only the next installment will tell.

I hooked my cousin who has been in law enforcement for nearly 20 years onto these books, she's now addicted. So give it a try. Personally my favorite secondary character is Edward and well Anita is beginning to scare him a little....and his nickname among the monsters is...Death


Pick it up... you wont be able to put it down!

Laurell shows her readers what it's like to be strong in wills and mind, yet still be confused about your love life. I mean what woman like Anta Blake, a vampire executioner and necromancer, can say she has 2 non-human men after her heart. This set will get you well on your way to an addiction to LKH's books, as well as with her characters...Jean Claude, an older than 200 years vampire after Anita Blakes heart. Richard, a werewolf with a heart of gold and a ton of compassion. And Anita herself, a woman who's use of firearms probably amazes even the military,who's life consists of battling unknown creatures,dealing with a strange life, and some of this before her first cup of coffee!

This series of books is my favorites!!!
Not only is there sex, crime, guns, and gore, but Anita Blake is [a brave] female! (...).

I have read all of the Anita Blake series and I'm finishing the Meridith Gentry series. I can't put them down!!!!

Also because the stories are mainly based in STL, i can relate to the locations that Laurell K. Hamilton refers to. So it makes it all the more interesting!

I hope Laurell keeps working on her books cause I'm on the edge of my seat waiting for the next one!!!

I read the books back to back, and they are fun, interesting, and engaging. They are great fluff. The writing is not skilled, and I grew weary of the, "Bully for me" and "Goody for me," and 'cute comment that is repeated endlessly.' There is a lot of repitition of previous plots, which led to skimming and then getting back into the present story. Anita Blake isn't a sympathetic or particularly likeable character, although at some point there is a vague mention that she may have been molested. I think that was thrown in to make her sexual inhibition more understandable. I'll read the other books in the series if a friend lends them to me, but I wont buy them or go to the effort of going to the library to check them out.

This is a great collection. The early Anita Blake books were great. In Anita, Hamilton created a superb iconic character. A tough, gutsy, magic-weilding woman who slays vampires, solves crime, and raises the dead.

However, if you're new to the series, I recommend you stop reading after 'Obsidian Butterfly,' the 10th book in the series. After book 10, Hamilton guts her main character and turns her into a sex-crazed woman who spends most of the books sleeping with people and talking about her, and her numerous lover's, emotional problems.

It has been my guilty pleasure to read these books. Laurell K. Hamilton is a story teller extraordinaire and I look forward to reading the rest of the series. Who else can make you have a crush on a vampire and a yen for a werewolf? Good stuff.