Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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32 of 33 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The latest in the Anita Blake series, it was worth the wait!, April 13, 1998
By A Customer
"Burnt Offerings" the latest in the Anita Blake series, was so worth the wait. (dramatic sigh) I just wish that Jean Claude was real! The growing romance between Anita and Jean Claude is the hook that lures me back every time. Although I feel sorry for Richard, Anita's jilted ex, I think that she truly belongs with Jean Claude.
The plot of the novel is lost a bit behind the menace of the Vampire Council's visit, but this is neatly tied up at the end of the novel. I find that Anita becomes more human the more she considers herself one of the monsters....self-doubt and all is very human. I got quite a laugh out of a master vampire's animal being a butterfly, and the humor that was a bit lacking in "The Killing Dance" is back in full force. I was a little disappointed not to see as much of Anita using her own Necromancy powers and more of her 'pack' powers instead, but this just shows the growth of the character.
All in all this was a fantastic book that I will recommend and read again.
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24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Council Comes to Town, March 17, 2008
Burnt Offerings (1998) is the seventh Fantasy novel in the Anita Blake series, following The Killing Dance. In the previous volume, Anita killed Gabriel and Raina. With help from Edward and Harley, she also freed Jean-Claude and Richard from their captors.
In this novel, Anita is hired by Captain Pete McKinnon of the Fire Department to investigate a series of unusual fires. He had been referred to Anita by Sergeant Rudolph Storr, leader of RPIT (Regional Preternatural Investigation Team). McKinnon thinks these fires have all the signs of a firebug, a pyrokinetic arsonist. He had previously encountered such a psychic talent and does not want to repeat those experiences.
After McKinnon left, Anita receives a call from a co-worker asking for a ride. Larry -- a vampire executioner trainee -- had gone to the morgue to stake the bodies of two vampire victims who did not want to rise from the dead. After completing that job, a hospital attendant had wheeled in another body to be staked.
Since the third body did not have the proper paperwork, Larry refused to stake it. While they are waiting for the paperwork to be recovered, Larry went to talk to the medical examiner. When he returned to the morgue, he found the attendant trying to stake the body with his own equipment. He removed her from the body, but then she tried to stake him.
Anita takes Larry home and puts him to bed. Then she returns a call and learns that Nathaniel -- a wereleopard stripper at Guilty Pleasures -- has been hurt by a violent customer. Steven -- a lycanthrope from Richard's pack -- was on Nathaniel's contact list and had called Anita from the hospital.
Unfortunately, Zane -- another wereleopard who is trying to protect the shapeshifters after the death of Gabriel -- is trying to take Nathaniel home. Anita has to shoot Zane twice -- with regular bullets -- to get his attention. She arranges for other werewolves to guard Nathaniel and Steven while they are in the hospital.
In this story, Anita finally gets to her date with Jean-Claude at Demiche's, only to find out that the Vampire Council has sent representatives to Saint Louis. They would like to know why Jean-Claude has not taken the Council seat formerly held by Oliver. Anita meets two of the Council reps at the restaurant and is not impressed, but she does make an impression on Balthasar.
Anita also meets Asher in the parking lot of the restaurant. Although he is now hostile to Jean-Claude, they had been friends before the death of Julianna. Asher had blamed Jean-Clause for her death and now wants revenge.
The Council has also sent the Traveler, a vampire who is capable of possessing other vampires. He moves from body to body, taking over the minds of his victims. But the possessed ones recover when he moves on to another body.
Another representative is the Master of Beasts, who can dominate any unmarked shapeshifter. Padma is arrogant enough, but his son Fernando is a full-blown sadist. Moreover, he believes that his father can protect him from anything. Then he meets Anita.
Later, Sergeant Storr calls Anita about the burning of a vampire at Burnt Offerings, a vampire bar far outside the Zone. The police are holding a woman who set the vampire on fire, supposedly after he had bitten her without permission. Storr wants Anita to talk to her about the incident.
This story tells of the ploys of the Council representatives within Jean-Claude's territory. Their very presence is enough to upset the delicate balance of power in the area. The whole preternatural community is conflicted and confused.
This novel is full of action and violence. It does not have as much sex as other books in the series, but it does have plenty of sexual innuendo. It does not disappoint the reader. Enjoy!
Highly recommended for Hamilton fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of preternatural creatures, violent activities, and a touch of lust.
-Arthur W. Jordin
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15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
It Could Have Been Better, April 15, 2004
The story centers around the Vampire Council and the legalities of vampires as citizens, and uses a lot more of vamp and lycantrope politics. As much as I like seeing more of lycantropes *other* than werewolves, the fact that Anita is the shining hero for them too just annoyed me to no end. 5 stars of 5 for all characters except Anita, 3 stars of 5 for having to put up with the Superwoman Lead Character. As much as I like the series, Anita Blake is the most annoying, superwoman, I can outdo everyone around me, hypocritical, hyper-feminist character I've ever had the displeasure to read. I was starting to root for the bad guys to take her out. However, I kept reading because I really like Jean-Claude, Edward, Larry, Dolph, Jason, Stephen, and other supporting characters, and wonder about what happens to them, even if they don't have enough sense to tip Anita in the nearest tar pit and move on with their lives. If the series gets any more Anita-Worshipping, I may have to periodically gag in between chapters. The friend who got me started warns me that it does, and that after the next two novels, I should give up rather than continue to read the author's worship of Anita. As you can tell, there are NO strong female characters allowed in these books, other than Anita herself. Any female who seems to be a dominant character soon meets an unfortunate demise or fate worse than death, usually at Anita's hands because of course, she's the Ultimate Evil of the novel. The only recurring female supporting character is Ronni, Anita's best friend. Despite initial promise in the early books, Ronnie is little more than a puppet for her so-called best friend to dangle about when she needs to have girl-talks. And the men all seem to be joining Anita's harem, which is annoying, since she's a rather hypocritical wench when it comes to the bedroom. *bah* If my friend hadn't promised me that the book after the next is an Edward centered novel, I'd give up on this series while I was ahead. Edward, for those who haven't read it, is a sociopathic assassin. Scary that he's more truly heroic as a character than Anita Blake, isn't it? ;-)
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