Blue Moon (Anita Blake Vampire Hunter) (Paperback)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Anita Blake makes a living raising the dead. She also executes rogue vampires and villains among the local were-folk. Marks bind her to Jean-Claude, the Master vampire of St. Louis and her lover, and to her ex-fiancé, a powerful werewolf who heads up the local pack. Anita shares some of their magic, and her own power over the dead keeps growing. But so does the body count and the situations that force Anita to bend or break her own rules.

In Blue Moon, Anita's ex Richard is jailed in Tennessee, accused of rape. When Anita arrives with a lawyer and an entourage of vampires and 'weres' supplied by Jean-Claude, it's clear that something is rotten in Myerton. The local cops are corrupt, and the trolls Richard was studying are threatened. But if she sticks around to investigate, the local Master vampire will attack her and her friends. The local werewolf clan isn't rushing to welcome her either, and her self-control is going to the, um, wolves.

Blue Moon is the eighth book in Hamilton's Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series; newcomers should start with earlier books. The protagonists' development and their relationships to each other and to the large cast of continuing secondary characters are what make these books so compelling. Be warned--there's steamy sex and graphic violence here, though Anita does reflect on her moral position. But if dark urban fantasy featuring those who hunt the night appeals, pounce on this series. --Nona Vero

Review

'Death and gore galore ... Hamilton writes with ease and vigour..." SHIVERS 'I was enthralled - a departure from the usual type of vampire tale which will have a wide appeal to any reader hunting for both chills and fun' ANDRE NORTON 'This fast-paced, tough-edged supernatural thriller is mesmerizing reading indeed' LOCUS 'Supernatural bad guys beware, night-prowling Anita Blake is savvy, sassy and tough' P N Elrod, author of THE VAMPIRE FILES --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Ace (November 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0441005748
• ISBN-13: 978-0441005741
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 3.8 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (275 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #377,259 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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• This is item 8 in The Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars BLUE MOON Introduces A More Vulnerable Anita Blake-Terrific!, February 8, 2005

By	Jana L. Perskie "ceruleana" (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Anita Blake, Executioner, necromancer, lover and human servant to Jean-Claude - the charismatic Master Vampire of St. Louis, lupa of the Thronnus Roke Clan lukoi, and Nimir-ra of a pard of leopard lycanthropes, is changing...more so all the time. When Laurell Hamilton introduced her to us in "Guilty Pleasures," Book One of the Anita Blake Vampire Hunter series, she was a 24 year-old, smart, attractive, feisty, super-independent dynamo, who raised the dead for a living. She was almost a normal 21st century career girl. Of course she staked rogue vampires as a sideline, but we all have our quirks. Anita's preternatural powers have been steadily increasing, and in "Blue Moon," book eight in the Anita Blake Vampire Hunter series, the lines are really beginning to blur between her humanity and the supernatural. Always an uncompromising and tough lady, she has developed a hardness, a detachment, that frightens even herself.

Anita, Richard Zeeman, (an alpha werewolf and her old boyfriend), and Jean-Claude, (her present lover), had formed a Triumvirate of power - Master Vampire, Ulfric and necromancer. In other words, when the three connect, they exude tremendous force and are able to do much more magic than any one or two can do alone. The three are still bound to each other, even though Richard is furious with Anita for dumping him. She had to choose between "a flesh eater and a bloodsucker." Do you see a pattern here?

Late one evening Anita receives a phone call from Richard's brother. Zeeman had been spending the summer in Meyerton, Tennessee, studying the Lesser Smokey Mountain Trolls which live in the area, and fulfilling the requirements for his Masters degree. He has been arrested for the rape of a local women, and is obviously innocent of the charge. Richard is squeaky clean, the ultimate Boy Scout, and very gentle, especially for a lycanthrope. To make the situation worse, a full moon will occur in five days. As luck would have it, this month, August, is a blue moon month - that means two full moons in 31 days - a phenomenon which arises every 3-4 years. And we all know what happens to werewolves during a full moon, don't we? Richard has not "come out of the closet," so to speak, to his parents, his employers, or to many other humans. Basically, he needs to get out of jail pronto. Anita flies down to Meyerton to give him a hand and get him a good attorney. At Jean-Claude's insistence she is accompanied by an entourage of body guards. Colin, the master of the local vampires does not want Anita and cohorts on his turf - for any reason and has made some serious threats. So, vampires Asher and Damian, and lycanthropes Jason, Zane, Cherry, and Nathaniel are there to keep her safe - although, as always, Anita turns out to be the one who does the most protecting. Werewolves Jamil and Shang-Da are around for Richard, to assist him and to join in the Blue Moon celebrations with Verne, the local Ulfric and his pack..

Freeing Richard proves easier than tangling with Colin and crew, plus the corrupt local police, and an assortment of other heinous monsters - there's pure evil on the loose in these hills!! There are some interesting twists in character development in "Blue Moon." Anita is more vulnerable here than previously. She has to confront her mixed feelings for both Richard and Jean-Claude, come to terms with Raina's munin - the vengeful spirit who possesses her from time-to-time, make a decision about her reluctant status as leoparde-lionee of the Saint Louis wereleopards, and face her own ignorance in terms of the power she possesses. Anita fears that she is rapidly becoming as much a monster as those she hunts...and loves. Hamilton succeeds beautifully in developing this vulnerable side of Anita, without sacrificing the plot. However, at this point in the series a change was needed. There had to be more to Anita than one tough cookie who goes up against the monsters and wins, repeatedly. This is one of Laurell Hamilton's best novels - tightly plotted, well structured, including wonderful dark humor, acerbic wit, and plenty of thrills and chills.

Just a word about the sexual content in "Blue Moon." I do not find it any more excessive or graphic than what one reads in most popular fiction - bestseller lists included - nor what is shown on afternoon TV. It would not be realistic to write about a healthy, single woman of 24 and exclude sex. Anyway, I loved this book and certainly recommend it!
Jana

33 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Significant Change of Pace, April 4, 2001

By	Marc Ruby™ "The Noh Hare™" (Warren, MI USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)

I have been a fan of this series for some time, and so I find this a very difficult book to review. To me, this book represents a shift in genre. It is also possible that I simply mistook the genre I though they were in. Originally, Lauren Hamilton wrote what I would call vampire adventure stories. I loved them, and love them still. Hamilton has tremendous writing abilities. Her heroine, Anita Blake, was a superb job of characterization. Dialog and narrative were sparkling. And, truth be told, this is still quite true.

But these are no longer simply vampire adventure. The sexual theme that has previously created some interesting character dynamics has suddenly become a strong, primary focus. The book is ostensibly about Anita coming to the rescue of Richard, her werewolf more-than-friend, but it is much more about Anita's changing sexuality. This is quite intense, and really makes this book into a kind of tough girl's romance story. There's nothing wrong with that, just not what I expected.

If you are considering trying this out as your first Hamilton novel, get some of the earlier volumes and read those first. Hamilton starts right in the action, and too many of the references will be confusing without some background.

Is this a well-written book? Yes. But I think the focus on sex (and I'm not talking missionary position stuff here) weakens Anita's character. Hamilton seems still a bit awkward with this material, but makes up for a lack of slickness with a tremendous amount of enthusiasm.

Romance fanatics and those who are not put off by a lot of sexuality will no doubt love this book. Those who are a bit more timid and just wanted a great vampire/monster novel need to approach Blue Moon with more cautious expectations.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars "BLUE MOON" KICKS PRETERNATURAL ***!! (WELL, ALMOST), October 5, 1999

By A Customer

I love this book, as I love all the books in the Anita Blake series; however, I must admit that I was disappointed with some aspects of it. Let me just say first that I thought that it was very brave of LKH to take the characters in a different direction after having them already firmly esconced in the readers mind as were. But let's face it, Anita (no matter how much I love and admire her) is not a goddess. How many more "undiscovered" powers can she have? That's getting way to out of hand as far as her dominance over everybody else goes. How can she possibly be more powerful than Jean-Claude, a MV, or Richard, an Alpha? It's just wrong.

I also don't like the twist in Jean-Claude's personality, he's a vampire 'nuff said. Sure he can fall in love, but he's tending to lean towards "mother hen-ish" where Anita's concerned, c'mon she's the freaking Executioner, JC knows she can take of herself!! I applaud the fact that Richard now has some testicular fortitude where Anita's concerned, but now he has lost his respect for women in general. Love Asher, LOVE HIM! Possibly more than JC; however, everybody can't be in love with Anita, it's just wrong. Also, missed Edward tremendously in "Blue Moon", but am ecstatic to hear that "Obsidian Butterfly" is HIS book, so they say. Sadly enough, also missing Zerbrowski, though the gods only know why!

Loved the Norse mythology viewpoint taken with the werewolves, EXCELLENT!! I excel at myth and was completely freaked when I read about the lukoi titles, my commendations LKH.

One last criticism about "Blue Moon", the plot sucked. What was with the whole "spear" thing that never even panned out? That was just too unbelievable, much better job in "Bloody Bones" with the fight over the land for the land's sake; and the demon at the end bombed, how could Anita have "set it's soul free"? Tone down the superpowers, she is human!! Maybe not as human as Larry, but she is not invincible!! I'm sorry, I love her but now she's too unbelievable, how can she be the State Executioner, an animator, part of the RPIT, lupa, Nimir-ra, and yet maintain her position as top-dog (no pun intended) in the Triumverate?? LKH, please "humanize" Anita again. I realize that she has a "disassociation problem" when she kills, but she's not a bloody superhero! I suggest that you bring in a new character that's a threat to Anita, as in a woman who's her equal, and better, someone just as rough and tough as she is who will give her a run for her money and jeopardize her relationship with oh, let's say, the Master of the City. Thanx for the good reads, it's been a real slice.