Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter Series by Laurell K. Hamilton, Penguin

The books in this series in order (through July 2006) are:

GUILTY PLEASURES 10/1993
THE LAUGHING CORPSE 9/1994
CIRCUS OF THE DAMNED 5/1995
THE LUNATIC CAFE 1/1996
BLOODY BONES 10/1996
THE KILLING DANCE 6/1997
BURNT OFFERINGS 5/1998
BLUE MOON 11/1998
»» THE GIRL WHO WAS INFATUATED WITH DEATH 2/2005 (In BITE anthology)
OBSIDIAN BUTTERFLY 1/2000
NARCISSUS IN CHAINS 10/2001
CERULEAN SINS 4/2003
INCUBUS DREAMS 10/2004
MICAH 2/2006

While I'm not as fond of her Merry Gentry series as I am the Anita Blake series, the order of the Merry Gentry books is:

A KISS OF SHADOWS 10/2000
A CARESS OF TWILIGHT 4/2002
SEDUCED BY MOONLIGHT 2/2004
A STROKE OF MIDNIGHT 4/2005

I've decided to review the entire Anita Blake series in one review. The books in order are Guilty Pleasures, The Laughing Corpse, Circus of the Damned, The Lunatic Café, Bloody Bones, Killing Dance, Burnt Offerings, Blue Moon, Obsidian Butterfly and Narcissus in Chains. I have not read Narcissus in Chains yet, so this review goes through Obsidian Butterfly. The books are told in first person from Anita's point of view. I say this only because I know there are some people who do not like to read books in first person. I believe these books would be less effective and not nearly as enjoyable if there were other points of view in them, although it would be fun sometimes to be in Jean-Claude's head from time to time.

I'm kicking myself that it took me until May 2002 to read these books. I've had them for a while on recommendations from others, but just never picked them up. I devoured the first nine books in as many days. I really like Anita Blake, though I did grow tired of her seemingly not growing for a while there in Blue Moon. I'd like to see more exploration into Anita's emotions as well as her powers. Many have complained about the sex in the books, which doesn't bother me Hamilton has made it clear from the beginning that sex was going to be there. I'd just like to see more of what she can do with the human servant marks and her necromancy as well as the magic/voodoo that was hinted at that she would have power over as well. I think Anita is a good heroine, she's likeable and she's real to me. I feel for her, can empathize with her when it's appropriate, can laugh with her and can feel her pain when she's conflicted or hurting.

My least favorite of the series was Blue Moon. I am a Jean-Claude fan, have never been a Richard fan and so I really had a hard time with Anita not being able to deal with the decision she'd made and move past it. Yes, Jean-Claude wants her power, but I believe as the books progress so, too, do his feelings for Anita. At first she's the only woman in centuries to say no to him repeatedly, but I feel that somewhere during his efforts his feelings did become genuine. Jean-Claude accepts Anita and more importantly himself, something Richard as of yet can't seem to be able to do.

One character I love throughout the books is Edward, Anita's mysterious bounty hunter friend. I was grateful for Obsidian Butterfly and more insight into Edward. He's an interesting character, and one I hope that we'll see more of in future books now that she's developed some depth to him. I like the friendship Edward and Anita share, it seems clear that their relationship will never evolve into anything more than a friendship but I like that. I think Anita needs someone who doesn't want or need something from her.

I love the relationships Anita has with the other weres aside from Richard. I like Jason and the leopards, and think their relationship with Anita is an interesting sidestory. I think it's going to be the weres who help her get over her inability to care, to allow herself to touch and be touched.

I like the world Anita lives in, all of the characters have been alive for me, real. I do understand why Blue Moon took the path it did, and I like that Obsidian Butterfly got us away from the Jean-Claude/Richard/Anita triangle. I needed that as the reader, because it seemed like that was getting to be the focus of the books instead of the actual stories and Anita's powers. I understand Narcissus in Chains is more in the way of necessity, I'm waiting for it to come out in paperback to read it. I hope, though, that we'll get back to where we started from. I'd like to see more development of Anita's powers and I'd like to see her involvement with the police once again.

While these books could stand alone, I would recommend reading them in order so that you get a feel for the characters and how they evolve. I haven't enjoyed a series of books this much in a very long time and would recommend it to anyone.

©Susan Matthews and phantomroses.com