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kikiandarrowsfishshelf's review
3.0
This is the book club edition of the first three Anita Blake books. Whether or not, you love or hate the later Blake books, you have to admit that the early books contributed in to the urban fantasy/ paranormal romance genre. There are problems with the books. Anita's back story changes slightly (sometimes in the same book) as does her age, every woman who is more powerful than Anita is bad. However, Anita is a far more sympathetic if not likeable here than in the later books. While Hamilton is not the writer that Huff or de Lint is, her world is interesting and fascinating, at least in the early books where her main character has some internal conflict and the vampires still have bite.
ladyfiaragc's review
Only realized a few chapters in that this was the first 3 books in the series all put into one big hardcover (not sure why), and I've read them all already.
annalbellettierekuyper's review
1.0
Technically, I didn't finish it but I compromised by at least finishing the story. I never got emotionally anywhere, for me. There were a few moments where I might have connected or started to at least but I never found myself giving enough of a crap. I even forgot who Edward and not wanting to take the time to go back and read it. I read this and Midnight Cafe back in the day as I think I was in a SciFi book club. I can see why I didn't keep it then although I might have been more interested back then.
beautifuldissonance's review against another edition
4.0
I've read these before but they're worth re-reading. The first few Anita Blake books are action packed and somewhat gruesome. Anita is tough as nails and hard to kill, with a smart-arse attitude to boot! These early novels, at least, are well worth reading.
novelistdienne's review
4.0
The last book saved this series for me. Out of all the Action in this book the final battle in the 3rd book was wonderful and got me excited.
willingham18's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
merlin_reads's review
5.0
Guilty Pleasures
What a great introduction to this world. Vampires are legal, as in they own businesses and may even get to vote soon. The supernatural isn't hidden anymore. The MC raises zombies for a living. But like when most things change, they are people who protest.
Anita Blake, zombie raiser and legal vampire slayer, understands the supernatural better than most. It is after all her job. When vampire corpses are found brutally murdered, Anita is put on the case - both by the police and the Master vampire of the city.
I enjoyed every part of this book. The introduction to the world was done so smoothly that I believed instantly that this world exists. But Hamilton doesn't just romanticize the vampires. They are dangerous and violent and that shows in the fighting scenes.
And then there's Jean-Claude...
The Laughing Corpse
For some reason, when I think back on this book, I always think that I don't like it that much. But rereading it, yes there were parts that I wasn't too fond of, but overall I really liked it. This book focuses more on the zombie side of things. There's a rogue zombie on the loose killing people - killing innocent families.
What I like about these books is how everything is interconnected. One tiny detail because paramount later.
Circus of the Damned
This is where things start picking up. We get introduced to more characters including one Richard Zeeman. I like the introduction of Richard. There's finally someone to challenge Jean-Claude's feelings with Anita.
Speaking of Jean-Claude, Anita is so wanting to get away from him that she allies herself with another Master who wants Jean-Claude's throne. What comes out of this is something Anita never saw coming and she's then forced to choose once and for all what side she stands on.
I read somewhere that either Richard or Jean-Claude was supposed to die in this book. I can't for the life of me remember which one it was. Having read up until I think book 20, I can't imagine this series without either of them.
What a great introduction to this world. Vampires are legal, as in they own businesses and may even get to vote soon. The supernatural isn't hidden anymore. The MC raises zombies for a living. But like when most things change, they are people who protest.
Anita Blake, zombie raiser and legal vampire slayer, understands the supernatural better than most. It is after all her job. When vampire corpses are found brutally murdered, Anita is put on the case - both by the police and the Master vampire of the city.
I enjoyed every part of this book. The introduction to the world was done so smoothly that I believed instantly that this world exists. But Hamilton doesn't just romanticize the vampires. They are dangerous and violent and that shows in the fighting scenes.
And then there's Jean-Claude...
The Laughing Corpse
For some reason, when I think back on this book, I always think that I don't like it that much. But rereading it, yes there were parts that I wasn't too fond of, but overall I really liked it. This book focuses more on the zombie side of things. There's a rogue zombie on the loose killing people - killing innocent families.
What I like about these books is how everything is interconnected. One tiny detail because paramount later.
Circus of the Damned
This is where things start picking up. We get introduced to more characters including one Richard Zeeman. I like the introduction of Richard. There's finally someone to challenge Jean-Claude's feelings with Anita.
Speaking of Jean-Claude, Anita is so wanting to get away from him that she allies herself with another Master who wants Jean-Claude's throne. What comes out of this is something Anita never saw coming and she's then forced to choose once and for all what side she stands on.
I read somewhere that either Richard or Jean-Claude was supposed to die in this book. I can't for the life of me remember which one it was. Having read up until I think book 20, I can't imagine this series without either of them.
innae's review
5.0
The first three books in the Anita Blake series!
Guilty Pleasures
The Laughing Corpse
Circus of the Damned
Hmmmm that last one...naked Richard. Happy day.
Signed by Laurell (in California, I made the trip just to get books signed!)
**July 2017**
I am deciding where to stop my collection of the Anita Blake books (I still enjoy reading them, but there is a point in the series where I don't need to keep the books for re-reading purposes) - so I am starting at the beginning and reading them through again.
Finished this before heading off to Vegas - Oct 4, 2017...and I still enjoyed this reading as much as I did the first one...such a good start to a long running series - so this first book (containing the first three stories) will be remaining on my Permanent shelf.
Guilty Pleasures
The Laughing Corpse
Circus of the Damned
Hmmmm that last one...naked Richard. Happy day.
Signed by Laurell (in California, I made the trip just to get books signed!)
**July 2017**
I am deciding where to stop my collection of the Anita Blake books (I still enjoy reading them, but there is a point in the series where I don't need to keep the books for re-reading purposes) - so I am starting at the beginning and reading them through again.
Finished this before heading off to Vegas - Oct 4, 2017...and I still enjoyed this reading as much as I did the first one...such a good start to a long running series - so this first book (containing the first three stories) will be remaining on my Permanent shelf.
octavia_cade's review
2.0
I came across this on a list I'm reading my way through, and I actually read the three collected volumes some time back, so this is just for my own records. The rating is an average of what I gave the individual books: Guilty Pleasures got three stars from me, mostly because I was impressed by the sense of pre-existing world. The Laughing Corpse and Circus of the Damned, on the other hand, only merited two stars each. Basically, I found the same issues cropping up in all three books. Firstly, Anita seems remarkably (if inconsistently) thick. In the first book I figured out the culprit long before she did; in the third Richard's identity was so obvious Helen Keller could have picked up on it... but it took our heroine forever to grasp. Secondly, the villains have a habit of being initially and genuinely threatening - and then prone to making mistakes so basic it was no wonder they lost in the end. I mean, I really enjoyed the world-building, but the characters are beaten so often with the idiot stick that it can get a bit frustrating to read.