ISBN: 0-425-18836-1 Order from: Amazon.com
A decent but skimpy investigation plot with snappy dialogue seem overwhelmed by self-indulgent introspection and sexual adventures in this supernatural mystery.
Reviewed by David on November 28, 2004
Genre: Fantasy (Mystery, Vampires, Werewolves, Shapeshifting, Intrigue, Alternate Reality)
Synopsis: Anita Blake lives in a world much like ours, but changed in significant ways by the preternatural creatures like vampires, werewolves and witches. Many people's lives are barely touched by magic, but sometimes this touch is deadly. Dealing with non-humans is tricky for police, hence Anita's role. With her considerable gifts in animation—raising the dead—she is both a consultant to the police task force investigation preternatural crimes, and one of the few federally licensed Vampire Executioners.
When a stripper is found killed by vampire attack, Anita and her police colleague have an uneasy suspicion that this is not an isolated occurrence. The search for the murderous vampires is both complicated and helped by Anita's love for the vampiric Master of the City.
Full Review: The author created both a universe and a following with her successful Anita Blake Vampire Hunter series. A combination of action and melodrama has been succussful in the past. Here, the personal relationships, and particularly the introspection that goes with them seem to overwhelm the action plot, and leave little forward momentum to much of the plot.
Anita, the tough and powerful first-person narrator, has sex with a number of vampires and shape-shifters, for both magical and personal reasons. But while her coming to terms with her magical gifts, which include sex-based Ardeur is a refreshing development, so much of th book is dedicated to discussing it, thinking about it and then detailed description of the sex scenes bog down the relatively straight-forward investigation of the murderous vampires.
While the world is still interesting, and the action-related elements of the series are still entertaining, the balance has shifted towards personal melodrama to the extent that makes it difficult to enjoy the book.
Overall: 5.5; Plot: 5.5; Characters: 5.5; Style: 5.5; World-building: 6; Originality: 6;
Copyright date 2004, Berkley Publishing Group (Berkley), October 2004, Cloth, 658 pages
ISBN: 0-425-18836-1 Order from: Amazon.com