dark fantasy

I've read all the Anita Blake books. I actually have very mixed feelings about them, mostly because I find Anita Blake a hard character to truly like and relate to, and as the books are written in a first person narrative you are stuck in her head, reading only her thoughts (a very limiting style of writing). And with her ever increasing powers, she is more Mighty Morphin' Super Anita now then the very human, complicated woman she started out as. However, I liked her in Blue Moon and I liked how the story took us out of St. Louis.

The plot has been described numerous times here, so I'll just give my overall impressions. I liked the storyline, I liked Anita getting away from Jean-Claude for a bit (his pouting boyfriend scene in the beginning of the book is cringe-worthy). I prefer Richard, and frankly have a tough time figuring out why he gets so much [heat] from other readers...except, perhaps, that he's serious competition for Jean-Claude. People seem to forget every manipulative and underhanded thing Jean-Claude does. Hey, I expect it from him, he's Master of the City, but it hardly makes him a good guy. You'd think that having morals, and very human conflicts about being a werewolf was some sort of criminal offense. I think Richard is a far more complex character *because* he struggles with his conscience and his morals and has difficulty reconciling his 2 selves. And frankly THANK GOD for ONE character that has some qualms about Anita's penchant for violence and killing. One of my favorite parts of the book is Richard telling her that if he can't have monogamy from her, she can't have it from him. ITS ABOUT TIME somehow finally called Anita on her annoying double standards. I'm for Richard all the way, but also find myself hoping that all 3 players in the TRI continue to be bonded, and their relationship continues to evolve (after book 10 though, forget it...author blows it BIGTIME).

Even though I enjoyed this book a lot, I still can't say that I think Laurell Hamilton is a particularly gifted writer. She has the talent to tell an engaging and imaginative story. I particularly find her idea of having lycanthropy be a disease, like AIDS, very creative (though she doesn't really flesh out this idea very well). But she repeats phrases over and over, her scenes can be very repetitive (past the 3rd book, most readers could probably write the numerous "Anita pulls her gun almost instantly on someone, makes some sarcastic quip and must extracate herself from the room" scenes). She has described at least 3 different characters as "raising as though lifted by strings" and her attention to continuity and detail is not even close to being the best. She also has a very disconcerting fascination with rape and attempted rape. How she has used it over and over in her books gives me pause. Was there any real reason for its inclusion in this book?

But of all the books, Blue Moon is the one I would recommend most highly, and the one I would most likely want to reread. It really is a fun read, even with the problems. And just because it isn't said enough, GO RICHARD !!

I LOVED the previous Anita Blake stories, so I was totally blown away when I read Blue Moon. Up until this point, I thought Anita was a fabulous role model: strong, moral, and fearless. Well, now we can throw moral out of that listing. I know most of the other reviews gave away who she slept with in the book, so I won't dance around the issue. First we find that Richard is not at all like what he was portrayed as in the previous novels, then we discover that Anita has turned into a big ball of hormones. I have no problem with a certain degree of sex and romance in the Blake series, but it seems as though this book was written specifically for the sexual aspect. Sorry if I sound like a prude, but I was just totally appalled by Anita's betrayl of Jean-Claude. I couldn't put down all of the previous books, but this one is giving me problems. I think I'll finish it just so I can get to Obsidian Butterfly, which I've been told has an actual story. Well, I feel better now that I've gotten to complain about it (no one I know personally has read the series). DO read the Anita Blake series. Few books are like it. Maybe you'll enjoy Blue Moon more than I did.

Fantastic....I love that her and Richard finally hooked up and would've liked to had seen then a little more together before the end of the book!