ISBN: 0-425-18836-1 Order from: Amazon.com Barnes & Noble.com
Fast action and some detective work carry this fast but flawed fantasy past the occasionally tedious developments of the otherwise appealing heroine's sex life and vampire politics.
Reviewed by David on November 10, 2001
Genre: Fantasy (Mystery, Vampires, Werewolves, Shapeshifting, Intrigue, Alternate Reality)
Synopsis: In an alternate America where magic works and the legendary creatures exist, the Supreme Court has made it illegal to kill vampires without a court order. One of a handful of licensed vampire executioners, Anita Blake is a powerful animator and an occasional police expert on supernatural crimes.
Anita Blake personal questions take a back seat when a powerful representative of the Vampire Council comes to town. Belle Morte, the vampiric parent of Anita's boyfriend, wants to know why Jean-Claude and Asher had left her. Vampiric curiousity is frequently fatal to mortals, and Anita has to fight to keep her life and her freedom. Simultaneously, a series of gruesome murders task Anita's expertise as an expert in supernatural crime, and cause friction with the law enforcment community.
Full Review: This is a sequel to Narcissus in Chains. series featuring Anita Blake, animator, preternatural crime investigator, and vampire executioner. While not very rigorously throught out, this alternate reality is very accessible. Much of the charm of this and the earlier books came from the main character, Anita, the fiercely independent and occasionally abrasive young woman, who frequently resorted to sarcasm and black humor when faced with overwhelming enemies.
This book actually has elements that made earlier parts of the series more enjoyable: crime investigation and facing powerful and dangerous vampires. The main characters are still likable, and some of the supporting characters show growth and play significant parts in the narration.
Alas, Anita's painfully vacillating sex life, combined with disappointingly blunt deterioration of other characters make it less fun than these earlier novels. Possibly the series is just showing its age, ten previous books making any innovation more difficult.
The book is quite anjoyable on its own merits, despite several flaws. The fans of this series will no doubt be pleased by it, as would most of the brand new readers. However, reading earlier books, starting with the excellent Guilty Pleasures, is likely to make the experience even better.
Overall: 6.5; Plot: 5.5; Characters: 6; Style: 6.5; World-building: 6; Originality: 6;
Copyright date 2001, Berkley Publishing Group (Berkley), April 2003, Cloth, 405 pages
ISBN: 0-425-18836-1 Order from: Amazon.com Barnes & Noble.com