I don't watch SOAP operas - ever.
I read them.
Laurell K. Hamilton's , Anita Blake - Vampire Hunter.
Her new one, Danse Macabre just came out. I read it in 24 hours. Stayed up until 2AM, got up at 6:45AM read for another 1 1/2 hours, then started again at 4:30 and ended at 8PM. I did not ever want to put it down.
For anyone following her blog, you'd know she originally wrote 1,000 pages. The book is about 500. I could read 1,000 pages of Anita, Jean Claude, Asher, Micah,Nathanial ... OK, Richard too ... and her powers within the relationships she's formed.
I have read all the books in the series and yes, there's none of the police work in this latest offering - it takes place over two days, there abouts, and it is an intense two days. We learn so much, and so little.
I'm addicted to Anita's world. It's as real as some of the SOAP operas that people watch and have watched for decades. They feel that they "know " the characters, are involved in their "lives", and as weird as that sounds, it's how I feel about reading this series.
When you start caring for the characters, TV or in Books, you want to know more about them, their relationships, their inner emotions - no longer needing to be plot driven, per se, but definitely character driven.
I think that is where Laurell K. Hamilton is going with this. We are driven to learn about the characters than inhabit Anita's world. We want to know. Crave to know. Must know.
At least I do.
I'm a fan.
And proud of it.
9 comments:
I've never read one of these, but one of her stories was in an anthology I read. I get the feeling you liked it! *g*
Your 'feeling' is spot on. I think this is her 14th book,15th? I don't own them all - I got hooked on the library books, but whenever I can pick them up, I do. Someday I'll have the whole series.
I only do this with three series, Christine Feehan, Sherrilyn Kenyon and LKH.
Oh no, what am I saying. I have ever one of Tara Jensens new HOT series too.
*sigh*
Book Addiction, terrible thing.
**wink**
Michele - I just finished the series (or at least I thought I had). Anita Blake infuriates me, yet I CAN NOT stop reading these books. I guess I know what I have to do now!
LOL, What Kara? What do you have to do???
Get her new book? *grin*
If so, You'll enjoy what happens to Asher...Woot!
I wanted to be her...*wink*
Welcome Dianne !
Thanks for stopping by.
I have to say this.
If you've never read any of LKH's stories, you won't understand how major a thing it is that Asher has happen to him ... an to Anita as well.
When I first jumped into the series, I was on a werewolf romance book kick and started with Blue Moon. I read the one that comes after that and was hooked, but I felt driven to understand the back story and started the series at the beginning. I used my library to accomplish this as getting ALL the books would break the bank ... so to speak.
You also need to understand that the series is evolving towards the relationship angle, but it was not always so. She is a Federal Marshal - though not in the beginning. She is a tough lady with her own hangups and preconceived notions about life that are constantly changing with her experiences - She grows, we are watching it happen and that's how we (the fans) come to care so much and find LKH's books are, as that friend indicated, - a must read.
I really hope you enjoy LKH's books!
I actually read the first four of the Anita Blake books back-to-back in late Spring / Early Summer 2002. Loved them. Liked the "Daschel Hammet meets Buffy Summers" feel that the series invoked.
Then, sadly, I have to admit that the later books put me off the series as a whole.
See, I liked Anita when she was a sanctioned monster hunter. But the series "jumped the shark" when she ****SPOILER**** schtuped Jean Claude for the first time ****SPOILER***. After that the series really lost its appeal for me.
I tried to make it through the rest, but by the time I hit Narcissus in Chains I was done.
Of course, I owe LKH and Anita Blake a lot. If I hadn't read those books I don't know how receptive I would have been when Saveau handed me his treatment about a vampire Hunter based in Minneapolis named "Cassie Banning". The world that Saveau created and that I wrote within is very different than Anita's, but there are certainly elements that any LKH fan will recognize as being shared.
Face it, folks: Powerful, hot women with guns are just cool. :)
Ah! *grin*, Avindair, the difference between guys and girls - grit.
BTW- SO happy to see you!!!
You are not the only guy that has said the exact same thing about the early books and suprisingly, or not, you both stopped at the same books.
Whereas the LKH fan board I joined are all agoggle at the relationship action and are thrilled with the current path.
I think that touches base on I what I said earlier - plot vs. character driven.
The initial "hunter plots" are missing. I do miss them, don't get me wrong. I think they played into some of how she evolved and I think there should be more of it. But when the book only covers a period of two days, it's easy to focus on relationship. If it were over a longer period of time, the Marshall role would pop up... in my opinion of course. I am really thiniking a good shoot out must be coming soon. Too much gain without it focusing anywhere will be useless. All the development must be FOR something ... that's what I'm hoping anyway.
Have you read any of Kim Harrison's books yet?
She's kind of interesting.
Doesn't dwell so much on the sex ... lots of demon, pixie, werewolf action. I think it's hysterical that Ketchup is an illegal substance. LOL
[Fall out from GMO's, which we currently are too stupid about - but that's another post,]
:-)
Thanks for stopping by Avindair!!!
I actually started a Kim Harrison novel in April, 2005, but I couldn't finish it. It didn't engage me at the time.
I should say that this is not an indication of the novel itself; I couldn't read William Gibson or Terry Pratchett at the same time, either. It was just me at the time.
I will say that the Kim Harrison novel made me realize how much larger the "powerful women vs. the dark forces" market was after all. That's when I started considering doing another Cassie Banning film.
Now, lo these many moons later, we have one. :)
I should have mentioned that the first book (Harrison's) was kind of hard to get into, but it's grown on me. I just finished her latest and I like where it's going.
So, how am I going to get a glimpse of Cassie Banning? I saw some of the special FX pics you posted last year ... so I know it has a few gory moments, but that doesn't deter the intrigue.
So? how?>...
I think you and quite a few in Hollywood have realized that the strong role of women sells, Kill Bill comes to mind, Laura Croft, even Crouching Tiger/Hidden Dragon touched base on that.
I guess everyone relates to Buffy - I've only watched one episode myself - which is at odds with my self-proclaimed adoration of paranormal shows. I've yet to watch Charmed beyond the three episodes I've seen, and none of the Anne Rice films. (or books)
I sometimes wonder if I'm truly missing anything?
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