Rating: Summary: Disappointing change in genre. Review: Up until this book I've been very much a fan of this series. Anita Blake was a welcome change from the usual simpering horror heroine. While she was obviously far from normal sexually, her struggle with nymphomania was never one of the primary themes of the books.With Blue Moon all this has changed. Ms. Blake has suddenly moved from denial to full scale acting out. In addition, every single creature that is around her is also caught up in an orgy of sex and violence. It gets so frantic and so silly that I really can't tell if I'm reading a bad romantic novel or a bad sex novel. But I do know that I certainly was not reading a good horror story. I know this is going to sound sexist, but Blue Moon seems to me to be more of a woman's book than a man's. I'm sure I'm responding to the steamy quality of the book and it's viewpoint. In my defense I can only say that I don't care for male machismo any more than I do for this kind of stuff.
Rating: Summary: I just bought the others! Review: I got this book as a give away/promo item at a recent convention. Within the first 20 pages, I knew that the moment I got home I was going to order the others in the series from Amazon.com, which I just did. The characters are real and alive, dialog believeable, and the situations are verrry interesting. The writing is strong and vivid. Sometimes a little too vivid, but I can't wait to get the ones I just ordered.
Rating: Summary: Why? Why did she have to go and do -that-? Review: As always, her books are well written and you simply -have- to read it all in one day. The only real gripe I have is how Anita handled herself in this one. Of course I'm rather partial to Jean-Claude. I don't like Richard at all, too whiney and stuff, but its an excellently written book. Have fun!
Rating: Summary: I AM SOOOOO UPSET!!! Review: I was really looking forward to reading BLUE MOON. I loved BURNT OFFERINGS and was therefor looking forward to the eighth book of the series. I was very dissappointed. The plot wasn't the greatest and too many things were happening all at once. I am really worried about Hamilton's next book, OBSIDIAN BUTTERFLY, the "Edward book". I read that a lot of the usual characters will not be included. I know this going to affect my opinion. The various and unique characters are such an essential part in the series that I just can't imagine them not being involved. I was really dissappointed with BLUE MOON and so I'm keeping my fingers crossed for this next one. Don't get me wrong, this is a fantastic series. This doesn't reflect on my opinion of the overall series. It's one of the best I've ever read and recommend it to anyone. I do suggest that the previous books should be read in order to provide a better understanding of the series.
Rating: Summary: Not the best of this series. Review: This book has some good moments, but over all it's a bit irritating. The other books in the Anita Blake series have been so good, this one suffers by contrast. Watching Anita Blake doing a yo-yo act between her two boyfriends has become tiresome, especially because the love triangle SEEMED to have been resolved in a previous novel. I'm not sure why LKH decided to undo the love triangle resolution of Killing Dance, but it bugs, at least for this reader. At the end of Blue Moon there are way too many loose ends. Also way too much sex and violence without enough plot to hang it on. If you are a diehard Anita Blake fan, read this book just to keep up with the series. Hopefully the next book will be better.
Rating: Summary: By Far the Most Boring Book of the Series Review: I adore all of Laurell K. Hamilton's books. The Anita Blake seriers was great, but now it is getting boring. Richard is not a deep enough charactor to base a book on. I understand her next book is based on another shallow charactor. What happened to the Vampires and Wererats. Now they were exciting. I love sex, but enough is enough. It's time to go back to the basics and base the story on the mystery and interactions of the charators instead of vice verse. I look forward to a return to basics and Ms. Hamilton's new line of books on the Fey.
Rating: Summary: Anita needs to grow up a little. Review: I thought this book was much better than 'Burnt Offerings. HOWEVER-- I'm finding Anita's relationship problems both a little tiresome and unrealistic. By now, hanging around with all kinds of different people with different lifestlyes, she should realize it is possible to love more than one person at a time, and that monogamy- which she is so obsessed with- dosen't mean love. I think the author has dragged the tension between Jean-Claude, Richard and Anita about as far as it will go. At least from Anita's POV. I'd like to know what Richard thinks of Jean -Claude and vice/versa. After all, if it's really going to be a menage-a-trois, Jean-Claude and Richard need to have a positive relationship with each other as well as with Anita. I'm begining to miss PLOT in these books. It seems like everything in the recent books revolves around Anita's personal life and minor charcters that aren't love interests have been dropped. I also find that the level of sheer power Anita is supposed to have becoming boring; instead of resolving a problem, she's begining to simply blow it away with raw power. I'd like to see situations where turning a dozen people into ash piles won't solve anything, for once. On the other hand, I'm really exited by the whole complexity of the pard situation. She can't just shoot someone and make Nathan a functional person. I'd like to see a return to plot driven stories, instead of relationship driven stories--these books are reading more and more like romance novels; and rather regressive romance novels at that. I can only give this book three stars, though I enjoy the series immensely. I hope the next one brings us away from the details of Anita's love life- or that she begins to resolve her life in some other way than closing her eyes and hoping all of her personal problems will go away. The last detail that annoys me-- I'm getting tired of the long paragraphs on what kind of peek-a-boo shirt Jean Claude is wearing or what color Anita's Nikes are!
Rating: Summary: What the **** happened to good ol' Anita???? Review: Good God, give us something new (or something with an actualPLOT)!!!! By now, I can practically predict what Anita's going tospill from her mouth. The whole thing's taken a dive since Burnt Offerings. At least with Burnt Offerings, the story was readible because of Jean-Claude (thank goodness for developed characters). But all I want to say is...I miss the Anita I loved!!!!
Rating: Summary: A revolting entry in a wonderful series Review: This book is a heartbreaking disappointment. The tone of the book is excessively dark and the characters are flat and numb. No reason is given for the change from the last book to this one, although they are set only a few weeks apart in the Anitaverse. There is almost no real plot except to get Anita away from JC and have her hook up with Richard. Why this couldn't be accomplished by an actual story I don't know. Instead we get a never ending stream of plot devices designed to force the story along, and excuse some really slimy behaviour. The trolls, Richard's imprisonment, and the 'mystery' are all poorly done after thoughts. Richard has also been reduced to a walk on in his own book. The big 3 characters are different people with the same names. There is no explanation given for why these pod people have replaced the characters we have known and loved for so many books. Thinking, feeling characters that were carefully developed and who actually grew from book to book have been jettisoned. Anita throws loyalty and trust out the window with no thought or remorse. She has become a cartoon super hero who is all about violence and attitude. She is hard, cold, and vicious, -- why exactly would anyone want to spend time with her ? Her powers keep growing, and she never needs help or support. In short she has become Rambo and the Terminator all rolled into one. She was a fully developed character, she now has the same emotional depth as a frying pan. With her total self-absorbtion and complete lack of perspective she is like an armed 3 year old. Richard has had his angst and wimpy, whiney behaviour removed, but it hasn't been replaced by anything. So he has been given real vices and a calculating meanness to simulate a personality and a backbone. His true moral dilemas have been reduced to the pallid fear that his mother will find out what he is. All Anita's & Richard's problems have been swept under the rug, and ignored. There is nothing between them but throbbing genitals, and stupid wolf politics. JC has been tarted up and made to act like a silly high school stud overplaying his hand with an older woman. He is also kept off stage for most of the book, and smeared so as to make Anita's betrayal more palatable. Most of the time in the book Anita is by herself with these minor 'weres' who are the only ones who get any character development. We get a 'were' sociology course instead of a story to fill the pages. Perhaps the series should be titled 'Anita and the Weres' instead of 'Vampire Hunter' Of the major characters only Jason shines and grows, while staying Jason. Damian is just used to drop a plot device like a bomb, and even Asher has been reduced to an empty lapdog who joins the long line of all those who are mooning after Anita. The last chapter should be a severly punished criminal offense. The timeline is jumbled, Anita takes so many contradictory positions she should be inside out, and then she waffles and sends us all back to the beginning of their relationships again. She ends up doing a navel gazing dance that is supposed to get her off the hook with the audience. What it really does is keep her from taking responsibility for her own actions and moving forward. Finally how is it possible to write this book without a reunion scene in St. Louis ? That nothing has been resolved or even dealt with is a childish ploy by the author to make sure we all tune in next week to see who 'shot JR'. It also illustrates the lack of truth in this story and the disrespectful way both the characters and the fans have been treated. I feel insulted and used. I also wonder what is next for Anita the beserker -- cannibalism ? With her prudishness still intact -- I imagine she will eat around the naughty bits.
Rating: Summary: Good romance... lagging sci-fi Review: I ran through this book because it was so eagerly anticipated but upon outlook it wasn't as great as the others have been. I saw it definetly better than Burnt Offerings but Hamilton is getting a little too caught up in the relationships and not the plots. If she's going to write about boyfriends and sex, do that; it's called a romance. Don't juggle with trying to complete a story while doing everything else. Also, I'm getting a little annoyed at the Anita-is-goddess-of-all. I mean, come on. We love her but with every book she is constantly gaining admirerers, servants and love slaves. Who's on a huge ego trip, here? It was cool at first but then it just turned bad. Not that there aren't good things (these are just the worst) about the book. I liked the erotica but I'm a romance fan. The other story wasn't a big deal to me and if you aren't set on reading a purely supernatural book, you're set. Hamilton needs to decide which genre she's going to root for, though- it's getting cluttered in the mix.
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