Rating: 
Summary: Vampires and zombies and voodoo priests... Oh my!
Review: Anita Blake is quite a busy girl in this second installment of the series. Gaynor, a sadistic millionaire, has offered Anita a million dollars to raise a very old corpse. Anita is an expert in raising the dead, but there's a catch in this particular request. Human sacrifice is required in order to raise the three-hundred-year-old corpse -- something Anita isn't prepared to do. However, Gaynor won't take no for an answer. To make matters worse, a powerful zombie has killed various families and Anita has sought out help from one of the most powerful and evil voodoo priestesses she's ever met. It is up to Anita to find the monster and the person who had raised it. The Laughing Corpse is action-packed and suspenseful from beginning to end. Just when you think Anita is out of the woods something else comes along. This novel is as entertaining and riveting as Guilty Pleasures. There is a lot of gore and gruesome descriptions in this one, but said descriptions aren't gratuitous -- except for the police murdered scenes involving slaughtered children. That was a bit too much. I also wish that Jean-Claude had been in more scenes. He is one sexy vampire! I look forward to reading the third installment with gusto. I can see why so many people swear by this series. It's as addicting as chocolate! Highly recommended...
Rating: 
Summary: I stand corrected!
Review: After reading the first book in this series, "Guilty Pleasures", I decided that Hamilton was a good writer, but that if somebody wanted to read novels about vampires they should try Anne Rice first. Now that I have read the second book in the series I realize that Hamilton is clearly among the best in the genre. Anita Blake has a job unlike anyone else, she is an animator and vampire slayer. Therefore, she raises the dead and executes vampires that have broken the law (vampirism on itself is legal in USA). Anita's physical appearance is peculiar considering her job; her height is five foot three inches and she weighs a hundred and six pounds! She also has a black belt in judo and has been marked twice by the master vampire of the city, Jean Claude, who is in love with her. In this installment of the series, Anita is offered one million dollars, by one of the most wealthy and powerful men in the city, to raise a two-hundred-and-eighty-three-year-old zombie; task that requires a human sacrifice. After she denies doing this, half of her problems begin. The other half has to do with the gruesome murder of a couple and the disappearance of their child. It is clear that the murderer is not human, but...is it a vampire, ghoul, zombie? Anita sets out to help the police in their investigation and ends up requesting the assistance of Señora Salvador, the most powerful voodoo priestess in the Midwest. The different story lines come together to make a highly entertaining book. For those who have read the first book in the series you will also get a glimpse of some further aspects of Anita's past, like information about her mother and grandmother and some "secrets" about her tutor during her first steps as an animator. The action is fast-paced and Anita usually refreshes the mood with witty jokes and comments in situations that are definitely gruesome. I really cannot wait to read the next book in the series, "Circus of the Damned".
Rating: 
Summary: Indeed the Laughing Corpse!
Review: This book sucked. I think that Laurell K. Hamilton is the worst author yet. The book was boooooring. It only had like 4 scenes, and one scene lasted 30 pages. It was ridiculous. I could hardly keep my eyes open. For an animator, Anita is really stupid, she doesn't explore any of her powers. All she does is get smart with everybody she not supposed to get smart with, and by mistake discovers more powers. She repeats the same phrases over and over again till you wanna reach through the book and slap her. The scenes with Jean Claude are unoriginal. All they do is repeat the same thing. Anita - I'm not your servant. Jean Claude - yes you are. NO I'M NOT, YES YOU ARE, NO I'M NOT, YES YOU ARE. No dialog at all. Her friends lack personality, she has no back bone at all and a stupid sense of humor. The only action is at the end, but you won't make it past the boring scenes! The cop, Dolph, is just as bland as she is. Don't expect any action to come from there. Dominga Salvador is the only interesting person in the book. I say, if you want a good suspense/mystery, go to the book store and get J. D. Robb's In Death series. I guarantee, you will not have to read about Eve Dallas finding outfits with penguins on them in which to conceal her weapon.
Rating:
Summary: Great follow up to Guilty Pleasures...
Review: The 2nd book in the Anita Blake series is a step up from the first and is one of the best paced and good 'R' rated horror books in a long time.
Good ol' Anita is up to her usual no nonsense take no s*** attitude and that makes for a very fun read. From Mafioso tough guys to horrific zombies Anita takes a few lumps in this book and gives more than a few back.
Though the ending was a slight let down, this book is pure enjoyment. It is one of Anita and Hamiltons best books and is surely not to be missed if you like dark horror or vampire fantasy novels.
Rating:
Summary: I couldn't put it down.
Review: The Laughing Corpse is one of my all-time favorite Anita Blake books due to the fact that this book has more horror and personal strength than many of her later books. In her later novels Anita has alot more help from friends, but in this book it's mainly all Anita. Once again this Anita novel is packed with action, wit, mystery, gore, horror, and everything else and more that we love about Anita Blake.
If you're an Anita fan, this book is a must-buy, being one of Laurell's best novels written. There is not so much Vampire fighting in this book though, it's mainly Dominga Salvador's bodyguards and Zombies. Although even without much Vampire and Werewolf fighting in this book, it remains (in my opinion) one of her best. Enjoy the book.
Rating:
Summary: A waste of precious reading time
Review: I picked up this, thinking that it was going to be at least half as decent as everyone said it is. I was bitterly disappointed. Not only is the style of Hamilton's writing irritating and medicore, it is horrible. I found all of Hamilton's characters annoying and fake, besides that she had way to many "main" characters.
The storyline was awful and did not flow well. A complete and total waste of time. Read something else. ANYTHING else!! This is terrible.
Thank you!
~Atalanta
Rating: 
Summary: The hook was a long time coming.
Review: It took me a while to find something to like about the character Anita Blake. She was dogmatic, critical, and annoying. I was beginning to wonder who had the worst attitude--Anita, her creator, or me? However, having a friend who is a fan of the series and having already spent the seven bucks, I pushed forward. Several chapters into the book, she finally said something nice about someone. After that, the book actually got better and for a long while, I was able to forget how annoying she was with her whole I-hate-dead-people 'tude and obsessions with guns and God. I have to admit, the book is a bit misleading. You buy this book with a sexy cover, and there isn't a single love scene in it. Part of what kept me going through the annoying part was the hope of at least a decent love scene in there somewhere that had better pay off at some point, and I was sorely disappointed. In fact, there's no romance. The master vampire tries to romance her, but she's a cold fish since she has a hang-up with dead people. Anyway, if you can get past the attitude, which is annoying as hell, this book is actually better than the first one.
Now that I've been brutally honest, I'll tell what I liked about the book. There is more explanation about what/who Anita is, her powers, etc., that the first book did not explain. The bad guys are sufficiently bad and intimidating. When the plot got going and character Anita had less time to make any insightful observations, I found her much more pleasant to read.
Rating:
Summary: Wild and fun gorefest! Anita rules!
Review: Wow, this one was a wild ride! This is the second book in Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter series and she really kicks things into high gear! This novel has everything you've come to expect from vampires and zombies to a voodoo high priestess. The action comes fast and furious, and the author does a great job of building her characters, particularly Anita and Jean-Claude. That's a relationship I'm sure we'll see more of in future volumes. One word of warning, there's a good deal of gore and graphic descriptions in this one. Those with a weak stomach may want to take caution. Any way, The Laughing Corpse gets 5 stars from me! Highly recommended!
Rating:
Summary: "The Laughing Corpse" - Another Anita Blake Winner!
Review: "I am an Animator. I am the Executioner. But now I know I'm something else. The one thing my Grandmother Flores feared most. I am a necromancer. The dead are my specialty." Thus speaks Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter and raiser of zombies, who has just updated her resume to reflect her new skills.
Ms. Blake, is a feisty, attractive and independent 21st century lady who is as good at raising the dead as she is at slaying the undead. A wealthy industrialist, with ties to organized crime, offers her over one million dollars to bring a centuries-old corpse back to life. She refuses, as she would have to use a human sacrifice to raise these ancient bones - and she will not commit murder. Meanwhile, the head of the police's Regional Preternatural Investigation Team, with whom Anita has a contract, is trying to contact her. It seems a zombie has gone berserk and is slaughtering people all over St. Louis. Fearing the grisly murders will continue, she is on the case immediately, questioning the likes of Dominga Salvador, an evil priestess of vaudun who would like to go into business with the powerful Anita, or else, kill her...slowly, if she refuses the offer. Also on the interrogation list are Wanda, a disabled prostitute in a wheelchair, and former lover of the above mentioned industrialist; John Burke, New Orleans Animator, in St. Louis for his brother's funeral, (another zombie victim); and Luther, the bartender at "Dead Dave's" - a hangout for vampires and vamp freaks. The charismatic Jean-Claude, now Master Vampire of St. Louis, who has a crush on Anita and expectations that she will become his human servant, accompanies her to the more dangerous areas of the city as a sort of body guard. He is, however, more dangerous, by far, than anyone/anything who would ever approach her on the mean streets. Jean Claude, is also the successful owner of the vampire strip club, "Guilty Pleasures," and the comedy club, "The Laughing Corpse."
This is the second book in Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake series, and even more action packed than the first. It is not necessary to read book one, "Guilty Pleasures, to enjoy this novel. It stands on its own very well. Ms. Hamilton is an excellent writer who mixes fantasy, mystery, romance and dark humor with lots of flair. Her take on this derivative genre is a most unusual one. The mystery is at the fore of her novels and the supernatural takes second place - it's almost taken for granted as part of Anita Blake's natural world. And Ms. Blake is a delight - witty, savvy and hard-boiled, as in tough. I am really looking forward to reading more of this series. The novels are a real find!
JANA
Rating:
Summary: Oh my
Review: I really like this author. She has a way of describing things right down to the nitty gritty. She can give you a real sense of being right there and seeing, smelling, feeling and tasting whatever is going on. She is one of the best authors I have read in a while. The only reason that I gave this book four stars is because of the GORE!! I read the first book in this series and didn't think it was that bad....but this one....OH MY! I am not a sensitive person....at least I thought I wasn't....so all I can tell you is if you want nightmares read this book. The author is good, the story is good....but I could of kind of done without the gore. This book gave me nightmares.
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