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Summary: first book of hers i read!
Review: considering that the lunatic cafe was the first book i read of laurell K. hamilton, it ruined the effect that some characters would have had in the earlier books. my recomendatation is that you should read the first book guilty pleasures, before this one, the fourth book in the series. I thourghly enjoyed this book, totally to the extreme. im actually a young writer myself, and its because of these books that i came to that decision. Thank you laurell.
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Summary: The Title Says It ALL!
Review: Welcome to exotic world of Anita Blake, vampire executor. In this fourth book, we find Anita with a little time on her hands since business tends to fall off during the Christmas season. Funny, people aren't as interested in raising the dead while they're celebrating. Anita is in the beginning stages of her relationship with Richard, that cute junior high science teacher who just happens to be a lycanthrope and still avoiding the seductive master vampire (my favorite) Jean-Claude.Things should be slow-right? Wrong! First off she has to deal with a jealous, female rival for Jean-Claude's affections. Gretchen, is a female vampire who is determine to be the only lady in Jean-Claude's life. Gretchen's view on competition? Easy, just kill them. Only Jean-Claude has forbidden it. Gretchen decides to do as she pleases, and she pleases to kill Anita. Next we have someone who is killing shape shifters. The local police think it's a bear, but Anita knows enough about the supernatural to say otherwise. Then we have Richard trying to hide a growing internal conflict with the lycanthropes. It seems Richard is next in line to lead the pack, but to do so he must challenge the current leader and kill him. Richard doesn't want to do this, but faces being killed himself. Last we have Raina, the seductive lycanthrope and Gabriel, the sadist lycanthrope, who are making porn films featuring members of their pack. Who cares that some of their films just happen to turn into snuff films? What's a girl to do? If you're Anita Blake, you set out to deal with jealous vampire girlfriends, try to make the man in your life see he shouldn't keep secrets from you, and help the police find who is murdering innocent people. If you haven't read Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake series, find book one, get started, and be sure to read them order. As someone who doesn't normally read this genre of writing, I was fascinated enough to buy and read all nine books in a two week span (thanks to fellow reviewers JP and Joss). One word of warning, this series seduces you. I don't think many will be able to read the first book without wanting all of them!
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Summary: Werewolves? There wolves. There Anita Blake, Animator.
Review: In this fourth Anita Blake novel our heroine no longer bears the marks of Jean-Claude or any other master vampire and is exploring a relationship with Richard, the middle school teacher. Of course there are problems: Richard is a werewolf whose pack leader is threatening to kill him, Jean-Claude will not take "no" for an answer and has a female vampire who wants to kill Anita, and Dolph wants help identifying the something that is killing lycanthropes (shapeshifters). "The Lunatic Cafe" is the name of the hangout where the werefolk meet and Anita is finding out more about their kind than she really wants to know. Good thing they want her help in finding out who is butchering their kind, although her involvement is certainly a mixed blessing. As always with Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake novels, she managed to bring everything together by the end of the story. With each book in the series I become more convinced that the "Vampire Hunter" label is to attract fans of Buffy, but Anita is really an Animator (she was a Vampire Hunter in the time BEFORE the first novel) and these books are considerably more gruesome. One of the subplots in "The Lunatic Cafe" concerns a pornographic/snuff film with werewolves and a human girl, with Edward showing up to avenge her death. These are very intense horror novels and Buffy wannabees picking these up without having a clue as to what awaits them inside are not going to sleep for a week. Hamilton has created an alternative reality where monsters have legal rights, and she explores this world with creativity and intelligence. Her heroine endures a lot of physical damage in these books and the mysteries she investigates are always complex. This is a first rate hooror series that deserves its reputation and its growing following.
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Summary: Lunatic Pace
Review: This is the first Anita book I have read and while I found myself caught up in the fast paced narrative, I was exhausted by the sheer number of events...they piled up, one on top of another. Too much so in fact. The 20 or so murders happened within a week. While I like strong heroines, I found her penchant for bloodshed a trifle unsettling in places. Either the author is heavily into repetition or there was some bad editing, or perhaps ". . . was the bravest thing I did all night" is a stock phrase. I had hoped for a Stephanie Plum kinda character but was disappointed. I was particularly aggravated by Anita's kiss and push away tactics--not very politically correct to give such mixed messages. While I like horror, this one didn't win me over. But 'cos I saw the glimmerings of great storytelling, I will give her one more try. If you are looking for tight plotting and intriguing narratives, and more believeable heroines then Kim Wilkins (_Infernal_ and _Resurrectionists_) might be more your cuppa tea.
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Summary: LIKEABLE CHARACTERS
Review: I WANT MORE. LAURELL K. HAMILTON HAS DONE IT AGAIN, FOLKS. I CAN'T WAIT TO READ THE NEXT ONE, BLOODY BONES. THE AUTHOR JUST HAS A WAY WITH WORDS. ANITA BLAKE IS A ROLE MODELS FOR WOMEN EVERYONE. THIS IS THE TYPE OF BOOK YOU JUST CAN'T PUT DOWN. I PROMISE YOU!!!
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Summary: In which Anita discovers that humans are the bad guys
Review: Anita is dating a werewolf. That's right, one of the occasionally furry. In doing so, she gets to meet lots of other werewolves, and werethings of other sorts. The Lunatic Café is a bar patronized by the weres. Some of the villains in this volume are pretty conventional ones: stupid and/or corrupt cops. And others are stranger - a werewolf who's making interspecies porno snuff films, for example. And then there's Edward, who is a human, and at least nominally on Anita's side, but whose personality is such that we wonder whether human is necessarily an improvement over monster. But then, that's one of the themes that emerges throughout the series: is there really much of a clearcut line between humans and others, and is being on the human side of that line necessarily an improvement? We think about this a lot when we read about the behavior of the werewolf pack. Because real wolf packs don't get into nearly that much violence, ritual fighting, etc. - it's the human part of the were that make them act unpredictable, evil, argumentative, and violent, not the wolf part. This book is the first one in the series that makes us really face that problem - up till now, it's been fairly clear who the bad guys are and who the good guys are. But when the werewolves talk about "giving in to their beast" it's usually an excuse to do some fighting or violence only a human would think of. I won't give away all of the ending, except to tell you that there's an unexpected villain and it's not one of the fierce, savage predators, either. Human pride is what motivates that villain. For those wondering about the whole series, some background information. Those who already know that they like vampire novels, anything at all that features a vampire, can skip this review, and likewise, those who hate the whole idea of vampires can skip it. But for those trying to decide whether or not to read more of this genre, or whether the one vampire novel you've already read was a fluke, it may help to have some ways to categorize these novels. Thus: BunRab's Standard Vampire Classification Guide. First, most authors of vampire novels approach from one of the main genres of genre fiction; thus their background may be primarily in romance, or in science fiction/fantasy, or in murder mysteries, or in horror. Second, many vampire novels come in series; knowing whether this is one of a series, and where in the series it falls, may be helpful. Then we have some particular characteristics: Are there continuing characters besides the vampire, through the series? - Are there other types of supernatural beings? - Does the vampire have a few other supernatural characteristics, many other supernatural characteristics, or none other than just being a vampire? (E.g., super strength, change into an animal, turn invisible) - Does the vampire have a regular job and place in society, or is being a vampire his or her entire raison d'etre? - Does the vampire literally drink blood, or is there some other (perhaps metaphorical) method of feeding? - Is sex a major plot element, a minor plot element, or nonexistent? - Does the story have elements of humor, or is it strictly serious? - Is the writing style good, or is the writing just there to manage to hold together the plot and characters? This particular book is the fourth in a series, and it's a series best read in order. If you read one out of order first, you'll want to go back and start from the beginning - the first volume is _Guilty Pleasures_. The series comes from the hard-boiled detective/thriller genres. There's a large cast of continuing characters - Anita Blake, who is NOT a vampire, she's a zombie animator and vampire executioner. The setting is St. Louis, but the specific city isn't integral to the plot the way being in Toronto is a very specific plot element in Huff's books, or Chicago in Elrod's. The other characters include the police on the Regional Preternatural Investigation Team, who are reasonably good guys - although the series also finds plenty of incompetent and/or corrupt cops along the way. Most of the vampire characters are involved in the entertainment biz - owning, working in, nightclubs. St. Louis in this universe has a very kinky nightclub district! The vampires have not only super strength and speed, but the power to cloud men's minds, and other powers that pop up unexpectedly and that differ from vampire to vampire. We have plenty of other supernatural characters: werewolves, wereleopards, wererats, and for all I know, werewombats; witches and voodoo priestesses, ghouls and zombies and ghosts. In other words, magic of all kinds. And most of them are Not Very Nice. Anita deals with them through a combination of violence and wisecracks; there is a strong dose of sarcasm and irony that runs through the books, and while the plots are serious, violent, and bloody, there are also funny moments; the characters have senses of humor, even some of the vampires!
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Summary: Another homerun!!
Review: This is a wonderful book, okay, that's an understatement! I literally coudn't put this down. I read it in 2 days. The Lunatic Cafe works on so many levels. There is something out there that's killing werewolf's, a good number of them as a matter of fact. So who do they call for help? Our favorite vampire slayer, and the raiser of the dead, Anita Blake. Things get complicated when she's fallen in love with a werewolf. As if that's not enough for our favorite slayer, there's a long line of people trying to kill her. What's a slayer to do? Find out who's killing the werewolves, and if anyone gets on her way, she's well armed and has a very good aim. Ofcourse, we can't forget about the Master Vampire of the City, Jean-Claude. He has an interesting proposal for Anita. Will she take it? Can she find out who's killing the werewolf? Can Edward help? To find out the answers, you need to pick up this book. The char's are very impressive. With each book, Anita gets stronger and stronger. The tension mounts between Richard and Jean-Claude plays a important sub plot to this book. The reader will see how devoted Richard is to Anita, and how far he will go to protect her. With this book, we get to see a new "mosnter". Okay, maybe "monster" is to strong of a word, but it fits. Hamilton is a wonderful storyteller, this is a perfect example of what I mean. There are so many times I wanted to put it down, then there was a plot twist, and I had to find out what happened. The writing style that Hamilton has, keeps the reader glued to the page. I can promise you that if you start this book, you'll be fighting to put it down. Sit back and enjoy the world that Laurell K. Hamilton creates.
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Summary: Jean Claude or Richard-Who to choose....
Review: Once again, the author keeps the action coming. L. Hamilton does a great job of letting her female lead be stone cold tough when she needs to be without losing the soft, but down to earth feminine side. Anita is one tough customer,who ya just can't help but like. The guys in her life are just as interesting. One can't help but understand Anita's dilema in chosing-they both seem tasty. Any of L. Hamilton's books are a good, entertaining read. While not necessary to understand them, do start at the beginning of the series for the most enjoyment.
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Summary: Better and Better
Review: The Anita Blake series just keeps getting better and better. Anita Blake the tough as nails vampire killer has a dilemma. Keep dating her werewolf boyfriend Richard or start dating the Master Vampire Jean Claude who has a thing for her. In between this love triangle we get to meet all kinds of other creatures that inhabit Anita's alternate world. Lycanthropic shape shifters, naga's, witches, vamps, bewitched swans and hints of other creatures like trolls. As usual there are some new enemies Anita has to deal with, including jealous vampires and redneck cops. Through it all Anita tries to balance a normal life with her preternatural activities. There is a good mystery here too: Who is kidnapping the were animals of St. Louis and where are they? I liked the solution to the mystery and getting there was a great ride. Can't wait to move onto Bloody Bones!
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Summary: Lunatic cafe
Review: Now there is a weird book right. Anita Blake, the rock hard, Vampire Slayer, is still going out with Richard, the second in Comand of the local wolf pack. Then you should throw in Jean-Claude, the Master vampire of the City, who also has a thing for Anita. A jealous female vampire that wants Jean-Claude, and firmly believes that Anita is the only thing in the way. Then enter Marcus, the Leader of the Wolf Pack, that is having a little trouble with Richard, and wants to drag Anita in the middle of all the trouble. Not too forget, the crooked cops, that have a problem with Anita, simply because she is Female. Then there is Raina, the Lupa, or girlfriend of Marcus, who wants Richard dead, Gabriel, who leads the Leopard Pack, and eight different Shifters that are missing. One Naga that is skinned, and Kaspar, the Original hunter from the Swan Princess, the Original version, where the big bad hunter is taught a real lesson, and he wants revenge. If you mix all of them together, and still don't see trouble, then add everyones favorite Bounty Hunter Edward, and a nasty snuff movie, in which the Starlet dies, and Edward needs to avenge. Now if you don't see trouble, you should see an excellent book.
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