Guilty Pleasures

Rating:
Summary: Move Along, Nothing To See Here
Review: Having read a virtual smorgasbord of books across all spectrum of subjects, I happened into a copy of Ms. Hamilton's GUILTY PLEASURES on the recommendation of a friend ... and I have to admit that I don't understand what all of the fascination is about.

Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter (which she really isn't, by her own admission), goes about her business of serving the living and the dead, as the world has descended into a place where even zombies can have a Congressional lobby. While this might seem a bit of fun for some readers, I found the humor to be lost on a style that's all to reminiscent of the FLETCH series of books.

If Ms. Hamilton accomplishes anything with tremendous depth here, it is to underscore that the seminal rule taught by high school grammar teachers everywhere ("do NOT write sentences in fragments") doesn't apply to hot-selling authors, as GUILTY PLEASURES is easily 65% fragments. It's not so much style as it is 'smartass,' and, after a while, I found it more distracting than inventive.

Still, the characters are lively drawn, if not derivative of works elsewhere. Anita Blake is a wonder to behold ... or not, depending upon what your tastes in a woman are.

Minimally, I think Anne Rice and the fine folks behind BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER might feel '...' if they were to happen across these GUILTY PLEASURES.

Rating:
Summary: You Have A New Fan of the Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter Series
Review: I read this book, right after finishing the fifth book in the set, The Killing Dance. These books hook you, from the first word, and you can't put them down. I have read two more books in the set, in quick succession, most of them over a 1-2 day period.

I found all of the characters interesting, and I especially loved the first-person narration by the main character, Anita Blake. You could feel that she was human, and that she had feelings, and all of the peripheral characters also capture your interest. I admit, I wondered, as I read the book, how much she would pick up the legends attached to vampires, and make them part of the story line.

The only thing I would still like to see, is a book that covers the period *before* the first book, where you find out more than just cursory details regarding how Ms. Blake became a vampire hunter, and a necromancer, and how her character developed.

All-in-all, a wonderful work, and I am looking forward to reading the rest of the books in the set. Please, Ms. Hamilton, keep on writing!

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful
Review: It has begun. Aniuta Blake has it all, compassion, stubbornness, a fiery temper, a sense of honor, and sex-appeal. A wonderful plot that satisfies everypart of you.

Rating:
Summary: A Great Read!
Review: "Guilty Pleasures" is the first book in Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake - Vampire Hunter series, and it starts the series off with a bang. Full of nasty preternatural critters and compelling characters, Anita's world is a wild and wonderful place!
The book starts as Anita, tough-as-nails animator and vampire executioner, attends a bachelorette party for a good friend, only to find out it was a set-up for her to meet the Master of the City, Nikolaos, a terrifyingly powerful thousand-year-old vampire. There have been numerous vicious vampire murders in the city of St. Louis of late, and Nikolaos wants Anita to find whoever or whatever is responsible. Anita usually doesn't work for vampires, but Nikolaos doesn't ask nicely, so Anita has no choice but to take on the case.
Jean-Claude, the third most powerful master vampire in the city, takes an interest in Anita, and she can't help but be attracted to him too, despite what he is. Jean-Claude is expertly portrayed by Hamilton - he's smooth-talking, a little wicked, and oh so sexy!
As Anita works desperately to solve the murders, with Nikolaos becoming more and more threatening, she begins to realize that her only way out of this whole mess is to kill Nikolaos. Anita seeks the assistance of her "friend" Edward, a cold-blooded assassin, and together they concoct a plan to destroy Nikolaos.
The suspense builds to a thrilling climax that will have readers on the edge of their seats.
One complaint I have is that I would have liked "Guilty Pleasures" to have been longer, as it ended up being a very fast read (only 266 pages). Despite that, it is an action-packed, fun-filled and thrilling read that will leave readers craving much more of Anita Blake. Hamilton has created a fascinating world of vampires, werewolves, wererats, zombies, and ghouls (among many other things) that will captivate readers and [draw] them straight into the story. With her mix of intriguing characters and three-dimensional monsters, Hamilton has come up with a winning formula. I guarantee you'll have a fantastic time while you're in Anita's world, so don't miss out on the fun.

Rating:
Summary: A pleasure to read...no guilt about it.
Review: Anita Blake raises the dead, she's not a detective. But when a powerful vampire "asks" for you help, there's no good way of saying no. So Anita's hunting down whoever is killing vampires. As if that's not bad enough, a certain vampires is quite literally haunting her dreams. Anita might just be in over her head.

This is the first of the Anita Blake books, and Hamilton does a great job setting up a world where the dead don't always stay dead.

Rating:
Summary: It bites! :)
Review: This is the 2nd LH book that I have read. At times I thought I skipped the first book because the references were vague. I am glad I stuck with it because the wry humor was excellent. I like to begin at the start of a series to get the flavor (pardon the expression) of the story. I like Anita very much. She has a conscience! The ending was very exciting. The book held my interest all through. Very different and entertaining. On to the next.

Rating:
Summary: Lincoln Rhyme meets Buffy the Vampire Slayer--sort of!
Review: I know it sounds strange, but this book has the best of both. And it's funny! I'm not even finished reading it, and I've already made a wish list with every other book by Laurell K. Hamilton!

For those who aren't familiar with Lincoln Rhyme, he's a crime scene investigator in Jeffrey Deaver's novels (example The Bone Collector). Gruesome and unusual crime investigation blended with a Buffy-like heroine, scenarios, and friends--makes you curious, doesn't it?!

Rating:
Summary: Whats not to like?
Review: Anyone picking up one of these books and expecting to read another Anne Rice knock-off will be deeply dissapointed. That being said, these books are wonderful and entertaining in their own light. Laurell has taken the vampire genre and made it her own. She has changed the rules and upped the ante.
Sure, the books are over the top and over sexed and seriously intended for mature readers...but that works in this case. Not just another author that can plop words out on a page, Laurell has seriously thought this through. She fills her world with creatures of the mystic realms and adds enough realism that the reader is left wondering, "What if its true?"
Although these books are written from a womans point of view (and I think, with women in mind) they still appeal to a larger audience. My co-workers like them, and my wife likes them...heck everyone I have told about them enjoys the books.
If you want to pick up a quick read with lots of action and fast moving plotlines, these books are the way to go. Not for the faint of heart...lots of guts and blood and guns. Knives and werewolves and lycanthropes, vampires and mythological beasts inhabit the real world. *Sigh* not at all the truth, but wouldn't it be fun?

Rating:
Summary: Start of my favorite series ever
Review: I loved this book, and almost all of the series that follows. If you have any interest at all in alternate reality-fantasy fiction, Anita Blake is a must read. The zombies, vampires, and werewolves are just icing on the cake of Hamilton's character development and pacing.

If you're considering trying your first Hamilton book, this is a great place to start.

Rating:
Summary: Woww..w.w..
Review: Oh, my. I have to say this book is awesome! I finished it in one day. I usually take longer time to read, much longer. First person narrator. And I wondered why I couldn't finish my previous books this fast. It's much more fun reading books of this narrator type. I'm also a fan of Anne Rice, but I gave up on her after I finished her Memnoch the Devil vampire chronicle. Rice just couldn't get past her scenery babbling. Anyway, this first book of Hamilton's vampire hunter series is absolutely fabulous. I couldn't put it down. Very imaginative!