Anita Blake in Review

You're only as much monster as you choose to be.

That seems to be the theme of the Anita Blake Series. The series isn't over, of course, but I'm waiting for the next few. Kiss the Dead will be out in paperback at the end of May, and Affliction is coming out in hardcover this year. I just don't do hardcover. So, I'll have to wait for more of the series.

There are some halves out now. Strange Candy is a collection of short stories by various authors; as are Cravings and Bite. Strange Candy is what Anita Blake without the Vampire Hunter might have been like. It's short and fairly...limp. It's not boring, but it's not really great either. Good thing Hamilton added the Vampire Hunter part. I wouldn't really recommend their purchase, unless you're a) into the other authors or b) really love short stories. Well, the Anita Blake story in Cravings is just the beginning of Incubus Dreams, about Larry's wedding, so...  Bite is it's own story, and takes place between Blue Moon and Obsidian Butterfly, when Anita is still trying to distance herself, and falls off the wagon after seeing Jean-Claude, but for me it wasn't worth the purchase. Finally, Beauty, which can be purchased as an ebook and comes between Hit List and Kiss the Dead. It's basically just a sex scene between Anita, Jean-Claude and Asher.

So, for me, the series is over for the moment. Therefore, I thought I'd talk about the series in general: pros, cons, and thoughts.

Blue Moon, Laurell K. Hamilton

This book starts with Anita finding out Richard has been arrested for rape. Obviously not possible. So, Anita runs to the rescue, leaving a irritated and jealous Jean-Claude behind.

So, it's no shocker Anita and Richard end up hooking up. It was kind of surprising that Richard said he was willing to date Anita while she keeps dating JC. The condition being that he gets do the same. It kind of felt like he did it with the intention of hurting her, which was irritating. Of course, Anita's isn't super excited about this, and both of them know it's hypocritical. But it's not really. I mean, yes, in reality it is, but this is a book. (to Gasp!) The thing is, Anita puts it perfectly, if you're still dating, you're still looking, and if you're still looking, you might find what you're looking for a leave. She may be with JC, but she's not still looking. She just loves them both.