My Anita Blake Obsession

My first glimpse of Anita’s world came when I borrowed Guilty Pleasures from my cousin about 5 years ago. I fell immediately in love with the storyline. Anita is such a tough and dramatic character. She, and the fact that her world is filled with magic and supernatural creatures, hooked me from chapter one!

My love of the Anita Blake series was a given. I have always had a love for horror fiction; and Stephen King, Dean Koontz, and Anne Rice got me started in that genre. Books about the supernatural, monsters, and scary tales have always been right up my alley.

Vampires have always been my favorite supernatural creatures. There is something so seductive about them. The myths, and most novels, portray them as living on the fringes of human existence - being of the world, but not really part of it. The focus of the Anita Blake series is preternatural creatures living alongside humans, with jobs, families, and emotional baggage to boot. Laurell K Hamilton portrays them as monsters, yes, but also as people. To me, that premise is fascinating, and is what attracted me to the series so strongly.

My favorite aspect of the series is learning more about the vampire and lycanthrope communities. Vampire politics and grandstanding, and the wolf pack hierarchy are so interesting to read about. Laurell K Hamilton blends them into the story so seamlessly and the characters seem so real. The series is an alternate reality storyline that is so believable and entertaining.

Well, that’s how my Anita obsession got started. I do have to say, when I first started reading the Anita series, the books were a cross between horror, fantasy, and science fiction, with a little hard-boiled detective mystery thrown into the mix. Since the tenth book, Narcissus In Chains, Laurell K Hamilton has broadened her mixed-genre novels to include a more erotic storyline.

Many fans feel that this has detracted from the original premise and tough characteristics of Anita. I agree with that to a certain extent. The wonderful storyline is still there. It is just thrown in with all the erotic scenes. Anita Blake 15, The Harlequin, was more like the early novels (less sex and a lot more action) so I still have a lot of hope for the series. While I do wish Laurell K Hamilton would tone the gratuitous sex down, I still think the Anita Blake series is the best one of its kind and I will continue to read it for as long as the books are being written.

I’m patiently waiting for Anita Blake 16. Through Laurell’s blog, I’ve learned it will be about my favorite werewolf in the series, Jason. I hope we get to learn of Jason’s past and more about the inner workings of the pack.

If you are interested, I have been busy creating some new Anita Blake fan sites. Told you I was obsessed! LOL You can find the links in the sidebar to the right. I hope you’ll visit these sites and let me know what you think!

Happy reading,

~ Crystal Booth