Book Review: The Laughing Corpse by Laurell K. Hamilton

Review: The Laughing Corpse
Series: Anita Blake – Book 2
Author: Laurell K. Hamilton
No of Pages: 293
Release Date: 2 August 2005

Vampire Hunter is about to discover that some secrets are better left buried – and some people are better off dead…

My Thoughts:

Back into the world of Anita Blake and it was just as good the second time around.

Anita is still holding down two jobs, her animating job working with raising zombies for people and as insider knowledge for the police department. Anita gets offered a job that she doesn’t want to accept though, she has been requested to raise a 300 year old corpse which involves human sacrifice, not something she is comfortable with.

Anita continues to be a complete kick-ass heroine. I really cannot fault her. She hates vampires and is continuing to struggle with her feelings for Jean-Claude, she is blossoming into a powerful necromancer, which is completely cool, and she is a smart and sarcastic. The cast of characters once again was well put together and completely fit with the story.

The Laughing Corpse is gory and horrific, perfect in my opinion. It deals with the deeper side of Voodoo, delving into darker techniques and giving us an insight into the hierarchy of the Voodoo community, which Anita wants no part in. The Laughing Corpse details stomach churning monsters put together with all sorts of spare parts, human and animal included. It also deals with what happens to our souls after we die, and what happens if people steal them.

The ideas presented in The Laughing Corpse and in Anita Blake in general are nothing like I have ever seen. I absolutely loved the gory details of this book. Who even comes up with putting a soul inside a zombie? Or putting together a multi-limbed multi-mouthed beast.

Laurell K Hamilton is a master when it comes to the weird and wonderful world of paranormal horror and I cannot wait to continue what is shaping up to be a fantastic series.

Also in this series:

Guilty Pleasures

Circus of the Damned

The Lunatic Cafe

Bloody Bones

The Killing Dance

Burnt Offerings

Blue Moon

Obsidian Butterfly

Narcissus in Chains

Cerulean Sins

Incubus Dreams

Micah

Danse Macabre

The Harlequin

Blood Noir

Skin Trade

Flirt

Bullet

Hit List

Book Review: Guilty Pleasures by Laurell K. Hamilton

Review: Guilty Pleasures
Series: Anita Blake – Book 1
Author: Laurell K. Hamilton
No of Pages: 266
Release Date: 1 October 1993

In the novel that introduces Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, the monster she’s sworn to kill becomes the man she can’t live without...

My Thoughts:

I can’t believe I waited this long to start this series. It is awesome!

Anita Blake is a necromancer, which basically means that she can raise the dead, making zombies. With vampires out in public, Anita doesn’t have to hide her powers because seriously what’s more scary, a vampire or a chick that can make zombies? Anyway Anita makes her living by raising the dead for legal reasons, sometimes poor Auntie Mabel dies without leaving her fortune to anyone, so Anita is there to raise them long enough to make out their final will.

Anita is approached by Jean-Claude, a vampire that she has a somewhat awkward relationship with. Anita seems to have an unusual attraction for Jean-Claude, and he tries everything within his power to get her to let down her guard against him. Anita kills vampires, she doesn’t hook-up with them, even if they make her forget what she was doing, and always manage to illicit a reaction from her.

Anita is one of the best Urban Fantasy heroines I have read about. Not only doe she talk tough but she can actually back up her claim. She is known throughout the vampire community as the executioner because she isn’t afraid to get hurt if means she will get her kill. Anita has a platoon of weapons including – but not limited to – holy water, guns, stakes and knives. She gets jealous of Edward, an ally and fellow vampire hunter, because he apparently has a bazooka and a flame thrower.

Anita refuses to cower behind others and that is what made me instantly fall in love with her. People cower behind her, even men. Anita is smart, brave and extremely cool in her mannerisms and techniques and she stays true to what she makes out to be and lives up to that hype.

Although Anita tries to convince herself that she hates him, I loved Jean-Claude. He is so suave and confident, even when Anita humiliates and mocks him he never seems to lose his edge over others. Feared and respected Jean-Claude is the third most powerful vampire in the city and he makes sure people know it without being too over-confident and annoying. It is a trait that can only be respected because he doesn’t really have to do anything for others to cower at the mention of his name, yet Anita is the only person he sees regularly that isn’t scared of him. It keeps him grounded and likable.

Guilty Pleasures is definitely one of the stronger books in this genre and I urge anyone and everyone who has ever had a fascination with vampires to read this book.

Also in this series:

The Laughing Corpse

Circus of the Damned

The Lunatic Cafe

Bloody Bones

The Killing Dance

Burnt Offerings

Blue Moon

Obsidian Butterfly

Narcissus in Chains

Cerulean Sins

Incubus Dreams

Micah

Danse Macabre

The Harlequin

Blood Noir

Skin Trade

Flirt

Bullet

Hit List