You used to be able to tell how much time had passed because in the first chapter you were told what time of year it was. I'm not sure if Hamilton is still doing that or not. But I actually think very little time is passing during the recent books.

I've never read the weatherwarden series. Or if I did start one of the books, I didn't like it and never finished it.

This makes it a question of how much time is passing in the UF world. LKH's stories happen over years, so the everday characters can have lives. What do you consider Rachel Caine's Weatherwardens if you read them? She is saving the universe, but the time line is short. There is a lot going on in that universe. It is complex, but the main focus is the battle to keep it all going. A save the universe plot?

It is definitely not over. They have just cut Marmee down to size a bit.

One of the differences between the Anita books and a "save the universe" series is that there is more going on in the books than just the push to save the universe. People in the Anita books have lives. Anita's work, marshal or zombie raiser, goes on. Jean Claude does his political stuff. Jason and Nathanial dance. People get married. etc. And each book has its own plot in addition to whatever arcs are going on.

I too am hoping that she is not gone. She was a great one to hate, and still love for messing with Anita.

Ah I must have missed the details on those quotes. Thank you so much for posting them.

I had a hard time with the book as I really hated it even before that part was mentioned. So perhaps I didnt read it as well as I should have.

That's really good to know and I hope that she presents a much bigger threat in the future :D

Yeah, I'm not assuming she's gone. That would have been the worst ending ever to that plot thread. If it turns out to be the case,I'll be more disappointed than ever.

Reading this is jogging my memory. I don't think The Mother of All Darkness is dead, her body is gone though so she's weaker and looking for a new host. It's in Skin Trade:

Here a couple of quotes from Marmee Noir to Anita:
“Necromancer, they are coming to kill me. They are coming with modern weapons and things I do not understand. I have abandoned the shell in the room. They may have it."

“Simply feed on all the colors of their rainbow and give the energy to me. It will give me enough strength to survive until I can find a host.”

But she didn't get the energy she needed because Vittorio interfered and then her body was destroyed:

'I had a moment to glimpse a slender, dark girl, and then the wind hit her. The wind held blades like a silver whirlwind; it surrounded her and cut her to pieces. She shrieked, “Necromancer, do not trust him!”
Then she was gone, but it wasn’t the blades here.'

I'm thinking she's weak but still around at least that's what I'm hoping.

I know you didnt direct your question to me but I want to answer if that is ok.

As far as the plotline with The Mother of All Darkness, I was pretty happy with it until Skin Trade.
She felt like something so powerful that was going to be a big threat later on to Anita and that was going to have a lot of action involved.

But when it all ended in Skin Trade.. I was left .. well I really don't have words for how awful that was. I couldn't believe she would write it out like that.
I really believed, having read and loved all of her other books, that The Mother of All Darkness would have gotten a better ending then that. And adding to that.. that Anita would have been a LOT more involved and ass kicking in the process.


I do agree to an extent that there is not enough plotline with just the core group of people. There has to be something on the outside that interferes and brings in chaos and challenge, but I think at this point LKH is running dry. At least it was evident to me after reading the atrocious thing that was Skin Trade.

Starling, I do agree that just her "core group" isn't enough plot. As I read what you said, I realized it wasn't that I was opposed to a SWAT team plot, just that I didn't feel I could care about any more characters in her life. There are so many (and maybe not even just the CORE) that I still want to hear about. Not just in terms of sex (that's old hat and boring at this point), but more in terms of relationship. And the SWAT team, especially the team she just introduced us to on her road trip in the last book, means more men and characters. If LHK really wanted to go back to her roots, I am certain she could do it by using any number of mechanisms - the SWAT team, more zombie raising or something else. She's the author. She can keep them in St. Louis all she wants. It's the beauty of being the author to begin with. She plays god, or goddess. She has the imagination for creating stand alone action/mysteries in each book. I just want her to do it alongside her already developed main characters. What complimented her early plots was the ongoing tension between Jean-Claude and Richard, among others. The balance was fantastic. She needs both to make the same impact with her later books. Not just give us new characters all of the time to introduce that tension.

It's interesting that you mentioned a "save the universe plot" because I pretty much thought the Marmee Noir plot was the ultimate end to the series plot arc, thereby making it some flavor of "save the universe." She'll have to have a final battle with her at the end. I don't see how she couldn't. It's true there's no time line she has to work with to do this, so I suppose that's different than a ticking time bomb count down to saving it all. What was your impression of or assumption about that plotline with the Mother of All Darkness?

Michelle, I needed to think about this a bit before answering.

What makes any series interesting, especially an open ended one, is that each individual book has its own plot (a mystery, a political situation, etc.) and also furthers the life story of the people in the series.

A lot of people started disliking the Anita books when the mysteries stopped and Anita's own problems and difficulties and her need to feed on sex started.

If the SWAT team stuff happens, it will keep Anita in St. Louis and you will get to see more of the core group. But frankly, unless Hamilton starts a "save the universe" plot, this stops being an open ended series and becomes something else. A lot of people, me included, won't read a series that is not open ended unless all of the books have been published.

There just isn't enough plot in Anita and the "core group" to fill a book, much less several books.

I keep facing an interesting question. I come down on the side of saying her books have lost the magic for me. I don't mind the sex, I just think it has become recycled and yes, did push out any plot in a few of the last ones. It feels like Anita's personal growth in the realm of the sexual has about maxed out. So its boring for me to read about more sexual situations with more men to whom I can't get attached. I just don't care about so many different guys. It's impossible for LKH to create that connection with a thousand different people. And although there was a plot in Skin Trade I was unhappy that I didn't get close to enough of her regular crew back in St. Louis.

So the question is, why am I still buying these books? She's created such a complex world and, at some point along the way, made her readers sublimely attached to a handful or two of her characters, that I am still invested. Maybe its the hope that my favorites will get more air time as each release comes out. It hasn't always happened, but I'm like a junkie thinking the next fix will be it.

I read for the characters. But she has to get back to focusing on the conflicts and tensions and relationships between her core crew. And not even just Anita's conflicts with each one, but the interrelationships between all of them. I think there's more she could do in that area now that the Richard/Jean-Claude conflict is not center stage.

And if she balanced that out by getting Anita back involved with the Zombie raising I'd love it. I do miss her original police relationships, too. Zebrowski and the chief. Did that conflict with the chief ever get resolved? I've lost track amidst the turns the novels took. But I loved that tension.

I'm not as enamored by the idea of her joining the swatt team. It'll just take her away from the core group more and that's what I crave.

Okay, no matter how I protest, readers still vote with their purchasing dollars and I am still shelling out mine for LKH's books. I suppose this argues that if an author is extremely talented in one particular part of her craft (in this case worldbuilding and character building, up to a point) readers are willing to forgive a lot else.

Jessica wrote: "I think I would appreciate the Anita books more if I found Jean-Claude attractive. I always found him to be an arrogant ass. And too pretty for my tastes."

Oh, Jean-Claude is the one constant that I've ALWAYS enjoyed, no matter how bad I thought the book was!

I think I would appreciate the Anita books more if I found Jean-Claude attractive. I always found him to be an arrogant ass. And too pretty for my tastes.

I miss all of her old men. I don't miss her police work.. I felt that took away from who she really was (zombie raiser etc) but I do miss the zombie raising.

Even if that turned into her controlling vamps, it would still be nice to see that part of her again in the books. Along with all of her closest guys.

Actually I think the SWAT team would bring back some of the mystery elements that have been missing since she left the police as a consultant. And she isn't really happy with the Marshal thing either frankly. And she needs backup which has been missing for most of her working life. It would be interesting to see her in a situation where she wasn't the most scary person on the block.

I loved the series. The last one I really liked was Incubus Dreams. I really disliked The Harlequin and Danse Macabre because Anita was losing herself in the ardeur and all of the men. We stopped hearing about her job (if she still has one), her colleagues and her non-supernatural friends. I miss Zebrowski(sp?), he was funny.

Does she even have a best friend anymore, a girlfriend she can talk to? I know she had one but I can't remember what happened to her. I know she had to make a choice about whether to remain Anita's friend or not but did we ever find out what the outcome was?

I admit I stopped reading after The Harlequin and Danse Macabre but then heard that Skin Trade was better so I went to library and caught up. I gave this series another chance because it was the series that got me back into reading and got me hooked to urban fantasy. I love that it can be really dark but also laugh-out-loud funny.

There was only one scene in Blood Noir that I liked which was the one with Richard when Anita discovers a new way to deal with the ardeur - this scene gave me hope that we would begin to see a little more of Anita's everyday life in St Louis rather than just her sex problems. I was well and truly bored with all the sex in this book, I'm with Jessica, the sex could have just been mentioned and not constantly described.

Skin Trade was a little better but it was still...odd. Edward was off, he's usually a hard and scary man even in Obsidian Butterfly when he got himself a family. I expected more from him. The orgy with no memory thing was a bit lazy, a cut and paste job from Blood Noir. Generally this book was just lacking.

Anita's comments on how she wouldn't mind working on a supernatural SWAT team in St Louis makes me think that maybe the series is coming to the end as most of her adventures occur when she's working on her own (or as a consultant), her adventures won't be as exciting if she's insulated by other team-mates.

Anyway I like that Anita's made some changes to her life and is evolving but I think I would like to see her at home with just a small core group of men going about her daily business. Also I miss Jean-Claude, he always gets left out or left behind.

FYI... I'm going to move this topic to the "Book Chat & Recommendations" folder.

I love her books, so Like.
Her characters are always growing and now they are getting better than ever. Anita is finding an inner strength without the guys these days and I am excited to see where it goes. I buy them in hard cover as well and can not wait for the next one.
I also read her Merry Gentry stories and that one should be out soon.

i still read both of her series, i am still buying them in hard cover so thats is a statement. i would prefer the sex to be less or maybe with less people. i dont like the number of people in anita's bed. however iam still interested in the characters and want to continue to read their stories and adventures.

What is your take on the Anita Blake series? Like? Dislike? I loved it for a long time. I stopped reading after INCUBUS DREAMS and then gave it a shot again when SKIN TRADE came out as it sounded like it might be more of a return to the early books. I didn't think it was.

If you dislike the series now, what happened to make you feel that way? The books got away from what made me enjoy them. They were action packed and Anita was a kick ass, take no prisoners executioner. She's not that character anymore. She whines, she's too needy. And to be completely truthful, it's not the sex that really turned me off the books, it's the fact that the plot is so hard to find anymore. They are so buried they seem to be an afterthought. And if the sex was better written it wouldn't be so bad. Too much of it reads like Penthouse Forum. Well written sex can really add to a story. Badly written is just like so much teenage boys wet dream material. After SKIN TRADE, which I thought was pretty bad on all kinds of levels, I'll stay out of the Anita discussions as I won't have anything to contribute anymore. You shouldn't chime in if you don't read the books and I won't read them anymore.

I think it is interesting what you are saying about Obsidian Butterfly. That was the first book in the series that I read, picked it up not knowing anything about it. I loved it and it made me want to read the rest of the series. I really liked the last book because it reminded me about OB.

I really liked the first part of the series, am ok with the middle part, and really liked the last 2. But can't / don't want to stop reading because what if something good happens!! LOL I think will all series there are some that you don't like as much as the others and that is ok. But it does crack me up when people bash on these books. Just stop reading them. I don't understand when they know what they have changed and still read them expecting them to the like the first ones. Real people change, why not book people?

I also miss St. Louis and the people there :( I wish she would get back to it and the people that are closest to her.

mlady rebecca, I agree that both Obsidian Butterfly and Skin Trade are different from the books around them. And aren't really all that much the same as each other.

There was a real shift in the books right after Obsidian Butterfly along with a shift in what Anita knew about the world she was living in and what her responsibilities were in that world. I would expect another one to come up.

And I miss St. Louis and its people too.

The Anita Blake series is funny. It's sexy. It's dark and gritty, yet divorced from our day to day reality. It's escapist, yet not without its own lessons on life. I love that Anita evolves and changes as the series progresses. I love that her relationships (romantic or otherwise) also evolve and change.

I can sit down and open almost any of the books and just start reading in the middle. They're that easy to fall into.

I love the early books, but I love the later books more. For me, Laurell's strength is in creating characters that walk off the page. Characters you want to revisit again and again. And the later books have a greater focus on the characters, and less of a focus on the police procedural or mystery.

I agree with Tricia in that "Skin Trade" was a bit off the mark. Too few familiar characters and too much police procedural. I'd also put "Obsidian Butterfly" in the same category. The out of town books aren't as good when the right characters don't come along for the ride. And now, after both "Blood Noir" and "Skin Trade" being out of town, I really miss the whole gang back in St. Louis.

(Edited to fix a typo.)

I have enjoyed all the Anita books that I read. That said, I think she could have balanced the sex better. I always felt the sex made sense, and wasn't jsut tossed in. But that it could have been shortened, mentioend but not described etc. and gotten a better quality story for it.

Great reply, its always interesting to read what others feel about this... and just like you mentioned - her fans are VERY vocal and sometimes very mean.

Is why I posted this topic, it seems to be a topic of high interest with both fans and disgruntled fans alike

What is your take on the Anita Blake series? Like? Dislike?

I follow both this series and the Merry series, but I like Anita more. When the books were first out, there wasn't much choice if you wanted a book with paranormal aspects. These were different because it was a continuing story and I wanted to know what happened next, while most "vampire" books were romances with HEA.

If you dislike the series now, what happened to make you feel that way?

Doesn't apply to me. But I was on LKH's own discussion boards when some of her fans got very angry about the direction the series was taking. They liked Richard and didn't like Jean Claude and were very vocal about wanting the author to change the direction of the books. This was well before the "too much sex" stage. They began to "review" her book's on Amazon BEFORE the book was actually published, and before anyone could possibly have read the book.

If you still like the series, let us know what about it keeps you reading on.

The books have changed as the series continued. At this point I'm enjoying the direction it has gone in. Anita's world has gotten a lot more dangerous and political. There are aspects of her life that have disappeared from the books, and I miss some of them, but the books are already twice the size of the early ones. Every character can't be in every book.

I have no problems with the sex. I can accept that some books have too much or too little sex for a particular reader, but the claim that LKH is writing porn is not reasonable. And there always is a plot. That is another claim I find pretty weird. I wish the readers who have decided this isn't for them would just vote with their feet. There are plenty of other books and other authors right now to support.

What is your take on the Anita Blake series? Like? Dislike? I really like this series and I feel that as the series continues the characters grow and change with the ongoing story.
I really can't stand a world where the characters stay the same and never grow, so this story I think fulfills that growth for me.

If you still like the series, let us know what about it keeps you reading on?
I don't mind sex in books, as long as the sex doesn't overshadow the story. And I know many will disagree with me here but I feel that the story is solid and has enough action to warrant the sex in it.
Hell I think the sex has made the story better, being that there is a reason for it. It's tightly wound into her growth in the vampire world, and just like other powers that have nothing to do with sex this is a power that takes some getting used to and can get out of hand.

While I would love to see more of the were world and what she gets out of that, I still don't see issues with the ardeur and how she has had to adapt.

The only book I can say that I have hated with a passion is the last book (Skin Trade), and for reasons I wont go into because it will spoil it. I did write up a detailed review if any are interested in reading it.
But even though I disliked the book, one thing that I did get out of Skin Trade was that she finally has another outlet for the ardeur and that is always a good thing. I feel now she can keep a handle on it in future books and we will have to see what LKH writes next :)

This series always *always* turns into a debate between the people who still like the books, and the people who no longer like the books.

For various reasons, of course.

Now, I am hoping that those interested in discussing their side of the debate will come here to talk about it :) I know I have seen it spring up in various posts in various groups (not just this one) so I figure making a post about just this might be a good idea :)

Remember, please be respectful of other members who might have different opinions then you, when you are replying :D

So topic:

What is your take on the Anita Blake series? Like? Dislike?

If you dislike the series now, what happened to make you feel that way?

If you still like the series, let us know what about it keeps you reading on.