Guilty Pleasures (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, #1) in The Complete Idiots Guide to the Ultimate Reading List

Sep 09, 2010 Julie rated it liked it

Shelves: series, paranormal-romance

I am not sure how I feel about this book. Since I have not read a vampire book since reading the Twilight books, I was a little nervous about reading this one. It was highly recommended to me and purchased for me so I had to give it a try. At times I was a little confused who people were. I felt like I had missed something a couple of times. The main character is a little shallow. I want to know more about her. I am used to reading books that are in-depth character studies. I want to know why sh ...more

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Apr 22, 2010 Lisa (Harmonybites) rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy, contemporary, mystery, crime, fiction, novels, ultimate-reading-list, ebooks, horror

No, this isn't a deathless classic, but for what it is, it's top-notch. That is, it's a sometimes scary and creepy but throughout very entertaining book that straddles the line between dark fantasy and horror, with an appealingly kick-ass heroine and fine world-building.

Anita Blake is the first person voice of this tale--a female zombie animator and vampire slayer with the smart ass voice of a hard-boiled detective. She considers herself "tough as nails" but is willing to put her life on line f No, this isn't a deathless classic, but for what it is, it's top-notch. That is, it's a sometimes scary and creepy but throughout very entertaining book that straddles the line between dark fantasy and horror, with an appealingly kick-ass heroine and fine world-building.

Anita Blake is the first person voice of this tale--a female zombie animator and vampire slayer with the smart ass voice of a hard-boiled detective. She considers herself "tough as nails" but is willing to put her life on line for innocent bystanders, not just friends. She has a collection of scars and goes around with knife sheaths, and guns in trouser holsters and shoulder rigs--and she has a collection of stuffed penguins. Her favorite, Sigmund, goes to bed with her when she's had a really bad day.

And lately she's had a string of them. In her world, zombies, ghouls, weres are known to exist and a US Supreme Court case has recently given vampires rights as people. That doesn't mean they're not dangerous, and when her friend is threatened, Anita must solve a string of vampire murders and deal with some of the most powerful and dangerous vampires of St Louis.

I like all the thought Hamilton put into her vampires: they have "animals to call," "human servants" and there is a whole subculture attracted to vampires including a religious cult...and oh, a vampire stripper club called "Guilty Pleasures" that features a smexy owner--Jean Claude who is one of the most intriguing and prominent characters in the series. And the most chilling monster of all may be a human--Anita's sometime ally and colleague Edward.

I also liked LK Hamilton's style and pacing in this. I read this book in one sitting, feeling as if nothing was filler and liking how she can choose details that bring characters and settings sharply to mind. There are winning touches of humor as well--the book features witty and snappy dialogue.

Sounds like a rave, doesn't it? I do have to sound one warning note though. If you're the kind of person who, if you like the first book in a series, can't stop reading the others even once it jumps the shark... Well, you may hate you took me up on my recommendation.

I think if anything, the books get better in the next 8 volumes. I liked Anita's arc up through Blue Moon. I thought Hamilton was working through some interesting themes about walking the line between fighting monsters and becoming one--and just what it means to be a monster.

But imo the series badly, badly jumps the shark in the tenth book, Narcissus in Chains, of the jaw-dropping, book hurling, she-didn't-just-do-that! kind and with every book after that I thought Anita became more and more a caricature of herself. (Caricature might not be the best word--that implies her initial character became exaggerated--it's more that she's unrecognizable in comparison to the character I once liked so much.) It's at the point that I'm absolutely astounded the most recent Anita Blakes are published, let alone inhabit the bestseller list.

Reading this first book though reminded me exactly why I persisted reading this series long after I should have given up. I was struck with just how rich Anita's world was in the beginning. She had co-workers, a boss, colleagues, family--her step brother is mentioned as someone she cares about--friends, neighbors. Later what she has...well, you might want to find out for yourself. But yes, this first novel is good. A guilty pleasure. ...more

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Mar 06, 2010 Cee rated it it was amazing

Shelves: horror, urban-fantasy

I liked Anita very much. She isn't the whiney kind of protagonist, but an independent woman with a lot of guns. The zombie-raising stuff was fun and the investigation part was exciting.

I did think the vampire-addicts were a bit creepy, but maybe that's the whole point. I just think the idea of being covered with scars is kinda disturbing.

Still, Jean-Claude is interesting, and I would like to see where this series goes. I know they really change after a few books, but we'll see how that turns ou ...more

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Sep 25, 2009 Yulia rated it really liked it

Shelves: vampires, paranormal, shape-shifters, urban-fantasy

It's an ok book.
Good on the action part and all, but too bad there isn't romance *pouting* though maybe if there was, it would've been a lot like Sookie Stackhouse series... ...more

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