Hamilton, Laurell K. - The Laughing Corpse (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, #2)

[Lisarenee]

This topic is open for discussion of The Laughing Corpse by Laurell K. Hamilton. Be prepared for spoilers.

[Naevehsa]

couple of thoughts on this book...
1) IMPROVEMENTS-raising an entire graveyard is an excellent show of power from Miss Blake. That last scene when she used that machete like a samurai warrior was great (unexpected) I am looking forward to see more of this.
2) DISAPPOINTMENTS- not enough Jean Claude/Anita interactions for me. What can I say ...I love Jean Claude.

[Lisarenee]

Would it be bad to start reading this book before guilty pleasures? I seem to own every book but the first to this series. I put a hold on it at the library.

[Galla]

Lisa, it's been a while since I've read any LKH, but as I recall, reading Guilty Pleasures first would really be best.

[Shay]

Lisarenee wrote: "Would it be bad to start reading this book before guilty pleasures? I seem to own every book but the first to this series. I put a hold on it at the library."

I think the second book has a lot of "spoilers" in terms of what happens in the first book. You could read it and understand it perfectly, but it would take the "suspense" out of reading the first.

[Naevehsa]

I agree that the series should be read in order.

[Lisarenee]

Thanks Guys. I jest drove to another library branch and got the book and will start reading the first book tonight. :)

[A Voracious Reader (a.k.a. Carol)]

In order is best for this series simply because each book builds to the next. Objectively looking at each book, I think I'd be a bit lost if I started in the middle.

I actually enjoy a series more this way. I hate a series that has each book as a standalone because then you have paragraph after paragraph with all kinds of info thrown in that was already in previous books. I understand it's for those who haven't read from the first book, but it's still really annoying to those of us who are anal (probably me mostly) and who go insane if we don't start from the beginning.

[A Voracious Reader (a.k.a. Carol)]

Ok, finished this one up and I think I'll stick to a format of a likes and dislikes listing.

Likes:
1. raising an entire graveyard (clear indicator of where her power is heading)
2. Dominga Salvador and Harold Gaynor get what they deserve
3. Jean-Claude is a sneaky bastage
4. more paranormal information revealed during a police investigation (for some reason I love when she 'lectures' about the paranormal)
5. gun to the balls (can I just say, hehehehe) and the subsequent conversation with Jean-Claude where she tells him about it
6. RPIT (love Zerbrowski)
7. Willie as a manager and he's terrified of zombies
8. Irving (what's not to love about a balding cherubic-looking werewolf)
9. the introduction of the coffee mugs with the inappropriate sayings for the office (I love those!)
10. Zerbrowski and Jean-Claude find out about the penguins
11. Anita may be a badass and sometimes a real annoying character, but she does care about people who aren't her friends or co-workers (Wanda, Evans, the boy prostitute, to name a few)
12. we find out Anita is 24 and Bert hired her right out of college
13. Grandma Flores trying to protect her granddaughter from her inherited ability by only teaching Anita the most basic of stuff (though it really wasn't the correct thing to do-knowledge is power, you know)

Dislikes:
1. Jean-Claude not being able to control his power when he's with Anita (his human servant). I'll allow him some leniency here though with my own interpretation that since he's never had a human servant he didn't know it would effect him that way
2. Willie feeling 'wooden' when she touched him (I don't get it-he fed so why would he feel wooden?)
3. someone took an 8-yr-old Anita to see the car her mother died in (wtf were they thinking?)
4. why didn't Dolph or Anita think to look at the cemetery records to see whose grave that was?
5. no Edward (I know! He can't be in every book, but...lol)

So, this is possibly my least favorite of the series though there's really nothing wrong with it. I still can't quite put my finger on why, but it's most likely solely due to the creep factor of the villains.

[Lisarenee]

Trying not to peak and failing miserably. Half way through the book and loving it, but will comment more on what I'm loving and what I'm not later.

[Naevehsa]

I agree with most of your likes....ok all of them. I love that Jean Claude can't control himself with Anita. It adds so much to the makeup of their relationship.

[A Voracious Reader (a.k.a. Carol)]

Bad, Lisarenee! Stay out of this thread until you finish. lol I have to finish 'Bitten' and 'Clockwork Angel' before Monday, so I haven't started #3 CotD yet.

Ingrid ~ JC is a Master Vampire and MotC (Master of the City). He should be able to control himself better, but I did cut him some slack on that.

[Lisarenee]

I'm done. Yippee!
So I finally took note of the date this series came out. I can see how these books influenced some other series that I've read prior to reading these. The laws about vampire rights and the like remind me a little of the Sookie Stackhouse world. It gives me the same kind of satisfaction I get when reading early books of some of my favorite authors. I am totally enjoying it. A bit gory at times, but that is what I like about reading books as opposed to watching movies you can tone things down to whatever a person's comfort level is by not being quite so detailed in the reading. Yes, I read all the details. The Zombie mix match monster is much better than a wererat. I now have the monster mash tune going through my head. "They did the mash. They did the monster mash. It was a graveyard smash."

What do you guys find so annoying about Anita? I'm racking my brains and I'm clueless, but I tend not to be easily annoyed. Is it something she does or a way she acts or a combination of something? I'm curious. One of the fun things I like about this group is that everyone has different opinions about books and what one person loves another can't stand. I always love knowing what another individual thinks and why.

A little torn between being upset with Jean-Claude for not intervening with what was happening with Anita and being happy he didn't see her as a weak female.

So here are my questions after reading this book:

- Still wondering what a human servant entails? Got a little more information and still would like to know what the 4 step procedure is.
- What happened to the soulful zombies? Did they get destroyed or sold?
- It was hinted in Guilty Pleasures that Anita wasn't human. Is the Necromancer part of her what gives her the nonhuman edge?
- How is an animator different from a necromancer?
- Were Anita's powers enhanced by what Jean-Claude did to mark her or has she always been so powerful?
- I wonder if Jean-Claude now regrets not second guessing whether it was wise to attempt to make her his human servant? I'm guessing she's more powerful then he ever thought.
- Also wondering if maybe because she is so powerful if such a bond might backfire and make JC her slave? Now that would be funny.

Carol, Which Bitten are you reading? Kelley Armstrong's? If you don't like it I'll be sad.

[A Voracious Reader (a.k.a. Carol)]

Oh, Lisarenee, I could explain so much, but that would give away future books, so I'll make you read on. lol Don't worry though, many things will be explained. I can't wait to read your take on each book.

As far as Anita being annoying, she irritates me because of her rigid view of life (good vs evil, monster vs human, etc) and the fact that she lugs past emotional baggage around like a favorite teddy bear. Hmmm...maybe that's not as noticeable in these first books and I'm letting future books influence my re-read. In later books I just want to smack the crap out of her because I'm not one to dwell on the past. The past is the past and I move on, live and learn, onward and upward. I think that's what annoys me the most about her. Plus, she's so damn stubborn. Stubborn²! It's a great trait to have and it's a bad trait to have.

Things I can address though from just my opinion:

~The human servant topic gets addressed quite a bit in upcoming books, so hang in there.
~I believe Dominga destroyed her zombies because Anita knew of her plans to sell them and could have followed up on it. Plus, on pg 247 Anita said to Dominga, "You had to break down your walls. You had to let out or destroy your creations." Dominga didn't confirm or deny it, but I believe she destroyed them just to be on the safe side. She knew she could create more.
~Anita does say that everyone but her started out normal, aka human. She was born a necromancer, so she was never normal. In my opinion, she's human with a gift (or curse), no different than a psychic or clairvoyant. I don't see why she makes such a big deal about not being 'human' or 'normal', but that's a huge theme throughout the books. Monster vs human, Anita is very black and white in these beginning books. There's no room for grey for her and being a necromancer makes her think she's one of the monsters which is why for so long she called herself an animator. Lying to oneself, another trait I hate.
~I think the difference between an animator and a necromancer is: an animator has an affinity with only zombies (raising only ones 100 yrs or less), a small natural immunity to a vampire's gaze (if it's not a Master) and has to actually call up their power; a necromancer has an affinity with ALL the dead, can raise one no matter how old (if experienced), natural immunity to a vampire (again the more experience the better), able to tell the age and power of a vampire, can sense souls, see ghosts and the power is always on, so it has to be released instead of called up
~I think Anita's powers were there when she was born. If her Grandma Flores had taught her more when she was younger I think her power level would be higher than it is now. However, having Jean-Claude as her Master has amped up her powers, too just as she has amped up his.
~Jean-Claude is a tricky, sneaky, very intelligent vampire. The question of his regretting choosing her as his servant is the subject of much discussion on the LKH forum. lol I don't think he regrets it. I think he saw her potential right away and chose to risk it. There will be more of this discussion coming up in future books.
~Jean-Claude becoming Anita's slave or servant is also discussed later. He is still her Master even if she is a necromancer, even as powerful as she is. That's all I'll say on that topic at this time.

I'm reading the one by Armstrong. I do like it and my review will be up later today since I should be done with it by evening.

[Naevehsa]

Carol- I see what you are saying and I guess I am trying to humanize him too much. But I still think that (especially after reading ahead) there is more there than just a lack of control (especially when a certain good looking werewolf enters the picture). I think it has more to do with Anita and her power rather than Jean Claude. Even though he is Master vampire and master of the city, he isn't nearly as old as Nikolas and some of the other master vampires in the story.


Lisarenee- I find Anita to be annoying because of the inconsistency of her character. Also I don't think her jokes are all that funny. I agree that she is stubborn to the extreme and selfish as well. She says one thing and then does the opposite. She has a major case of denial when it comes to Jean Claude and it is so frustrating. At least the other characters don't pretend to be something that they aren't human or otherwise. Anita could take a lesson or two on that. I also second everything that Carol said about her.