Anita Blake 22: Affliction by Laurell K. Hamilton

Anita Blake 22: Affliction
Laurell K. Hamilton

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 "Sometimes love isn't about being smart. Sometimes it's about being stupid together."

It was my friend Hazel that first got me into reading the Anita Blake series by Laurell K. Hamilton. She had never seen the television series Buffy The Vampire Slayer before (which I knew she would just love), so we came to an arrangement; if I read all of the Anita Blake books, she would watch all of Buffy. And that's exactly what happened. Later she confessed that she thought I had 7 videos of Buffy, not all 7 seasons! (Easy mistake to make. I have a series 1-7 boxset, and they do kind of look like videos.) Luckily she really enjoyed Buffy, which I knew she would, and I quite enjoyed reading Anita Blake. Thus far I have read all the published  books to date;

1. Anita Blake 1: Guilty Pleasures
2. Anita Blake 2: The Laughing Corpse
3. Anita Blake 3: Circus of the Damned
4. Anita Blake 4: The Lunatic Cafe
5. Anita Blake 5: Bloody Bones
6. Anita Blake 6: The Killing Dance
7. Anita Blake 7: Burnt Offerings
8. Anita Blake 8: Blue Moon
9. Anita Blake 9: Obsidian Butterfly
10. Anita Blake 10: Narcissus in Chains
11. Anita Blake 11: Cerulean Sins
12. Anita Blake 12: Incubus Dreams
13. Anita Blake 13: Micah and Strange Candy
14. Anita Blake 14: Danse Macabre
15. Anita Blake 15: The Harlequin
16. Anita Blake 16: Blood Noir
17. Anita Blake 17: Skin Trade
18. Anita Blake 18: Flirt
19. Anita Blake 19: Bullet
20. Anita Blake 20: Hit List
21. Anita Blake 21: Kiss the Dead

The Anita Blake series is set in a world where vampires and werewolves etc, are common knowledge, have rights and live alongside people in society. Anita Blake is an animator, necromancer, U.S. Marshal (preternatural division, of course), vampire executioner, human servant, queen of just about every lycanthrope sect and many, many other things. The books centre around her life with all sorts of different creatures of the night, and her ever increasing collection of jobs and men.

"...love, real love, is full of choices that make no sense, that should go horribly wrong, but you make the choice anyway. Why? Because love is about hope; you hope that this time it will be different."

 

Affliction
Affliction is the twenty-second book in the Anita Blake vampire hunter novels. This one sees her travelling with Micah to see his dad, who is in hospital, and may not have long to live. While there, Anita sets to work as it appears there is a zombie virus spreading. She must get to the root of the problem and stop it before Micahs dad dies.

After not reading the series for a while (stupid having to wait for them to be written :P) it was a bit difficult to remember all of the characters as there are so many! In that respect it took a while to get back into the swing of Anita Blake but after reading for a bit it eventually comes back to you!

I was a bit disappointed with the ending, if I'm honest. I felt that so much more could have been done, especially considering it's one of the longer books in the series; nearly 700 pages. I expected the battle to be bigger and better, but alas, I was let down.

On the whole the book was not bad, just the ending was a bit of a let down.

"Real ghosts are so much easier to deal with than the kind we carry around in our heads. Most people haunt themselves more effectively than any spirit."

 

The series as a whole
I have very much enjoyed reading the Anita Blake series, however, I do feel it's beginning to lose my captivation. My favourite books are probably among the first in the series. I don't mind the sex, but when that's all the book is about it can get a bit boring. I feel there was more story in the earlier books, it wasn't just about her and all the men. I felt the last few books were a bit boring. It just felt like nothing was really happening and Laurell K. Hamilton was just writing them for the sake of writing.

Affliction was a step back in the right direction! More story, less sex. It was much more enjoyable than the last few, and I sincerely hope the next one is just as good!

My favourite characters are probably Micah and Nathaniel. I just love that they are so supportive and just work together. I can't stand Asher. He's probably my least favourite character. He's such a petulant child, who throws a tantrum when he cant get his own way. I miss Richard, the way he used to be. When I was first reading the series and Hazel had already read them, we used to have at length discussions about whom we preferred: Jean-Claude or Richard. Back then I didn't much like Jean-Claude, and wanted Anita to be happy with Richard. I can see now why that won't happen.

"We need hope almost more than anything else, for without it we are lost."

 

Author Laurell K. Hamilton

 

Overall rating

Thanks,

The Wee Librocubicularist