| Title | : | Bloody Bones (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, #5) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0425205673 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780425205679 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages | : | 336 |
| Publication | : | First published October 1, 1996 |
When Branson, Missouri, is hit with a death wave-four unsolved murders-it doesn't take an expert to realize that all is not well. But luckily for the locals, Anita is an expert-in just the kinds of preternatural goings-on that have everyone spooked. And she's got an "in" with just the kind of creature who can make sense of the slayings: a sexy master vampire known as Jean Claude.
Bloody Bones (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, #5) Reviews
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"Why do I put up with you? You insult me at every turn."
Well, LKH broke the formula with this book. Anita actually TAKES a client and leaves St. Louis to head to Branson, Missouri, where she is being paid to raise an entire graveyard to see who owns the property (because, of course, Anita is the only one in this entire world who can do anything). While she is there, she learns that something is killing young boys AND a vampire is on the loose.
This book, more than any of the earlier books, set my teeth on edge. Anita has to be one of the most rude, most obnoxious protagonists I've ever read. As I continue to read through this series, instead of growing fonder or closer to Anita, I find myself gathering an arsenal of weapons to take her out.
What does Anita do that strikes the wrong chord with me? How about this for starters:
"I admit, I took comfort in the fact that I was better dressed than most of the girls. Petty as hell, but I had been chunky in junior high."
You are in your mid-twenties. You have a great career, two of the hottest guys fawning all over you, you are highly skilled in your field, and YOU ARE GLOATING OVER BEING BETTER DRESSED THAN GIRLS HALF YOUR AGE?!?!!! (Girls, may I add, whose bodies are changing, whose parents are picking out their clothes, who aren't able to slip into Victoria's Secret with their uber fashionable friend, Ronnie.) F@#$ you!
"But, Crystal, that is no reason to dislike Anita."
How about stupidity?
"It hadn't been my idea to date the Master of the City. Jean-Claude had given me two choices. Either he could kill Richard, or I could date both of them. It had seemed like a good idea at the time."
When had dating Jean-Claude EVER seemed like a good idea? Jean-Claude was the guy she spent several books trying to AVOID. And here's the woman who'd rather shoot first, ask questions later, who'd rather do her own thing than listen to and obey ANYONE including her boss--and her choice, when faced with the death of her boyfriend, is to date the guy she supposedly hates, instead of, oh, I don't know, SHOOTING THE PANSY VAMPIRE AS MANY TIMES AS POSSIBLE!?!!?!?! (I know she supposedly "loves"/"lusts" him and she's probably dating him because she's an idiot female using Jean-Claude's stupid offer as an excuse to makeout with him, but I believe that as much as I believe that Peeps are magical fairies descended from Yoda of Vulcan).
Or how about false modesty?
"I'm not the kind of woman to elicit jealousy on sight. Not tall enough, not blonde enough, not Nordic enough, not exotic enough. I'm pretty, but I'm not beautiful."
Yeah, you are so normal. It's not like you are dating two hot guys--one a Master Vampire, the other an Alpha werewolf. And it's not like that bartender guy you just met asked you to his bed. And of course, random men at a construction site wouldn't catcall you or anything...
"The construction workers were appreciative. Whistles, catcalls, and one offer to check under my skirt."
Oh...RIIIIIIGHT.
(By the way...is this 1960? What construction workers are going to be THAT openly sexist? I've worked in a male-dominated field and NO MAN has EVER done anything like that to me, because they know they'll get a nice, fat harassment settlement.)
What about being judgmental? Does that count?
"She always this judgmental?"
Larry nodded. "Usually."
Or what about knowing she gets away with crap when everyone else can't?
"I could get away with being a pain in the ass, and most people wouldn't take a swing at me."
Or what about demanding very rudely to be called "Ms." instead of "Miss", but when someone asks her to refer to him as "Mr. Sterling", Anita refuses and calls him by his first name? I think I agree with Jean-Claude, who provides this review's title: "Why do I put up with you? You insult me at every turn."
But enough about Anita. We're used to that by now. What else upsets me about this book?
How about the fact that LKH feels that a novel is just non-stop action scenes piling one on top of each other until they explode into one big shootout at the end that SOMEHOW solves all the previous mysteries?
How about ignoring that a child is missing (and thought to have been captured by a pedophile vampire) in order to have some vampire posturing?
How about the fact that nearly every male in these books is a stripper/hottie straight out of a magazine and if this were a men's novel, people would be criticizing the male gaze?
How about how we can't have a person enter the scene without a blow-by-blow of what horrible fashion they are showcasing?
"[Jason] was wearing black leather pants tight enough that I knew he wasn't wearing the underwear anymore."
How about how, in books that are supposed to be celebrating a woman's sexual freedom, Anita is embarrassed to look at Jean-Claude's naked body--not for being caught, but just for looking and admiring?
"I was spared another glimpse of [Jean-Claude's] naked body. Now that the hormones were receding, I was embarrassed."
If this doesn't clarify what I didn't like about "Bloody Bones", I have no idea what will.
"But, Crystal, why are you rating this 2 stars? It sounds like you really hated this book."
Yes, the dislike/hate for this book runs strong. However, there were things I liked. I liked Larry and how he is learning and coming into his own. He feels like the Anti-Anita: he says some rude things occasionally, but he also has boundaries and knows when to say things and when not to. I actually really liked Jason; he seems pretty no-nonsense, confident in his position and straight-shooting (for the most part). I also thought the initial mystery was pretty interesting (too bad it got buried in vampire posturing and overlong shootouts). I liked being away from St. Louis, being away from Anita's relationship drama (though, Jean-Claude does appear and bring it with him).
When I started reading "Bloody Bones", I thought this would be my favorite of the 5 books I've read. But if I had to list only one reason why I didn't like it so much, it would be Anita. I just do not like her as a character; I don't care whether she survives; I don't care about her dating life; I don't care if she ends up as a rug at the end of the book. If I weren't trying to follow the series to the turning point in "Narcissus in Chains", I would probably abandon the series right here.
If you are already a fan, I doubt you will be as annoyed by this book as I was, particularly if one of the reasons you are reading these is because you like Anita. Newcomers can probably just jump in at this book and not have too much problems catching up. If you weren't very sold on this series with the earlier books, however, I don't think this one will suddenly change your mind about Anita and the series. -
So, the name of this book is Bloody Bones, right? Well, it is named after a restaurant in the book called Bloody Bones. I have to wonder how many of us would be willing to eat at a place with that name. Seriously, they need to fire the person who came up with that one, cuz yuck.
and mooing...
Oh, and I found another fun fact about this book. Anita actually says a word more often than "Nike." It's "Browning", and apparently it's some kind of gun that she really really likes. The word "Browning" is in the book 45 times!! Anita loves her guns as much as other people love their babies. And, just like those new parents, she never shuts up about it.
although, this is a perfectly reasonable response to a spider in my opinion...
So, in this book, we get Anita traveling to the big flashy city of Branson to do a large job that involves raising a boatload of dead bodies to ask them their names. And, while she is there, surprise-surprise, there happens to be a vampire serial killer that she also needs to catch. And, there are fairies - beautiful fairies with glittery love powers.
um,,,,yeah, that's gonna stick with me for a while....
Anita ends up needing help from Jean Claude and I have to say that I am kind of loving him at this point. He dresses up Anita's apprentice, Larry, like a stripper, and he gets drunk off of blood and has a giggling fit.
"let's get out of here before fangface busts a gut."
Jean Claude was doubled over with laughter. He seemed to think "fangface" was outrageously funny.
He also finds Anita's swearing amusing. I like that in a man. My husband actually got shocked when he read one of my reviews that had the f-word in it.
It's his fault for encouraging me by laughing anytime I say it! -
I Got a Hot date with my girlfriend Anita...She's All mine!!
And my friend Shelly just let me borrow her copy of this book!!
Rawhead and Bloody Bones
“Anyone who doesn't believe that the forest is a deadly place has never been lost in one.”
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A perfectly supernatural spooky read for October, there’s something easily readable about the Anita Blake series. With another interesting mystery and a great set of fantastical characters, this series keeps drawing me back in...
It also seemed more gorier too!
Whilst asked to raise an entire graveyard to help settle a land dispute, Anita soon finds herself investigating the nearby brutal murders of three teenage boys.
I really like that you know what your getting with this series and the fifth instalment didn’t disappoint.
Especially as the relationship between Anita and Jean Claude has an interesting development!
The perfect simple read whilst being tucked up in the warm on those cold autumnal nights. -
Although I never really learned to like Anita Blake, she was always tolerable ~ until Bloody Bones. Didn't Anita complain about all of the Were's alpha fight/dominance nonsense in Lunatic Cafe? Really, she is no better than the Were's here. If you take out all of the "I'm a bigger badass than you are" scenes & descriptions of corny outfits, you are left with nothing more than a short story. Granted.... I do like Hamilton's story telling. But at this point I feel as if I am wading through the same crap I have read over and over again in every other Anita Blake novel.
Hamilton should give her fans some credit ~ by now we know Anita sleeps with guns surrounding her, and oversize clothes hide her multiple weapons in custom made holsters. We know she wears polo shirts, black jeans, Nike's and sleeps in oversize t-shirts. Must we continue to read this in every chapter? Really?! Furthermore, how does Anita always win every stupid ass contest she begins? I'm not talking about showdowns with the bad guys/monsters. I mean every other character she encounters. The woman has no humility, no shame, no reflection on her actions. Why is Larry so loyal to her? Why do Jean-Claude and Richard love her? She is an asshole. Outwardly and even in her private thoughts.
Solidifying my disgust with the entire series was the afterward to the novel. Hamilton gave Anita Blake full Mary Sue status by pointing out all of the similarities between the two of them. I don't know why it irritated me so much, but it did. Perhaps, because in Bloody Bones I realized that despite being so self-righteous, Anita is also a hypocrite. Or maybe it is because I had a crappy weekend and only slept four hours last night? Whatever the reason, I am done with this series for a long time ~ possibly for good. If Anita's boss were to fire her, or Larry turned his back on her... leaving Anita to do some soul searching and change her ways a little... that would be an interesting novel. Really, story line to make her change her attitude. But to know that she will continue to have the last word and solve all problems with guns ... well, I have read that already. No need to read it again. -
“Come to me, child, and I will always be with you. I will hold you forever.”
- Serephina
4th Listen: I think Serephina was their most terrifying adversary.
3rd Listen: “There is no real safety.” - Anita Blake
2nd Listen: “...the nightmares live on.” Oh yes, they do. This was one of the scariest Anita Blake novels, and nearly Richard free!
The most terrifying monster can see into your heart and give you all you’ve ever wanted.
Anita has been called to the neighboring town to raise the very old dead and hunt a child killing vampire. It will mean dealing with another Master of the City, a woman Jean Claude never wanted to see again.
Anita is pretty awful to Jean Claude in this book but the vampire has long term plans... and they’re working.
Some of my casting:
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Anita is such a badass as usual!
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Bloody Bones is one of the more brutal outings in this series. A huge portion of the book follows Anita Blake as she’s working and this time she’s called in on a case that is particularly gruesome. Three teen boys are brutally slain, a young teen girl is left for dead and a young boy has been kidnapped, possibly by a deviant sexual predator of a vampire who enjoys toying with children. It’s dark and painful to read the grief instilled within some of these pages.
Anita must also raise an entire graveyard of the dead for a client with only Larry the apprentice as backup. Even she realizes this may too much to handle and is struggling with how she’s going to do it without a human sacrifice. As if all of this weren’t enough to handle, she has to deal with a fey being that may or may not be a bad guy. The only thing she knows for sure is that he’s screwing up her latest assignment and is using magic when he shouldn’t be.
I really loved this format for the books. I’m so PO’d that it has been screwed with so much in later books. Anyway, as we all know Anita is still dating Richard and Jean Claude. And, surprise, surprise she has to call in Jean Claude for assistance on her vampire case. Once he arrives in his triple poofy armed shirt and spiffy cravat the story takes a little detour from hard boiled vampire executioner and zombie raising mayhem to Anita fending off sexy Jean Claude’s flirtations and dealing with vampire politics and protocol and a new master who uses Anita’s past to heart-breaking effect.
This book here is Jean Claude’s book, all you Richard and Edward fans have been warned. It’s pretty easy to see which guy Anita is really digging here. The “monster” line begins to get real fuzzy for Anita and the sexuality is ramped up a notch but I’m still okay with that because there is a plot to this book and it moves. I was always entertained and never bored, irritated or lost. Hamilton excels at keeping all of these plot threads going without confusing her reader all the while giving us tantalizing new tidbits about her main characters. The only thing missing is the darker edged humor that I enjoyed in the first few books. Bloody Bones was so intense it really would have benefited from some well placed sarcasm and dark humor. -
I keep giving the series only 2 stars, yet keep reading. Why? Because I like the plot. However, Hamilton's writing style just makes me skim through large chunks of the story until I get to the interesting bits, so it's a love-hate relationship.
I like the love triangle between Richard, Anita, and Jean Claude. The introduction of the fey was interesting as well.
Also, finally Anita is behaving like a religious person (or at least more so than before), although as yet she still hasn't been to church. And having Larry around makes Anita a little less Mary-Sueish (although she will always be a bit of an MS. Just read some descriptions of Anita and then go look at Hamilton's photo).
The only thing that struck me as odd was that Anita gets bitten, but doesn't seem to worry about rising like a vampire or needing to cleanse the bite with holy water, which she did in circus of the damned.
Also, it is a little ridiculous how Anita manages to kill everything: I know she's tough, but _that_ tough? -
Wow.
The ending was so sad. I cannot stress this enough, it made my want to cry on Anita's behalf even knowing it wasn't true.
I loved this book as well as the rest, this series is so good, like I said I cannot stress this enough. This is by far one of my favorite series I have ever read. I have yet to encounter a book series like this in which I never can assume ahead of time the outcome. Everything links up and makes the series melt together, I love it so much. I don't know now which book I prefer, this one hit me hard, so upsetting but so good as well.
I honestly thought Larry was going to die, I thought he had at one point, which is crazy thinking about it now. I also find it surprising that Anita finally gave into Jean-Claude (not the way you think, gosh), I thought she would stand her ground as always.
I am so excited to finish this series even if I'm almost done with my choice genre, I just love this so much and highly recommend to anyone!
Also, I hated Serephina, a lot. -
“Worry about the things you can control; the rest will either work themselves out, or they'll kill you. Either way, no more worries.”
4 stars. Where book four was heavier on the romance and relationships this one was all action from the very beginning and it was a fun ride. This was definitely the darkest book in the series so far and I loved every single moment.
The murders in here were so brutal and the story overall had a really dark tone to it which I really enjoyed. I loved that Anita enlisted the help of Jean-Claude to figure out what was going on. I think they make a really great team and I have my fingers crossed that there will be more of that team up in the future.
Also, Jean-Claude in a bubble bath is my new aesthetic. That’s a pervy side note but there it is and it’s the truth. That scene damn near wrecked me in the best way.
I think this book is where we’ve gotten the most character development from Anita yet. Which makes sense given everything that she saw and went through here. It was really well done.
I love this series so much but I’m gonna take a bit of a break as to not get burned out on them. I’ll be back soon though because I really do want to keep reading them. -
Pretty entertaining, and I liked the Bloody Bones and fairy element.
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4.5 Stars. This is my favorite book in the Anita Blake series so far. This is the first AB book that I listened to the audio of rather than reading. In Bloody Bones, Anita begins to bend from her very rigid moral code, which is a good thing. We learn about Jean Claude's background before he was a vamp and his beginning as a vamp. Learning about JC's background makes him seem more like a person, and it was sad but I also saw him as a victim. I still haven't seen a reason in any of the books (except maybe Guilty Pleasures) as to why he is so strong. We just are not shown this, instead I see a guy who wears silly frilly white shirts and prefers to take bubble baths over a shower. And was that scene supposed to be sexy? Because it wasn't. After a bloody and intesne fight with a warring faction of vamps, everyone breaks away to take a shower, the necromancers, the wereolf -- but JC announces he wants a bubble bath! Huh?
Please, please please I hope Ms. Hamilton stops using certain phrases such as "bully for her" or "funny thing, that." These are such odd phrasing that to use them over and over in a book gets very tiresome. I don't mean to sound overly critical, because so far I have really enjoyed the Antia Blake series. The characters are great, I like the gore, the mystery, the fight.
There is some background about Anita and her mother and Anita begins to learn more about her powers and who she is. Hopefully we continue to learn more about her background and her learning of her own powers. Larry was a good addition to the story, he softens Anita out, tempers her. He makes her re-evaluate her hard ass positions. I liked having more of JC around and Anita finally admits she doesn't see him as "undead".
This installment of Anita Blake is definitely gory and scary, I found the narration (I listened to the audio) to be fabulous -- it even had sound effects which were actually well done! -
Most enjoyable. And she seems to be getting closer to Jean-Claude. Yippeee
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Sabırla okuyorum , heyecanla Jean - Claude bekliyorum. *_*
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I have enjoyed this entire series so far and this one was no exception. I like that the characters are in constant motion. They seem to be moving forward, even if at times it feels like they are moving slowly. But it seems that by the end of the book, they have all learned something new and have adapted. Usually in series, that is hard to keep up, but this author has figured that part out.
These have been a fun escape for me. I have a couple more that I hope to get to soon. -
This is undeniably an iconic series and I fully admit that because of its distinctness I am more generous in my ratings of Anita Blake books than I am with other books. The "Anita Blake Vampire Hunter" series hit its stride in The Lunatic Cafe and keeps it up in Bloody Bones. The novel brims with Hamilton's unique brand of horror, while crime novel and romance elements become more pronounced.
Bloody Bones finally delivers a little bit of the series' legendary sensual promise. I know (and I don't think this is a spoiler) that the sexual tension doesn't climax until book six (corny pun intended), but here I finally feel the chemistry between Anita and Jean-Claude and not just instalove. I guess I have to wait and see if the next book lives up to its steamy reputation, but Bloody Bones makes me believe that it does.
Content Warning; sexual assault (ch 25).
⭐️- engaging
⭐️- creative
⭐️- educational/informative (monster/fairy folklore)
⭐️- challenges/manipulates established literary norms/tropes/values
🚫- offers underrepresented perspective -
This review publishes on A Weebish Book Blog on 11/08/2017.
When Anita Blake is asked to raise 300-year-old zombies to settle a land dispute in Branson, Missouri, the job becomes a lot more interesting than she originally expected. A psychotic vampire begins committing murders in the area and Blake must call on her fanged boyfriend for help.
What I enjoyed:
- Anita Blake finally stops thinking of Jean-Claude as a monster anymore, and finally sees him as not just a powerfully seductive vampire, but as a man. Seems like a healthy step forward in their relationship (but never fear, the drama is not over. With Anita it's always "one step forward, two steps back").
- The fae make an appearance! I always love when LKH packs in more supernatural creatures.
- The blood and gore
What I disliked:
- Anita is still with Richard. Yuck.
- Even more relationship drama... Yipee.
Though BLOODY BONES wasn't the perfect, it did sport an unusual and fascinating murder mystery to whet a reader's supernatural appetite. -
Not half-bad.
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it was a little all over the place near the end, but i still like it so far
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Cuando un trabajo lleva a Anita a un pueblo a las afueras de San Luis para un trabajo con zombies, lo menos que se espera es tener que atender a un asesino serial, un legado de hadas, un clan vampiro que quiere ser inmortal y un ser milenario que secuestra y mata jovenes.
Pero con la ayuda de su aprendriz Larry, su "novio" vampiro Jean-Claude y su mascota lobo Jason, se enfrentaran no solo a lo peor que se haya enfrentado hasta ahora sino que descurbrira nuevos poderes que le haran pensar mas y menos en lo poco humana que es y en su decision de estar o no con Richard.
En este libro el autor nos presnta un nuevo grupo de personajes en las hadas, nos presentan los "Hechizos" y el "Encanto", que tristemente no estan bien explicados y crea varias confusiones a traves de la lectura. Pero tambien nos lleva a conocer un poco mas de el pasado de Anita y de sus deseos reales, la vida que siempre quiso tener y que esta luchando por tener con Richard.
Sin embargo, cuando el autor comienza con la descripcion de la "politica" de los vampiros y como estan formados los clanes y la "lucha" de poderes, resulta demasiado confuso. No entendi el porque de la "diversion" antes de ver al "Amo" de ese Clan, tampoco entendi el tema de la muerte del Monstruo o porque el hada estaba atado ese Amo.
Pero bueno, para ser un libro de esta saga es interesante ver como se va desarrollando la prota, como las relaciones de amistad y amor se van haciendo mas fuertes, y sobre todo como poco a poco ella va descubriendo sus poderes. -
Another one done and I loved how it felt as if I was reading this for the first time.
And my love Jason is now firmly in the series. I love that mutt.
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This was a really good story, powerful vampires, conniving humans and some fae thrown in for good measure. Not to mention un-dead pedophiles....yeah that's a disturbing one.
Anita and Larry get the full limelight and it's a really good team story, the dynamic with Jean-Claude is fun too and although the subject is there the 'who-to-choose' romance isn't at the top of agenda.
There's the usual mix of good and bad characters, odd individuals and true bad guys. There's guns and magic and blood and gore and all the rest you'd expect. At the end though I think we see Anita grow a bit more, learning something about herself and her powers and being more comfortable with her life and those she shares it with. -
I read a short story in a zombie anthology where Anita raised the dead, and I thought: "Cool!" So I grabbed a couple of these books. This was okay, but I am so over vampires, especially french vampires. I did rather like the fey and Bloody Bones. But I don't know if I can handle another in the series. If you like vampires though, go for it!
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Good interesting story. I enjoy the way that so far each book in the series has been about a different supernatural creature. The overall world is getting set up nicely with many interweaving story lines. Nice action and flow of the story. Recommended
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Anita Blake has been called out to an animating job in Branson, far away from her usual connections. But she’s the only one in the country who may be able to do it – raise an entire graveyard full of 200 year old bodies, preferably in one night.
As if that weren’t a big enough problem, the motivations of the parties involved is far from clear – and the presence of fae magic in the graveyard, and faeries willing to guard it, raises many more questions.
And there are vampires running amok – as the neighbourhood vampire expert, Anita is called in but the local police are far from welcoming. The resulting lack of communication is beyond difficult when there seems to be 2 separate vampire killers.
Negotiating with the local vampires, of course, requires getting further involved with Jean-Claude and he never keeps anything simple
Like in previous books, this has several storylines intertwined – but also like the previous books, they all come together. From her original job to raise the graveyard, to the vampire death, to the serial killer all three plot lines are paced really well. If I had a slight criticism, it would be that her job to raise the zombies was put too far on the backburner. It was her actual reason for being in Branson in the first place and it seemed extremely low in her priority list. I can understand that since she was dealing with serial killer cases, but I’d have least expected Sterling or someone to ask where she was and what she was actually doing while they were paying her to complete a time sensitive project. Still, it was understandable given the circumstances and doesn’t bog down the story. I really like how all three storylines come together, how they’re all linked and make up important aspects of the whole – and can all be handled in one big finale that doesn’t feel contrived.
Having read both the books before and the books after this one, I’m left with the feeling that this book is vaguely filler. Because they’re pulled out of St. Louis we’re not advancing a lot of the plot or relationships. And the creatures in this book are fae. Now, don’t get me wrong, I like fae in a book, they’re some of my favourite supernatural beings. But the fae here appear briefly, with precious little foreshadowing or depth, do some shiny stuff then disappear again, never to be heard of again. Short of giving Anita an extra-special shiny vampire to kill, I’m not sure what the point of the fae even were – and a powerful master vampire could probably have filled Xavier’s spot just as well. Because of that, I don’t think this book added anything to the world building – while technically introducing whole new creatures, it just doesn’t fit the overall theme and shape of the series.
We had some development of her relationship with Jean-Claude, but it was mainly her letting him closer to her more than anything. Still there’s closer connections and we also see some more fleshing out of Jason as he grows further into the full character he will become. But largely that’s all it is, we don’t get especially new insights into either characters and they’re mainly around more to show that, yeah, they’re around more.
I’m still all kinds of uncomfortable with how the relationship between Jean-Claude and Anita began. He constantly ignores her “no” and keeps pushing. Then she forces her to date him by threatening Richard’s life (because she has to give him a fair chance to seduce him? Why does she?) and then we continue with the constant boundary pushing regardless
Finally, there’s an ongoing issue with how Anita relates to other women. Other than villains and victims, Anita deals with 2 women in this book – Dorcas Bouvier and Sergeant Freemont. And in both cases Anita strikes sparks. It’s like strong willed, independent women have territories that need to be defended against other women like them. She had a similar worry in Lunatic Café when she saw Deputy Holmes – she could be a friend or, equally as much, they’d hate each other and this is before she even spoke.
Both women were also aggressive and hostile for little reason – or they overreacted in an aggressive manner with little provocation in a way that made Anita seem almost clam. It’s a strong case of Keillie Independence.
Read More -
Ms. Anita Blake and I have had a very rocky history in the short time she and I have made acquaintances. For the first few books, I was absolutely enthralled with her take-no-prisoners attitude, her bravado, and her insistence upon keeping the monsters in check. However, with
The Lunatic Cafe, she became absolutely frustrating in her passionate distaste for Jean Claude. That is not to say that I was not already getting annoyed with her before then with the way she was treating him when he was clearly in love with her; but, something had changed in that book. She made the infamous choice so many women in supernatural fiction seem to have to make lately: bestiality over necrophilia. And, this time, bestiality won. Richard was suddenly not revered as bestial, though a werewolf. This not only enraged Jean Claude, but myself as well.
I decided to take an undetermined amount of time to break away from Ms. Blake and reassess what I found appealing about her. In the meantime, I switched to dystopian literature, such as
The Hunger Games Trilogy Boxset. This was perhaps the best thing I could have done to make my friendship with Anita prosper over her dumb choices. When I finally came back to the Anita Blake books, I had enough time to grieve, as it were, and accept that she and I will never see eye-to-eye, as I am male, and she is female. Our priorities and logic will always differ.
This book, Bloody Bones, has easily become my favorite in the Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter series for a plethora of reasons:
I would recommend anyone who hasn't gotten this far in the series to tough it out and make it to this book. You won't regret it. -
"Bloody Bones" was the first of the out of town books. The key with the out of town books is who comes along for the ride. In this case, Jean-Claude, Jason, and Larry came along. Enough of the core people to keep it from feeling like one of the books that could be removed from the series without damaging the flow. (I'd argue that "Obsidian Butterfly" could be removed in that way. Maybe "Micah", as well.)
We also got a little bit of Richard before Anita left town, so we got both of our leading men. (From "Circus of the Damned" through "Obsidian Butterfly" we clearly had two leading men. After that? It's up for debate.)
Besides, you can't resist the appeal of "Bloody Bones" for humanizing Jean-Claude in Anita's eyes. The vulnerability of Jean-Claude sleeping in a hotel room with only curtains as protection from the sun. Anita willingly opening a vein to save his life. Anita learning that Jean-Claude was a whipping boy in his youth and seeing the scars on his back. Ending with Somehow Jean-Claude had crossed that line that a handful of other vampires had crossed. I don't think of him as a monster anymore.
"Bloody Bones" is also the first book where Anita learns of the vampire council.
Of all the vamps that have tried to "take" Anita by marking her, I think Seraphina was the first to try to change her into a vampire instead. Granted the only books where Anita held no vampire marks were the previous book, "The Lunatic Cafe", and this one. Necromancers and vampires really are drawn together, huh? *g*
I also loved learning more about Jason in this book. I think I half fell in love with him the moment he came on screen, but he too was at times scary and at times vulnerable here. Humanizing him the way Jean-Claude was humanized. Nothing demonstrated that more than when Anita feared that Jean-Claude drained Jason, killing him. First she fears for his safety, then she draws a gun on him, then she protects him from Jean-Claude's discipline.
Richard was the opposite. I mean Jean-Claude and Jason were both humanized after being seen as other. Richard started out as human and his otherness crept in along the way.
(Reviewed 05/06/2009.) -
For all the Anita Blake books - I started this series with my then friend, Meredith - she actually got me hooked that fateful summer of 2000 when I was living on her wooden floor in Brooklyn. We were both unemployed and bored and got hooked into this series. I loved Anita Blake because it was before I discovered the new genre - what I like to call "badass chicks who kick ass!" written in first person - and so she was all empowering and of course there were hot vampires and werewolves in it.
Unfortunately, Laurell K Hamilton doesn't have much taste in the way of clothing and mood...and sometimes I think she "tells" too much instead of "shows." I also think that somewhere down the line the editors decided to just give her cart blanche because she most definitely has cut and paste some paragraphs here and there from one book to another.
The other thing I find annoying is that Anita likes to pick fights for no reason and seems to have the little dog syndrome - always barking up at the big guns. And for some reason as the series goes on, the more sexual it gets and also the more ridiculous it gets. She has some interesting elements and some interesting characters and definitely isn't afraid to be violent - which I love. But then I got annoyed and moved on to other authors who still work with their editors!!! Needless to say, I stopped reading the series after Incubus Dreams. My fav of the series is Obsidian Butterfly. It has the least "retelling" and show boating.
