The real appeal of Anita Blake – Vampire Hunter
We critics may scratch our head at the appeal of Laurell K Hamilton’s seemingly endless Anita Blake – Vampire Hunter franchise, but the guys at Penny Arcade know how it works:
Click on through for the horrible truth.
June 13th, 2008 at 1:48 pm
Man, ain’t that the truth!
July 29th, 2008 at 11:06 pm
i’ve read 15 of her books and loved them and lately they have gone down hill, it really sucks. way too much sex and she tries to keep her high morals when she OBVIOUSLY threw them out the window when she became that incubus thing. now it’s not an attack on L.K.H because i really found a lot of happiness reading the books but it seemed as though she ran with what publishers wanted rather than what the readers like, now hey i’m not one to say a sex scene is bad because at the right time in a book it’s great but the first four chapters of her newest book was a sex scene. basically please go back to the old ways! break up with some of the guys,don’t really need micah, find jason a lover(havent finished the new one so he might have one)BRING BACK EDWARD! Have something kewl happen like jean claude gives his life for anita and richard and says be together and sheilds them from dying idk nathanial is kewl but Anita has become boring and snooty. you can’t be sleeping with 6 guys and have morals, sorry. Asher is good too keep the basics lose the rest. where the heck is Cherry and Damian? Ronnie simms is gone along wtih richards best friend. go back to the wolf pack more, they were interesting. give Anita a birthday because well 15 books and she hasnt had one. what happend to her solving crimes? or raising the dead? hmm….helping people? please don’t see it as an attack just know that changing isn’t always a good thing
August 30th, 2008 at 1:17 am
I totally agree. I’m going to see Laurell K. Hamilton at Dragoncon. Anita has become a total skank.
October 20th, 2008 at 9:46 pm
So first off, Anita has had a birthday, and why is everyone complaining about all the men and the sex? That is a part of who Anita is, she is an Incubus and has to have it or she will KILL people! and You cant get rid of any of the men, Micah is her Nim-ra (something of a goddamn soul-mate) Nathaniel is part of her pairing with Damien and speaking of him he’s off doing his own thing in his own place so thats where he’s been, Cherry-also off on her own with Zane, Richard is a self-righteous prick and by no means could make Anita happy on his own, Jean Claude and Asher are together so their staying because their also in love with Anita, Jason is linked with Anita in many ways and he has PLENTY of lovers, and the whole series is about her life and whats happening, it cant all be about crime there has to be something personal, and if more things are happening in her life then in the crime world then so be it. Also if you view Anita as a skank then that shows the narrow religious sort of view, and who’s to say you cant be moral and have lots of sex?? thats just bull.
December 11th, 2008 at 1:38 pm
I whole heartedly agree with Danielle [nice job with the synopsis] and either you like the theme of the series or you don’t we’ve all known the direction the series was heading and kept buying the books so give it a rest.
December 11th, 2008 at 8:13 pm
I think the sex is a little overdone, I know what Anita is but
it is time to tell her story without turning it into a porn movie.
I adore Anita Blake and will never stop reading the books but I tend to gloss over all the sex as after a while it just gets boring!!!
January 3rd, 2009 at 1:50 pm
Danielle,
If Jean Claude died, they would all die.
“but it seemed as though she ran with what publishers wanted rather than what the readers like”
Wrong. If you read her blog, you would know better. She doesn’t care what the publishers think, and she doesn’t care if the fans don’t like all of it or not. What matters, is writing the story how it is meant to be written. GOOD writers develop ‘friendships’ with their characters. They are nearly as real as you and me. These people have personalities, and they do their own thing. She is not writing for you, or for the publishers. She is writing for the characters, and for the love of writing. If you no longer like where the books have gone, stop reading them. Pure and simple. I hate people who complain about a book series, and want a bunch of crap done in it that WOULDN’T MAKE SENSE in the story line, and then continue reading it. You know what most people do when they don’t like a series any more? They stop reading it.
“you can’t be sleeping with 6 guys and have morals”
Yes, you can. Morals are what is right, and what is wrong. There is nothing wrong with sleeping with multiple people as long as all people are willing, consenting, knowing individuals.
What is not moral about loving, protecting, helping, and cherishing? Oh, whats that? Nothing? Exactly. Sex is not something that is moral, or not moral. It is just sex. If she were ‘cheating’ on the others, that would be different. But as they all agree to the terms, it is not cheating.
And you obviously have not been paying much attention, as mention has been made of birthdays passing by. In Guilty pleasures she is 24, by Blood Noir, she is 28. Just because the books do not go into detail specifically on her birthday, does not mean they are not happening.
January 19th, 2009 at 6:11 am
Haha, you guys are fucking losers.
January 19th, 2009 at 6:27 am
Okay “The Man” Fuck yourself first of all! Now that that’s out of the way, I love the series! I have bought every book. and read them at least 2 times. Sherri, Ashley, I love you both. You see what the books are meant to be, and accept them as they are. With out bitching, or whining that they need this or that, or there’s to much of whatever. I totally agree with you both, and Danielle, shut the heck up! You obviously missed the whole point of the books, and need to just stop reading them if they bother you that much. Anita is a caring person, and if you noticed doesn’t exactly love the thought of being with six guys. But she accepts it because she loves them! Can you truly say that if six hot guys all loved you and were fine with sharing you wouldn’t be with them all? I’ve said my piece, I love the books and can’t wait till the next one comes out!
February 2nd, 2009 at 4:37 am
These books are so much more then the sex scenes, there about devotion to the people you love no matter what you have to do to maintain it, its about the many layers of te individual and most of all it is about the love and friendships that an extraordianry woman has developed throughout her life. No matter what or who tries to bring her back down to their level.
February 17th, 2009 at 12:06 pm
I need help, I’m really torn on whether to continue. I just finished “Incubus Dreams”. I’m not a prude by any stretch, the sex did not bother me until this book when I realized I lost track of how many guys she slept with and her attitude towards it. What really threw my over the edge was the threesome with Richard and Jean Claude. For me it was void of any emotion of their relationships, I hated how she spoke during, it was just so raunchy, all of it. Does it lighten up a bit in the upcoming books. I like the way LKH writes. I want to know what happens to the characters moving forward since I’ve invested so much time. I’ve been reading them back to back since Xmas. I miss Edward! Have not seen him since Obsidian Butterfly. Actually good thing he in not around, if he had any idea what she was doing, we would finally find out who is the better killer. Some input please???
February 17th, 2009 at 12:16 pm
Oh yeah, another thing that bothered me was that she slept with Nathanial after he shifted. I thought she did not do furry. Jesus H. Christ!! Richard said it best, it was sick!
February 17th, 2009 at 3:19 pm
The Anita Blake series is smut for women who don’t think they read that kind of thing.
Sorry ladies.
March 28th, 2009 at 8:31 pm
I am fourteen and love thease books! I know, im young, but i’m an over achiever and have read worse. At the moment I am on bloody bones but have read a few parts ahead because my aunt asked me too. I really appreciate that in the ifrst five books have no sex because my best friend can read them, but this whole richard Jean-Claude thing is annoying me. Jean-Claude (deffinately my pick of the two if oyu were wndering) needs to let Anita marry Richard. He is human and she wont have to live longer than a normal life for him. Now for Richard, he needs to calm down! He is over protective nad Anita isnt the type of girl to deal with that! Abotu Edward, I think Anita COULD take him, but I don’t think she would. She cares about him, sortof like a sisterly love, I also don’t think Edward would really kill her, she has helped him to much. With the wohle sleeping with 6 guys thing, its not good. I miss phillip! He was awsome and would of been perfect for anita. Nikoles was a horible leader, and Jean-Claude needs more power, he is weak. And the sex… Doesnt matter, I’m a kid and can deal with it, I think you ADULTs can too, if not, don’t read them!
April 9th, 2009 at 1:13 am
I started to read the Anita Blake series when I was thirteen. I really enjoyed the first bunch of books. But I agree with most of you. It has become triple x porn. Aye, the series is good so is the plot. But holy shit is she horny! Like seriously! She can’t get laid so she writes about it. And honestly, the sex scenes have now began to replay. They all seem the same! Give man blow job while getting fucked in the ass… puh-lease. It’s all the same. Love Jean-Claude!
July 27th, 2009 at 1:14 pm
I adore the Anita Blake series. I started reading Guilty Pleasures about 3 months ago and read every single book non-stop for like 2 months. I had no idea what to do with my life once I finished skin trade!
Poor LKH.. shes got alot of backlash for the smut. I, personally, think its fantastic. I wanted to give Anita a hi-five when she finally banged Jean Claude.. The sexual tension was killing me!!!
The sex is the story line. The books were boring without it.. too much freaking tension! It adds to the romance, and I guess if you dont like it, do what most other people did and stop reading it!
I also love the fact she included the smut between JC & Auggie. Power to the gays, I say!!
I cant wait till the next book.. whenever that may be. Now I must go fishing for something to fill the void Anita has left in my life. Woe is me.
November 26th, 2009 at 1:33 am
<3 anita blake!
December 28th, 2009 at 1:46 am
I love the Anita Blake series. Although from Incubus Dreams to Blood Noir the sex scenes got to be annoying. Not because it bugged me, it was just so repetitive. However in the last book, Skin Trade, Hamilton got back to what made me love the series in the first place. Edward and Anita worked together again, which was great. I love his character. And she toned down the sex a lot. If she keeps writing like she did in Skin Trade then I will be happy. And I agree with some other comments I’ve seen on here: If you don’t like it anymore, stop reading it.