Laurell K. Hamilton started out about twelve books ago with a great premise. Have a strong female protagonist that lived in alternate reality St. Louis where supernatural creatures were part of society. Her character was a licensed vampire executioner (one of the best I might add), and a necromancer who used her talents to raise zombies for various purposes including clarifying wills, witness testimony and just saying goodbye to loved ones.

The first couple of books in the series focused on Anita Blake. How she handled her job as a re-animator, and how she dealt with reconciling her attraction to the vampire Jean-Claude with the knowledge that someday she might have to kill him or one of his clan. Later books saw her work through her misgivings and agree to a relationshp with him. Then Richard, the king of the werewolves, entered the picture and Anita was attracted to him. It was easier dating a human, even if he did turn furry, than a vampire. Then she saved the wereleopards from an evil overlord and ended up becoming Queen, even though she isn't a were. That added another couple of men into her life.

Then the ardeur struck, and suddenly Anita needs constant sex in order to feed the ardeur. The woman who couldn't bring herself to sleep with one man is now having relations with at least six different men, in various combinations, sometimes all at once.

I was extremely disappointed with this book. I don't have a problem with the soft-core porn, but I would like there to be more plot than sex. This was a short story that was stretched out into a novella, then it had 30 pages of previews for her next book added to make it long enough to publish as a stand alone. There wasn't any real character development, you find out a little about Micah's past and how he became a were. The middle section of the book the two are in bed. Then they go to raise the zombie, and Anita has difficulty with her power, then it ends rather abruptly, without coming to any sort of satisfactory conclusion.

It was a pretty decent story about a road trip Anita and Micah take to do a job for the FBI. I expected more about the book's namesake, but what can you do?

Be warned, if you are looking for a book of LKH's normal length, this is not it. This is a short story to say the least. It is published in the way of a "teen" book complete with double spacing, large type, and two blank pages between each chapter. I really wish they had just called this what it is and not used the world "novel" to describe it.

I had low expectations of this book, since I have been consistently disappointed in the last three Anita Blake books. On the up side, Anita actually does some police work and raises a zombie, which hopefully means that LKH is moving back towards that aspect of the series. Also, she adds a bit of history for Micah, my least favorite character in the series, as I've always found him to be a bit cardboard.

On the down side, the background info on Micah is thin, the police case is pretty minimal and the book is actually a short story inflated into a novel sized paperback by the use of wide margins, large font and lots of blank pages. Oh, and a 30 page preview of Danse Macabre. I know it's been promoted as a novella, but charging $7.99 for this is ridiculous, when it could have fit nicely into an anthology. I don't trade books that I anticipate reading again - I'm trading this one.

Sadly this is another book filled with sex by Ms Hamilton. I will read the next one but right now these books have turned into nothing but Vampire and Whereanimal soft porn. Such a disappointment. The series had potential in the beginning.

SEX SEX and MORE SEX. I don't think any of her characters go more than a few pages without getting laid.

Short and sweet, unlike Hamilton's recent offerings. Not as insightful as I'd hoped, though.

I really enjoyed reading this book! I liked the characters' personalities and how they related to each other and the world around them (taking very extraordinary circumstances and events and relating to them in a very everyday manner). I liked the imagination and creativity of the author. And I felt like it had it all - plot (conflict and resolution), romance/sex (but not too much), humor, great characters and a basic readability. I liked it so much I am going back to book 1 in the series and am starting at the beginning.

Great improvement over the last few books in this series. It's shorter and sticks closer to a plot line. I prefer the books when Anita goes out of town.

Not the most substantial story Hamilton has written, but a good book to take on a plane or to the beach. Even after reading it, I still don't feel like Micah is a character that is three dimensional in any way. I just don't care about him one way or the other.

This is a great book. Sexually explicit, so be warned.

Read All Book Reviews of "Micah Anita Blake Vampire Hunter Bk 13"

micah

There are lots of reasons to raise the dead - some private, some public. In this case, the feds have a witness who died before he could speak on the record. They want him raised so his testimony can be taken. So here I am, on a plane to Philadelphia, flying off to do my job.

But I’m not alone. Micah is with me. Micah, head of the St. Louis wereleopard pard. King to my Queen. The only one of my lovers who can stir my blood with just a glance from his chartreuse cat’s eyes. I was happy to have him at my side.

Until he mentioned that this will be our first time alone together. No Master Vampire. No Alpha Werewolf. Just me and Micah. And all my fears and doubts…

Book 13 of the Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter Novels. From the back of book: There are several reasons to raise the dead-some private, some public. In this case, the Feds have a witness who died before he could speak on the record. They want him raised so his testimony can be taken. So her I am, on a plane in Philadelphia, flying off to do my job. But I'm not alone. Micah is with me. Micah, head of the St. Louis wereleopard pard. King my my Queen. The only one of my lovers who can stir my blood with just a glance from this chartreuse cat's eyes. I was happy to have him at my side. Until he mentioned that this will be our first time alone together. No master vampire. No alpha werewolf. Just me and Michal, and all my fears and doubts...

Just as good as the others in this series.

Hamilton (Incubus Dreams) delivers a highly palatable portion of what makes her series heroine, federal marshal and vampire-hunter Anita Blake, a bestseller: equal portions supernatural crime fighting—with a dollop of old-fashioned male-female melodrama—served up in a world where new were-animals have their own crisis hotline. Filling in for a colleague, Anita travels to Philadelphia to reanimate a deceased federal witness, accompanied by Micah, her wereleopard lover. The jaunt serves as a chance for them to share some rare one-on-one time—without any of her five other lovers around—which Anita fears is not necessarily a good thing. Even worse, since her magic energy has grown unexpectedly strong, she suspects this won't be your run-of-th e-mill reincarnation. A good entry point for the uninitiated, this offering provides further insight into both characters and their universe.

I liked this story but it was really short. I wouldn't have wanted miss it but I think Ms. Hamilton could have fleshed this out more.

From back cover:

There are lots of reasons to raise the dead--some private, some public. In this case, the Feds have a witness who died before he could speak on the record. They want him raised so his testimony can be taken. So here I am, on the plane to Philadelphia, flying off to do my job.

But I'm not alone. Micah is with me. Micah, head of the St. Louis wereleopard pard. King to my Queen. The only one of my lovers who can stir my blood with just a glance from his chartreuse cat's eyes. I was happy to have him at my side.

Until he mentioned that this will be our first time alone together. No master vampire. No alpha werewolf. Just me and Micah. And all my fears and doubts...

Read All Book Reviews of "Micah Anita Blake Vampire Hunter Bk 13"