Bullet: An Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter Novel Mass Market Paperback – May 31, 2011

I think if you don't mind the constant sex that repeatedly comes up then I think you'll like the story behind it.

After seeing the horribly low ratings for this book, I wasn't planning on reading it and when I finally caved, I had very low expectations. I was pleasantly surprised. Not LKH's best book by far, but much better as of late. I feel like it was an upturn as opposed to a further downward spiral.Yes, there is plenty of sex, but for the most part, it seems to have a purpose and not just some deux ex machina sex power that comes on Anita unexplained and saves the day at the last minute. I liked this book because, although low on cop/crime drama, it did talk a lot about vampire/were politics and relationships among the characters. And frankly, I've come to enjoy those more than the crime scenes anyway.***spoilers ahead****I was glad to see Asher's issues finally addressed, though I keep hoping that they'll find some way to heal his scars with all the power they're creating. It seems that LKH keeps hinting at that, and even this time Richard makes a pointed comment about how he healed silver bullet wounds, but nothing yet. I thought Richard's 180 wasn't terribly believable and was fairly sloppily done, but I'm so glad not have him whining and making things worse, that I'll willingly suspend my disbelief so we can move forward. There are some interesting possibilities with Marmee Noir, the Harlequin internal civil war and setting up a new American Council with JC as the head, so I'm looking forward to see what LKH does with this fertile ground.My general criticism is the LKH just seems rushed far too much on many levels. It's like she's finally crafting some good plot lines instead of just sex-covered fluff, but isn't taking the time to develop them fully, so they come off half-baked or just rushed and not as satisfying. I think she could have done much better developing the various tiger stories, but the place you really see it is in the last few chapters. It's like she had to get the book to the publisher and didn't have time to write the last few chapters, which could probably have been another 100-200 pages if developed correctly and she just substituted her skeleton plot instead. A real shame because they could have been amazing and would have been paced with the rest of the book (areas dealing with Asher and Haven were fairly well handled on an individual scene level).I'm still thankful to see actual plot again, but if she could actually take those great story lines and weave them together while giving them time to mature and develop fully, she'd have a couple more amazing books on her hands.

I've read a few of the negative reviews and am at a total loss where these are coming from. It isn't like LKH has suddenly surprised everyone with Anita's abilities and the ardeur. It has been a progression and has been stated how many powers Anita is gaining along with the way the ardeur works so she has to have so many men in her life. I have liked all of the books, including Flirt, which I thought was a very nicely done novelette.This book finally has Richard and Anita growing up and realizing they have been childish and unrealistic in what they want from the people around them. They are now embracing what needs to be done and doing it. Asher has been wanting Jean Claude for so long it was a relief to finally have that happen. It was also nice that he was punished before he was rewarded because he had been a very bad boy. JC can now work toward protecting everyone and have the power supporting him that he has needed for a long time.While I am an avid fan I will say that I have had issues with some of the books. Not the same issues some folks have. Mine have been from an editing stand point. An example is I loved the storyline in Harlequin. Hated the editing. Some of the characters names were incorrect, some of the things said about them or by the characters were wrong, and it bothered me these small things were not corrected. However, I will continue reading the books and enjoying them.One thing I had an issue with while reading some of these reviews is the fact that people think they can tell an author how to write their books and where to take the storyline. The author has complete autonomous power to write the story they want to write and tell it the way they want to tell it. No one has the right to dictate how that is going to be done except the author. Where do these people get off thinking that because they put something on a blog they will be obeyed? If you don't like the books then stop reading them. If you think you have a better idea write your own book.I am looking forward to the next Anita Blake book. And by the way, if you don't like the sex in these, don't bother to read her Merry Gentry books. Personally, I love both series and can hardly wait for the next in each of them.

I would recommend that you read this series from the beginning Exceptional world building and an absolutely unique take on the role of necromancers. Kept me up until the final page.

I love this series! I will never get tired of reading it! Another great history with lots of actions! Thank you Hamilton!

アニタブレイクシリーズの19作目。ストーリーはレビューを参照してください。Anitaを乗っ取ろうと様々な攻撃をしかけてくるMother of darknessに対し、それに対抗すべきキーワードが「Tiger」。ここ2-3作前あたりからちりばめられていたTigerがここでつながってきます。Anitaのおかげで大いなるパワーを手にしたAsherのふてくされぶり（むちゃくちゃぶり？）と、それに対して初期のBlue moonの頃からは考えられないくらい妙に物分かりのいいRichardが見所かも。そしてますますパワーアップするAnitaはもはや人の域を超え、どこまで行くのか分かりません。そろそろMother of darknessとの最終決戦も近い気配がします。性描写もますます過激化し、作者大丈夫か？？と心配になる部分もあるので、初期のファンの場合は好き嫌いが分かれるかもしれません。BLの要素も入ってきますので一層好き嫌いが分かれてきそうです。とはいえ、ジャンクロードファンの私としてはジャンクロードの出番も多く、とりあえず満足できました。

Another great read from Ms Hamilton

I read "Bullet" with trepidation due to the reviews that have come before. Following that feeling was relief and disappointment in the same measure. The book has very good, I would argue even necessary components, but it has one major drawback. I will now first discuss the good components before turning to the reason why I nevertheless do not think this book works as a stand-alone book.The good: The book attempts some very necessary character development. The moral and emotional issues Anita has been dealing with had become very stale. The attempt to reconcile the religious background and the realities of her life had come to a breaking point long before. She, and We as readers, are finally forced to confront the realisation that love is not gender bound and that sex is not synonymous with love. However, Laurell K Hamilton does not loose the emotional component of sex. A component which, potentially because of our upbringing, most people still feel. For Anita sex still comes with an emotional responsibility, but it is not anymore bound by gender prejudices and moral ideals she had long since outlived. This was long since necessary. Moreover, our perception of love is challenged. Her love for the men in her life is in no way diminished by their developing physical relationship. In some ways Anita is being taught that love is not about possession. This again has been an important development. Her character is described as supremely confident in her abilities but insecure in her men's continuing existence in her life. She regularly asks herself how it can be that these men are in love with her. Her possessiveness and fear of losing them as a result of sharing is understandable in that. But she has to outgrow this. She already did by mentally allowing for the potential of the men sharing sex, now we see her making the first steps of growing further by allowing the reality thereof.The bad: Too much is happening. Because the socio-political situation developing in the book is highly complicated and the emotional development not less so the book does not work. Both the external political situation and the internal emotional one suffer in description because not enough space is allocated to them. The result is a lead over book with puppets. Until now, in all books, I was able to feel the characters. I fair amount of them I did not particularly like, I loath Richard and in many instances Anita gets on my nerves, but they were there. They emotionally existed. Even Micah, who in many ways is the most emotionally non-descript character, together with Jean-Claude, was becoming a person. This emotional existence is lacking. It is almost as if I am reading a report not being sucked into another world. In some places there are attempts to give Nathaniel and Micah some depth but they are too short. Two possible reasons might be lying behind this:a) Anita is admitting to feeling numb, almost shocky. If the book gives us the perception of numbness, of shallowness to recreate for the reader the same emotion Anita is feeling then it is clever. But I do not think this is the case.b) Laurell K Hamilton has started to be frightened by the criticisms she gets in respect to too much sex in her work. This might be more the reason for her sex scenes lack the emotional depth that made them what they were. In the past they were not pornography but a tool to show the characters at their most intimate and allow the reader to delve into the emotional realm of these characters. Now the scenes are just numb descriptions. If this is the future of the books then that will be sad as the characters will loose much.In respect to the socio-politicla development I find the brevity even more sad. The power play and intrigue have become an integral part of the books and are fascinating, possibly because we can see many real-life political strategies play out in the back-drop of another world. Whilst I would love Laurell K Hamilton to be more knowledgable and realistic when it comes to politics and history outside the US, it is her world and she creates it. However, a lot is happening on the US front in this book and we are left with a stale description of a few sentence. I hope that this will truly only be a set-up for another part of the story where we get to delve into a more detailed and rich world again.Final verdict: Well, if you are looking for a paranormal crime novel then this is NOT for you. Neither is it for you if you are only now coming to Anita Blake because the book does not do justice to the series. If you do not want to read about sex this book is NOT for you. If you are homophobic or believe that sex should be hidden in the dark and reserved to a marriage bed then this book is not for you either, start in the beginning of the series and make up your mind after you read those. If you have come to love the political,social, cultural and emotional richness of these books then you will be disappointed by this book - but possibly might be able to appreciate it as the lead-over it, I assume, is. Nevertheless, it is sad. It could have been two, or even three, very good books with more depth and courage.