Blue Moon

When Anita Blake, necromancer and vampire executioner, started sleeping with the vampire Jean-Claude, she thought she was done with her relationship with Richard, leader of St Louis' large pack of werewolves. She loves him still, but she could not cope with watching him eat a defeated enemy.

When he is accused of rape in a small corrupt town out in the sticks she joins his pack-mates and his family in trying to clear his name and finds herself in trouble as usual. For one thing, Richard has made an enemy of a powerful sorcerer whose foes tend to turn up horribly dead; for another, she and Jean-Claude are trespassing in the territory of another vampire Master, one who feeds on fear and can spread a deadly rot with his touch.

As always, Laurell K. Hamilton writes well about both sexual passion and the sheer wild thrill of powerful magics--these are books written without the brake on, in which anything may happen and every climax just leads to further wonderful excess. Hamilton is good on cityscapes--here she proves herself just as accomplished with the beauty and terror of dark woods by night and the tang of blood on cold clean wind. --Roz Kaveney

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More about Werewolves and Richard - Rated
Richard is in jail back home in Tennessee, accused of rape. So Anita goes to help him out. But there's just a few little problems on the way. The local police are framing Richard for some reason; Richard's bodyguard werewolves don't trust Anita; there's a full moon a few days away, and if Richard is still in jail then, his cover will be blown; the local Master vampire Colin thinks this is just a takeover bid, and refuses Anita permission to visit his territory; and to top it all, Raina's munin is beginning to possess Anita. And when Anita is finally forced to do something that she thinks makes her one of the bad guys, it's a bit of a problem, because she has to battle a demon, who has power only over bad guys...
Rather more sex and rather less detection than I would have liked. But it's still a gripping series, with some good twists, and a couple of new monsters. Anita finally seems to have solved the problem of choosing between Richard and Jean-Claude: the obvious solution, but with some less-than-obvious consequences.

A bit more on Richard and the werewolves - Rated
This is my favourite Anita Blake so far. Richard always came across as interesting: Mr Boy Scout, everything that your mother would want you to bring home, apart from the pesky werewolf thingy.

This book expands more on the whole were-beastie culture and its implications, whilst still maintaining the old faithful in the plot line of some vamps doing some evil, in this case, the local Master, who does not welcome Anita on his turf.

In particular, I liked the fact that until the last third of the book, there is still no real indication as to why Richard has been framed for something he clearly would not do. Thus the tension is maintained.

Excellent book, nice diversion from the usual and worth the read.

More of an insight on Richard - Rated
I really enjoyed this book, it gives you more of an insight into the werewolf way of life such as the lunatic cafe did.

This time however we get exposed to a more fragile side of Anita, as she struggles to come to terms with her feelings over her x richard, thoughout the whole book it becomes a 'will they? or wont they?' sort of atmosphere. However, this is a fantastic book, with lots of butt kicking and the usual events that happen when anyone gets in Anita's way, fantastic!

BLUE MOON Introduces A More Vulnerable Anita Blake-Terrific! - Rated
Anita Blake, Executioner, necromancer, lover and human servant to Jean-Claude - the charismatic Master Vampire of St. Louis, lupa of the Thronnus Roke Clan lukoi, and Nimir-ra of a pard of leopard lycanthropes, is changing...more so all the time. When Laurell Hamilton introduced her to us in "Guilty Pleasures," Book One of the Anita Blake Vampire Hunter series, she was a 24 year-old, smart, attractive, feisty, super-independent dynamo, who raised the dead for a living. She was almost a normal 21st century career girl. Of course she staked rogue vampires as a sideline, but we all have our quirks. Anita's preternatural powers have been steadily increasing, and in "Blue Moon," book eight in the Anita Blake Vampire Hunter series, the lines are really beginning to blur between her humanity and the supernatural. Always an uncompromising and tough lady, she has developed a hardness, a detachment, that frightens even herself.

Anita, Richard Zeeman, (an alpha werewolf and her old boyfriend), and Jean-Claude, (her present lover), had formed a Triumvirate of power - Master Vampire, Ulfric and necromancer. In other words, when the three connect, they exude tremendous force and are able to do much more magic than any one or two can do alone. The three are still bound to each other, even though Richard is furious with Anita for dumping him. She had to choose between "a flesh eater and a bloodsucker." Do you see a pattern here?

Late one evening Anita receives a phone call from Richard's brother. Zeeman had been spending the summer in Meyerton, Tennessee, studying the Lesser Smokey Mountain Trolls which live in the area, and fulfilling the requirements for his Masters degree. He has been arrested for the rape of a local women, and is obviously innocent of the charge. Richard is squeaky clean, the ultimate Boy Scout, and very gentle, especially for a lycanthrope. To make the situation worse, a full moon will occur in five days. As luck would have it, this month, August, is a blue moon month - that means two full moons in 31 days - a phenomenon which arises every 3-4 years. And we all know what happens to werewolves during a full moon, don't we? Richard has not "come out of the closet," so to speak, to his parents, his employers, or to many other humans. Basically, he needs to get out of jail pronto. Anita flies down to Meyerton to give him a hand and get him a good attorney. At Jean-Claude's insistence she is accompanied by an entourage of body guards. Colin, the master of the local vampires does not want Anita and cohorts on his turf - for any reason and has made some serious threats. So, vampires Asher and Damian, and lycanthropes Jason, Zane, Cherry, and Nathaniel are there to keep her safe - although, as always, Anita turns out to be the one who does the most protecting. Werewolves Jamil and Shang-Da are around for Richard, to assist him and to join in the Blue Moon celebrations with Verne, the local Ulfric and his pack..

Freeing Richard proves easier than tangling with Colin and crew, plus the corrupt local police, and an assortment of other heinous monsters - there's pure evil on the loose in these hills!! There are some interesting twists in character development in "Blue Moon." Anita is more vulnerable here than previously. She has to confront her mixed feelings for both Richard and Jean-Claude, come to terms with Raina's munin - the vengeful spirit who possesses her from time-to-time, make a decision about her reluctant status as leoparde-lionee of the Saint Louis wereleopards, and face her own ignorance in terms of the power she possesses. Anita fears that she is rapidly becoming as much a monster as those she hunts...and loves. Hamilton succeeds beautifully in developing this vulnerable side of Anita, without sacrificing the plot. However, at this point in the series a change was needed. There had to be more to Anita than one tough cookie who goes up against the monsters and wins, repeatedly. This is one of Laurell Hamilton's best novels - tightly plotted, well structured, including wonderful dark humor, acerbic wit, and plenty of thrills and chills.

Just a word about the sexual content in "Blue Moon." I do not find it any more excessive or graphic than what one reads in most popular fiction - bestseller lists included - nor what is shown on afternoon TV. It would not be realistic to write about a healthy, single woman of 24 and exclude sex. Anyway, I loved this book and certainly recommend it!
Jana

blue moon or lame luna? - Rated
Readers may find this book somewhat loose in storytelling. Certain scenes do not seem very well thought out; The extraction of information regarding Richard's family members being one such scene. The character conflict between the local vampires and Ms. Blake is faintly reminiscent of Bloody Bones. The addition of new powers makes Anita's character appear to have only one weakness; her indecision over which man to sleep with, Richard the wolf or Jean-Claude the vampire. These overly-applied powers create a wedge of increduliousness that I thought every good writer strives to avoid. I know, how much believability can you have in a book about vampires and werewolves? But it was a balance she managed to maintain in her first few books, but lost...perhaps permanantly? Do I recommend overlooking this book? Not if you are following the series. I just didn't find the storytelling to be up to par.