Dead Ice: Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter; Book 24
Synopsis:
Anita Blake has the highest kill count of any vampire executioner in the country. She’s a U.S. Marshal who can raise zombies with the best of them. But ever since she and master vampire Jean-Claude went public with their engagement, all she is to anyone and everyone is Jean-Claude’s fiancée.
It’s wreaking havoc with her reputation as a hard ass—to some extent. Luckily, in professional circles, she’s still the go-to expert for zombie issues. And right now, the FBI is having one hell of a zombie issue.
Someone is producing zombie porn. Anita has seen her share of freaky undead fetishes, so this shouldn’t bother her. But the women being victimized aren’t just mindless, rotting corpses. Their souls are trapped behind their eyes, signaling voodoo of the blackest kind.
It’s the sort of case that can leave a mark on a person. And Anita’s own soul may not survive unscathed . . .
Edition:
Hardcover
Trigger Warnings:
Hover for Trigger WarningsMy Thoughts:
I know, it’s really weird that I’m starting to review this series 24 books in. But, I’ve been reading these since high school and I’m not sure I’ve got it in me to start back at the beginning for review purposes. But…maybe, so if you want it, know it might happen someday. But, I’ll assume if you’re here, it’s because you’re
A) super supportive (ILY)
B) familiar with the series and curious on my take on this not-so-new entry
Either way, thank you – I think you’re pretty rad.
So, like with any ongoing series, Anita Blake sometimes gets in its own way. There are just so many god damned books that sometimes the plot just feels a little thin. See, AB is horror/procedural/erotica – so when plot gets thin, erotica gets thick. Which isn’t a terrible thing per se, but I’d like to see the two intertwined *every* time. Like, increasingly outlandish group sex is cool, but have you tried surrounding it by fully fleshed out story?
But in Dead Ice, Anita Blake is back on the Story Train, baybee.
Based on the synopsis, I was initially reticent to get into this one (hence why it languished unread on my shelf for several years). I mean…it sounds a bit like trauma porn, doesn’t it (not intending to be clever here, but…it is what it is). But I have to level with you: I think it was anything but. I was incredibly pleased with the sensitive way that particular storyline was handled. There was no making light of how horrible what was happening was – nobody wanted anything more than they wanted to put an end to it post haste.
“We all build upon our ruins.”
Standalone story-wise, Dead Ice is one of the better Anita Blake novels I’ve read in some time. I was starting to think I was just about done because the series felt like it was devolving into something more akin to an erotic sideshow that was constantly trying to outdo itself, but this one pulled me back. Although there was a point in the story where the whole zombie porn story just fell by the wayside for something like a hundred pages while Anita dealt with her personal bullshit. I wasn’t mad at that, because the story was so fucking emotionally heavy, but the drop did feel noteworthy.
As far as the furthering of the series itself, I also feel like Dead Ice did its job. A lot of characters – the everydays and even some peripheral but recurring have their own little Come to Jesus moments. Here we see some real, marked growth from Richard (about time, amirite? fucking big stupid baby-man.). He still doesn’t like anything about anything, but he at least seems to be trying. And everybody seems to finally be done with Asher’s stupid ass. Hopefully. Man, I liked him a lot when he was first introduced, but when he just continued to be a raging bag of crying dicks (ick) book after book after fucking book – no. Can’t do it. And yet, they would bend over backwards to keep him from imploding. I don’t care how much you love someone, at a certain point, you need to check yourself. ANITA AND JEAN CLAUDE. FUUUUUUCK.
About the Author:
Laurell K. Hamilton is one of the leading writers of paranormal fiction. A #1 New York Times bestselling author, Hamilton writes the popular Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter novels and the Meredith Gentry series. She is also the creator of a bestselling comic book series based on her Anita Blake novels and published by Marvel Comics. Hamilton is a full-time writer and lives in the suburbs of St. Louis with her family.
Rating:
Although it doesn’t feel like a complete return to form, Dead Ice was enjoyable. I think that any series that goes on as long as this one almost has to fall off the rails at some point, but this feels like the train has at least started reversing course in order to re-rail itself (that’s definitely how that works, right? whatever, I’m no train scientist).
Dead Ice Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter #24 By Laurell K. Hamilton Berkley Published: June 9, 2015 ISBN: 780755389063 Hardcover, Paperback, Audio, E-book Author's Website
