I have felt such power only once before...
Malcolm, head of the vampire Church of Eternal Life, is no particular friend to Anita Blake. So when he shows up in her office, to ask for her help against creatures so feared that no vampire will willingly speak their name, Anita is surprised. But she believes him. Malcolm may not be a Master of the City, but he’s an old and powerful vampire, a leader of men, and he does not easily ask for help - especially from Anita and Jean-Claude, whose power Malcolm considers corrupt. That was the first warning of The Harlequin.The second warning is presented like a gift, left where she’d be sure to find it, with "Anita" printed on the box. Inside, carefully wrapped in folds of pristine tissue paper, is a white mask, utterly plain. The fact that it’s white, Jean-Claude tells her, is the good news. White means they are only being watched.The flow of power that connects Anita Blake with Jean-Claude, vampire Master of the City, and with Richard, Ulfric of the werewolves, has been growing and changing, increasing exponentially. Their power seems to have attracted attention, and it’s a kind of attention no one would desire. Jean-Claude and Richard need to be strong allies now. Nathaniel and Micah need to give all their love and aid. And Anita will need to call on Edward, whose utterly human ruthlessness in her defense makes him the right man for the job.Anita Blake has the authority to pass judgment on vampires. The Harlequin have the authority to pass judgment on her. It is forbidden to speak of The Harlequin unless you’ve been contacted.And to be contacted by The Harlequin is to be under sentence of death.
Title: The Harlequin
Author: Laurell K. Hamilton
Series: Anita Blake, Book 15
Published: June 5, 2007
Publisher: Berkley
Pages: 432
Genre: Urban Fantasy
The Anita Blake series; by my absolute favorite author Laurell K. Hamilton, is what introduced me to what is now known as "mixed genre" (romance, mystery, fantasy, horror, etc. all rolled into one) and how I discovered some of my other favorite authors, Kelley Armstrong, Charlaine
Harris, Kim Harrison, and MaryJanice Davidson. I eagerly await the time of the year when Hamilton puts out a new Blake book (or a Merry book from her faerie series for that matter!). This year the book is The Harlequin and it is currently the 15th novel in the series.Anita is as usual collecting more strange talents, battling bad guys, and dealing with her very messed up love life. This time she’s fighting the boogeymen of the vampire world and it gets so bad she enlists Edward as back-up. He hasn’t changed much since the last time he appeared in the series (Obsidian Butterfly, I think) but has become an even more interesting character. I
hope he makes another appearance in the near future.I have to say I’m very satisfied with the way the book ended and I’m looking forward to seeing how Anita handles the newest edition into her life and rids herself of the one of the others. The Harlequin really left me wanting the next book in the series, very badly! You’d think that with as many books in the series as there are that they would start to be repetitive and predictable but that is the last thing you think of when you read any of Hamilton’s books.
Anita Blake Series
1. Guilty Pleasures (1993)
2. The Laughing Corpse (1994)
3. Circus of the Damned (1995)
4. The Lunatic Café (1996)
5. Bloody Bones (1996)
6. The Killing Dance (1997)
7. Burnt Offerings (1998)
8. Blue Moon (1998)
9. Obsidian Butterfly (2000)
10. Narcissus in Chains (2001)
11. Cerulean Sins (2003)
12. Incubus Dreams (2004)
13. Micah (2006)
14. Danse Macabre (2006)
15. The Harlequin (2007)
16. Blood Noir (2008)
17. Skin Trade (2009)
18. Flirt (2010)
First Paragraph: Malcolm, the head of the Church of Eternal Life, the vampire church, sat across from me. Malcom had never been in my office before. In fact, the last time I'd seen him, he'd accused me of doing black magic and being a whore. I'd also killed one of his members on church grounds, in front of him and the rest of his congregation. The dead vamp had been a serial killer. I'd had a court order of execution, but still, it hadn't made Malcom and me buddies.
Find Laurell K. Hamilton Online
Links
Laurell K. Hamilton Q&A Part 1:
Laurell K. Hamilton Q&A Part 2:
Laurell K. Hamiton Q&A Part 3:
Anita’s Ringtone- Wild Boys by Duran Duran
Interview:
Upfront and Unscripted: Laurell K Hamilton (podcast)
Source: Personal collection, hardcover
Laurell K. Hamilton Q&A Part 1:
Laurell K. Hamilton Q&A Part 2:
Laurell K. Hamiton Q&A Part 3:
Also By Laurell K. Hamilton:
Meredith Gentry Series
1. A Kiss of Shadows (2000)
2. A Caress of Twilight (2002)
3. Seduced By Moonlight (2004)
4. A Stroke of Midnight (2005)
5. Mistral's Kiss (2006)
6. A Lick of Frost (2007)
7. Swallowing Darkness (2008)
8. Divine Misdemeanors (2009)
I am glad you enjoyed this one. My husband bought me a copy of the book for our anniversary but I haven't yet read it. I've been a bit of a slave to reading challenges lately and admittingly wasn't too impressed with the last book in the series. I've heard this one is better though. I'm lookinf forward to reading it. Hopefully before the end of the year. :-) Great review!
ReplyDeleteLaurell K. Hamilton really sucked me into the genre too. She's not my favorite of this type of book anymore, but she's certainly got a special place in this reader's heart.
Have you read Twilight and the sequals?
ReplyDeleteI don't think I would do very well reading about Vampires...I used to have nightmares as a child after watching the old '60 sitcom Dark Shadows ~shiver~
ReplyDeleteI do think the fairy books might work as I just finished a good anthology about fairy romances recently!
:)
Hi, Jen! Just a quick note to say you are more than welcome to join the Unread Authors Challenge. Just drop by the blog (unreadauthors.blogspot.com) and leave a comment with a link to the post in which you lay out your challenge goals. If you would like to contribute to the blog, leave your email address as well, and I will send you an invitation!
ReplyDelete-Pour of Tor/Sycorax Pine