dark fantasy

As all fans of the Anita Blake series know, LKH tends to be repetitive. This book is a study in that fault. I've read all the books, and I am a fan, but that fact doesn't blind me to the glaring omissions and mistakes of her work. Don't get me wrong -- I have greatly enjoyed the series, but I don't think it's for everyone.

I have always liked the Edward character. Yes, I found her exploration of him interesting, but I also agree with other reviewers that the chink in his stone armor was a trite plot device. The new supporting characters, especially Itzpapalotl (Master of the City of Albuquerque), were more three-dimensional than I thought they'd be. I liked the interaction, and I was glad to see the old Anita in action.

I must confess, I did miss JC & Richard. I think this book was a deliberate attempt to avoid resolving the romance issues that may have gotten away from LKH.

I'd recommend this book to a devoted fan, but I think first-timers might find the length of the book (caused by repetitions - sometimes word-for-word), the copy-edit errors and what masquerades as a plot, detracting and irritating.

I had never heard of the Anita Blake series until a month ago when it became came up on the Amazon discussion boards-romance section. To fellow reviewers JP and Joss, thank you for letting me know about this fascinating series, I'm sure my eye doctor thanks you also since I have killed my eyes reading all nine books in two weeks.

Obsidian Butterfly is the 9th book featuring Anita Blake, vampire executioner and animator. Edward, the mysterious assassinator who has made several appearances in previous books, gets his own story, and what a story it is! Edward calls on a favor owed to him by Anita. No questions asked, Anita goes to his aid and finds a side of Edward she didn't know existed. Side one is the cold-blooded killer she knows, but side two is Edward's second identity as a bounty hunter who is engaged to be married to a widow with two children.

There is something terrorizing people, it skins its victims and takes parts of the bodies. Those who are lucky, die from this assault. Those who are unlucky, end up in the hospital in horrible shock and pain. Edward calls in favors to help him find out what it is and to destroy it before it kills many more.

Thrown into this mess, are two other assassinators who owe Edward favors. Apparently people don't refuse to repay Edward the favors they owe him, not if they want to live. One is called Olaf, and frankly, he scared the daylights out of me. He is truly one sick individual who takes enjoyment from terrorizing and brutalizing people. As the way things stand, I'm sure we will be seeing Olaf again.

While I was fascinated by this story, part of me was disappointed we didn't see the other two main characters play a larger part in the story. Let's face it, there aren't many compelling characters as Jean-Claude, master vampire and Richard the Alpha wolf. Final word, don't expect this story to follow the former books. Laurell K. Hamilton takes us out of the dark underworld of vampires and werewolves and shows us that evil exists on the outside.

I've read all the previous Anita Blake books, and I have to say this book gave me a pleasant surprise after the crap that was "Blue Moon". Blue Moon was the previous book and had so much sex and porn inclinations in it, that I was skipping whole sections at one go. Now I'm just a regular guy who loves the occasional porn, but Blue Moon really went overboard. In Obsidian, the story was interesting, and there was surprisingly little sex. It felt like Laurell finally woke up and concentrate on writing a good story instead of trash. Well done!