dark fantasy

"The Laughing Corpse", the 2nd book in Hamilton's "Anita Blake, vampire Hunter" series, is quite a good sequel to "Guilty pleasures". It is certainly not great literature, but it allows you to have lots of fun and doesn't ask you to think a lot. And if you are tired (of working at the office or at home, or of studying), that can be quite helpful.

Here we meet Anita again, and we also get to see her quite strange friends and her aspiring boyfriend, Jean Claude (a really handsome man of 400 years who has only one big defect: he is a vampire, so he is dead).

The plot is good and catches the reader's imagination (a BIG IMAGINATION is highly necessary to enjoy this kind of book). Anita Blake, who is not only a vampire slayer (legally, of course) but also a necromancer, is offered a million dollars to raise a 300-year-old zombie. Despite the big amount of money (and the protests of her boss), she declines the offer, because she knows that to raise such an old zombie she would need a human sacrifice (and that is a crime, even in the future when this books takes place). Her "would be client" (Mr. Gaynor) doesn't like it, but has to accept it. The problem is that some really strange murders start to happen, and Anita, who helps the police as a preternatural expert, thinks they are comitted by a crazy zombie. Could somebody else have raised Gaynor's zombie, losing control of it?. That is the question that Anita will try to answer, while she runs into the most strange people, including Dominga Salvador, a powerful voodoo priestess (who later, of course, tries to kill her).

"The Laughing Corpse" is a very good book, that brings you a lot of fun and takes you into a world where vampires and werewolfs are also legal citizens. Sometimes it's kind of absurd, but this is the kind of absurdity that makes you grin. So, if you read it, HAVE A GOOD TIME !!!

"The Laughing Corpse" by Laurell K. Hamilton, the second novel in the addictive Anita Blake - Vampire Hunter series, is a fun-filled thrill ride that will have readers craving more. Even better than the first of the series, this book grabs the reader by the throat and doesn't let go. Full of page-turning suspense, this book is escapist reading at its very best!
When Anita Blake, tough-as-nails vampire executioner and necromancer, is offered a million dollars by Harold Gaynor to raise a 300-year-old zombie, she has no choice but to decline. A zombie that old can only be raised one way - with a human sacrifice. Mr. Gaynor is not at all pleased with her refusal, but Anita will not be bought or threatened.
Unfortunately, when incredibly violent and gruesome murders start occurring, apparently perpetrated by a flesh-eating zombie, Anita realizes that someone else has raised Gaynor's zombie.
Anita seeks the help of the country's most powerful voodoo priestess, Dominga Salvador, in hopes that she might know about the killer zombie. However, when Anita refuses an offer to work with Dominga, it puts her on the voodoo priestess' list of enemies.
Anita is left fighting off Gaynor's goons, a murderous zombie, and all the nasty preternatural monsters Dominga Salvador can send her way, which makes for some great reading!
On top of all her other troubles, Anita must deal with the advances of Jean-Claude, the new Master Vampire of the City. Although Jean-Claude is mind-numbingly sexy, Anita refuses to become involved with a vampire. But Jean-Claude doesn't give up that easy, and his witty and sometimes wicked exchanges with Anita are truly entertaining.
"The Laughing Corpse" is a suspenseful, non-stop action adventure set in Hamilton's weird and wild world of vampires, werewolves, and zombies. Readers will be absorbed into this wonderfully imaginative alternate reality and will enjoy every minute spent in the company of Anita and the gang. So pick this book up today, put the phone off the hook, and enjoy!

This book sucked. I think that Laurell K. Hamilton is the worst author yet. The book was boooooring. It only had like 4 scenes, and one scene lasted 30 pages. It was ridiculous. I could hardly keep my eyes open. For an animator, Anita is really stupid, she doesn't explore any of her powers. All she does is get smart with everybody she not supposed to get smart with, and by mistake discovers more powers. She repeats the same phrases over and over again till you wanna reach through the book and slap her. The scenes with Jean Claude are unoriginal. All they do is repeat the same thing. Anita - I'm not your servant. Jean Claude - yes you are. NO I'M NOT, YES YOU ARE, NO I'M NOT, YES YOU ARE. No dialog at all. Her friends lack personality, she has no back bone at all and a stupid sense of humor. The only action is at the end, but you won't make it past the boring scenes! The cop, Dolph, is just as bland as she is. Don't expect any action to come from there. Dominga Salvador is the only interesting person in the book. I say, if you want a good suspense/mystery, go to the book store and get J. D. Robb's In Death series. I guarantee, you will not have to read about Eve Dallas finding outfits with penguins on them in which to conceal her weapon.