Obsidian Butterfly (Anita Blake Vampire Hunter #9)

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Anita Blake, the tough, sexy vampire executioner, zombie animator, and police consultant for preternatural crimes in St. Louis, hunts monsters in New Mexico in the ninth book of Laurell K. Hamilton's excellent series. Edward, Anita's mentor in slaying, asks Anita to return the favor that she has owed him since she killed a backup he brought in to protect her. He needs Anita's preternatural expertise as well as her firepower. Something is skinning and mutilating a few of its chosen victims, and dismembering others. Edward has no idea what creature could be responsible for such heinous crimes.

Summoning Anita has its downside for Edward, since it means letting her onto his turf. Anita is surprised to find that this normally aggressive man has a personal life, and shocked by his ability to be entirely different from the stone cold killer she's known. She also has problems with the cop in charge in Albuquerque, who believes her powers must be evil, and with the other backups Edward has brought in. Most of all, she has to deal with her own vulnerability--she's tried to shut down her ties to her vampire and werewolf lovers and go it alone, but it turns out to be harder than she thought.

FROM OUR EDITORS

Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake

In the early '90s, Laurell Hamilton delighted horror fans and lovers of all things preternatural when she first introduced Anita Blake, vampire hunter extraordinaire. Now this tough-as-nails but highly feminine necromancer is back for her ninth showing in Hamilton's hardcover debut, Obsidian Butterfly, as twisted a tale as any of its predecessors.

Few writers can bring a fictional world to life the way Hamilton does, creating an alternate earth where magic, monsters, and myriad forms of the living dead are as common as cornflakes. And in the wisecracking, thick-skinned, yet sometimes softhearted Anita, Hamilton has created one of the most unique and unforgettable characters ever to walk the pages of fiction.

This time out, Anita revisits an old acquaintance, Edward (a.k.a. Death) the monster hunter, a coldhearted and seemingly soulless killer whose ruthlessness makes Anita look like a pussycat. Edward calls in a favor Anita owes from some time back by asking her to travel to Santa Fe to help him investigate a monster unlike any he's encountered before. Anita readily accepts because although Edward scares her enough that she doesn't want to turn her back on him, she's also intrigued by the man to the point that she can't wait to get a closer look at his life. And his hedging and lack of details regarding the murders pique her interest as well.

Though Anita thinks she is prepared and there is no way Edward can shock her, he proves her dead wrong right at the start. On the heels of this revelation, Anita is shaken even more when she finally learns the details of the murders Edward is involved with. The crime scenes are sites of unbelievable carnage, with bodies that have been violently torn apart limb by limb, their entrails ripped away. But even more horrifying than the dead are those who have been left alive, each of them skinned from head to toe, their tongues ripped away so all they can do is scream.

Edward has brought in a couple of other questionable assistants, two men who challenge Anita in ways she is ill prepared to handle. Throw some misogynistic cops, a bevy of strange and powerful creatures, and plenty of sexual tension into the mix, and Anita finds herself facing some of her biggest challenges ever. Before all is said and done, she will be forced to face some painful truths about herself and confront one of the most evil and powerful monsters in existence.

Obsidian Butterfly is a scintillating journey to a world where the inhabitants are all fascinating, death isn't always final (and far from the worst thing that can happen to you), and unimaginable horrors are terrifyingly real. Hamilton seems to weave a few spells of her own by crafting a powerful story even as the harsh realities make you want to look away. For gourmands of Hamilton's prior works, Obsidian Butterfly provides yet another tantalizing course in this highly fulfilling meal. Those sampling Hamilton for the first time will likely find it the perfect appetizer, an irresistible introduction to a promised feast of delights.

—Beth Amos

FROM THE CRITICS

Science Fiction Chronicle

Hamilton has created a genuinely interesting alternate world, peopled it with fascinating characters, and given us a protagonist we can really care about.

Publishers Weekly

An inhabitant of an alternate Earth very much like our own--except that magic coexists there with natural law, and preternatural beings like vampires and werewolves coexist with humans--Anita Blake is full of contradictions that make her a potent lead character for this continuing series. Although Anita is a licensed vampire executioner, one of her lovers is a vampire (the other is a werewolf); she packs more firepower than a small army, but is a dedicated Christian; she's tough-as-nails yet ultrafeminine; she tangles with seriously dangerous supernatural forces, but she's as matter of fact about dealing with magic as she is about bashing bad guys, and she's as quick with a quip as she is with a well-placed kick to the groin. In her ninth adventure (after Blue Moon), Anita is summoned to New Mexico by Edward (aka "Death"), the cold-blooded killer from previous books to whom she owes a favor. In the course of investigating a series of grotesque murders (victims torn to bloody bits, survivors flayed of all flesh), Edward becomes more human and Anita less so. Celibate for six months, Anita's usual steamy sexual encounters with her inhuman but hunky boyfriends are missing from this novel, but there's still a lot of beefcake to appreciate and the considerable sexual tension is both humorous and supportive of the plot. The gory story line--which wraps around an Aztec vampire goddess, a dwarf necromancer, bull-headed bigoted cops, hearts ripped from chests and a witch who conveniently appears in the nick of time--needs that bit of sustenance, but the book is still a monstrously entertaining read. (Jan.) Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal

This is the ninth book in Hamilton's popular "Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter" series. Anita is feisty and opinionated, and she never backs down from a fight. Oh, and she does dabble in a little vampire slaying. In this story, Edward, a monster hunter even more ruthless than Anita, asks her to come to Albuquerque to help him track down a creature so vicious that even he is spooked: it rips apart its victims and leaves its survivors skinned alive. For help in the investigation, they have to call on the city's master vampire, Itzpapalotl (Aztec for "obsidian butterfly"). This former Aztec priestess/nightclub owner agrees to answer questions--but only after dazzlingly displaying her awesome powers. As in Hamilton's other novels, this book contains an abundance of thrills, chills, violence, and sexual innuendo. Recommended for all public libraries.--Patricia Altner, Information Seekers, Bowie, MD Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

New York Times Book Review

An R-rated Buffy the Vampire Slayer￯﾿ﾽThe action never stops.

WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING

Erotic, edgy, red-hot entertainment. — Jayne Anne Krente

Another eye-popping blend of hilarious sex, violence, and stuff that makes your hair stand up on end. — Diana Gabaldon