Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter

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Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter is a series of erotic fantasy novels by Laurell K. Hamilton, narrated by the title character, Anita Blake. Anita lives in a fictional Saint Louis much like our own, save that, not only are things like vampires and shapeshifters real, but everyone knows that they're real and they are considered citizens of America, much like normal humans. The novels follow Anita's ongoing conflicts with the supernatural as she attempts to solve a variety of supernatural mysteries, come to terms with her own abilities, and navigate an increasingly complex series of romantic and political relationships.

1 Series overview
- 1.1 Progressive worldbuilding
- 1.2 Anita's relationships
2 Novels
3 Short story collections
4 Comic books
- 4.1 First Death
5 See also
6 References
7 External links

[edit] Series overview

The initial novels were initially classified as crime fiction, alternate history (a subset of science fiction), fantasy, or horror. The series currently could be classified as erotica.

[edit] Progressive worldbuilding

In the early books, Anita considers vampires untrustable monsters. She fears and pities lycanthropes. Over time she meets and befriends vampires and lycanthropes. In book 1 she quips, "I don't date vampires. I kill them." By book 4 she has dated one.

Anita's increasing trust of the "monsters" parallels her learning more about their respective cultures and becoming more involved in their communities and politics. In the most recent books Anita has also acquired some lycanthrope and vampire abilities (see Anita Blake). As Hamilton has stated, "Anita is my eyes on her world, my camera." ^[1] Throwing Anita deeper into magic, vampire, and lycanthrope experiences lets the reader explore these cultures vicariously.

For more information on Anita's world, see Mythology of Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter.

[edit] Anita's relationships

Anita Blake is celibate during the first 5 novels. She has her first "in-book" date in book 3 (Circus of the Damned). Book 6 (The Killing Dance) has her first sexual encounter since the beginning of the series. In-book sex returns in book 8 (Blue Moon).

Beginning in book 10 (Narcissus in Chains), the sexual content increased significantly. Sadomasochism, dominance and submission, multiple concurrent relationships, and lycanthropic sexual fantasies are all explored. Previous sex scenes were explicit but rare. Due to the increased sexual and relationship content, the later books are sometimes shelved in romance.

For more information on Anita's history through the series, see Anita Blake.

[edit] Novels

Guilty Pleasures (1993) ISBN 0-515-13449-X
The Laughing Corpse (1994) ISBN 0-425-19200-8
Circus of the Damned (1995) ISBN 0-515-13448-1
The Lunatic Cafe (1996) ISBN 0-425-20137-6
Bloody Bones (1996) ISBN 0-425-20567-3
The Killing Dance (1997) ISBN 0-425-20906-7
Burnt Offerings (1998) ISBN 0-515-13447-3
Blue Moon (1998) ISBN 0-515-13445-7
Obsidian Butterfly (2000) ISBN 0-515-13450-3
Narcissus in Chains (2001) ISBN 5-558-61270-3
Cerulean Sins (2003) ISBN 0-515-13681-6
Incubus Dreams (2004) ISBN 0-515-13449-X
Micah (February 2006) ISBN 0-515-14087-2
Danse Macabre (June 2006) ISBN 0-425-20797-8
The Harlequin (2007) ISBN 978-0-425-21724-5
Blood Noir (2008) ISBN 978-0-425-22219-5

[edit] Short story collections

Cravings (2004) ISBN 0-515-13681-6 (Contains the first 3 chapters of Incubus Dreams and 3 short stories by other authors)
Bite (2004) ISBN 0-515-13449-X (Contains an original short story and 3 short stories by other authors)
Strange Candy (2006) ISBN 0-425-21201-7 (Contains an original Anita Blake short story and other short stories by the same author)

[edit] Comic books

Issue 1 cover.

A monthly comic-book adaptation of the series began in October of 2006. The comic is faithfully adapted by Stacie M. Ritchie, illustrated by Brett Booth, and published by Dabel Brothers Productions in a partnership with Marvel Comics.

On October 20, 2006, Anita Blake Vampire Hunter Guilty Pleasures #1 was released under Marvel’s collaboration with the Dabel Brothers. The issue sold out on the release date. Marvel and Dabel Brothers released a second printing with a limited edition print on November 15, 2006. A third printing with a new variant cover was released on February 21, 2007.^[2]

Until October 2007 (Issue #6), the book was published monthly (along with a Sourcebook, which spoiled the story's ending), until Marvel acquired Dabel's licenses and the two partners split amicably. When the series returned for the final half of the adaptation in March 2008, Ron Lim replaced Booth as of the seventh issue and Jess Ruffner replaced Ritchie.

[edit] First Death

As a supplement to the series, during its hiatus, First Death, an original "prequel" adventure of Anita's adventures has been published as a comic book. Written by Hamilton and adapted by Johnathon Green, and penciled by Wellington Alves, the tale is two issues long and takes place early in Anita's career, introducing Jean-Claude, Edward and Zerbrowski as characters. This story represents the back story of Anita's first encounter with Valentine and Edward. A variant cover for issue #2 has Anita and the Marvel Zombies.