Subject: Review: Burnt Offerings, Laurell K. Hamilton

From: [email-masked] (P.D. TILLMAN)
Date: 15 Jun 1999 17:10:19 -0400

Burnt Offerings by Laurell K. Hamilton	
	Review Copyright 1999 Peter D. Tillman

[As a review of a book in a continuing character series, it probably
should be considered a spoiler for earlier volumes.  --AW]

Rating: "A" -- strongest Anita Blake since The Laughing Corpse.

I realize I'm a ways behind here -- I've found that if I read these
without a few months break between books, I get vampire-overdose.  Anyway,
the previous 3 or 4, while good, didn't blow me away.

So I'm pleased to report that Anita Blake is back to full voltage, with
more complex plot and characters and a (somewhat) lower body count. The
Grand Guignol's still here, as is Hamilton's ability to make a
fundamentally silly premise into a great story. Bet you can't read just
one.

In this outing, the Vampire Council's come to town from Europe, on
suspicion that Jean-Claude has gotten uppity after killing councilor
Earthmover (aka "Mr. Oliver" in the last book) -- not realizing that J-C's
human servant and girlfriend Anita is the one who pulled the trigger.
Moving at the usual breakneck pace, Anita becomes both acting-alpha
werewolf and leoparde-lionee' for the St.  Louis Wereleopards. Thankfully,
Rafael narrowly (by the skin...?  er, no.) keeps his throne as King
Wererat -- for a while it looked like Anita would win the Triple Crown. I
know this sounds silly -- and it is -- but the mixture of silly with
serious -- giggles with gore -- is one of Hamilton's signature -- and best
-- story-devices.

Add the well-researched police- (and, this time, firefighter-) procedural,
and the snappy tough-girl dialog: Dolph, her boss on the Regional
Preternatural Investigation Team, is admonishing Our Heroine:

"Try not to kill anyone this month, Anita. Even in clear self-defense..."

"I haven't killed anyone in over six weeks -- hell, nearly seven. I'm
cutting down."

I suppose by writing up Anita Blake #7 I'm preaching to the choir -- if
you're new to the series, this *isn't* the place to start.  Go all the way
back to #1, Guilty Pleasures; all are in print.  Whathehell, I write these
things mostly for my own amusement. Good thing, too -- be tough to make a
living (or even much spare change) writing book reviews. Anyway, I'll soon
be caught up to Hamilton's newest, and be reduced to impatiently waiting
for the next new Anita, just like all the rest of you guys.

Another opinion (eg. yet another reason why this review is superfluous):

http://www.epiphyte.net/SF/burnt-offerings.html

-- and try    http://www.silcom.com/~manatee/utc.html
for a number of other "Anita Blake" reviews (including mine).

%T Burnt Offerings
%A Laurell K. Hamilton	
%D May 98
%I Ace
%O $7
%P 392 pp.
%G ISBN 0-441-00524-1

Read more of my reviews:
http://www.silcom.com/~manatee/reviewer.html#tillman