Dark Fantasy Books - Page 2

Guilty Pleasures (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter)

Laurell K. Hamilton

Amazon Price: $4.99 List Price: $4.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Jove Amazon Marketplace: 28 new & used starting at $2.32

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> Authors, A-Z -> ( H ) -> Hamilton, Laurell K.
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> Genre Fiction -> Horror -> Dark Fantasy
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> Genre Fiction -> Horror -> Vampires

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 462 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Good, not what I expected.. felt a little watered down 3 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

I came across this series and decided to give it a try. I ordered the first four books. This first book left me scratching my head in certain areas.

For example, parts of this book read as though it was the second in the series. It seemed like they would reference something that happened in the past and give you a quick up to speed as to what they were talking about and then move on from there. Something you would see in a second or third book to try to catch the reader up to date. I even went back and made sure I had the right book.

Characterization:

Overall the heroine is labeled as a strong "tough as nails" kind of gal. This I liked. She wasn't whiny and she was very straight forward. I immediately took a liking to Anita Blake. You don't really know alot about her past as it's never explained. Some parts are referenced very briefly as I've said before then forgotten, like we should know where she got that scar, or who this person is and how they came into her life already.

The main villian in this story is a child master vampire who is over a thousand years old. The first thing that came to my mind when it was said she was a child vampire, was Claudia from Interview with the Vampire. From then on that's who popped in my head everytime this child was in a scene. There were several other side villians all working together, but even though they seemed like a big deal to Anita, one even from her past, they were snuffed out very quickly at the end and had little importance in the outcome of the story.

There are a few different characters that are introduced in this book, yet I didn't feel like I got to see them develop or even learn anything about their personalities. It was pretty much "This is _____, he does this" Then they would move on.

Romance:

None. This was kind of disappointing to me since I thought this was a paranormal romance series. I suppose I was wrong. No one to blame but myself there.

Plot:

Decent. I felt it had great potential, but it felt very rushed at the end. Everything came to a head in the last five pages and was quickly solved. The most powerful child vampire went down too quickly and easily for how powerful and scary she was made out to be.

Overall:

I gave it three stars, because I felt like it was missing something. Which I understand it was the first book of the series, yet I felt like it didn't give me the information I was looking for right away. It was rather short and I felt it could have been a bit longer and the characters introduced at a slower pace with some more information of the past given. I felt like I was reading cliff notes on what the book should have been. Perhaps I judged too harshly. Maybe that's why there are so many books in the series. It could be that all of the past information in told in the remaining series. Yet, why make 16+ books of little info when you can write half as many longer and better written books is beyond me. Maybe it's just a way to get more money.



Will I read the other three? Yes. I bought them might as well read them. Perhaps they will get better with time.

Editorial Review:

Published almost ten years ago, Guilty Pleasures marked the debut of a writer who was destined to grow from cult favorite to a major bestselling author. Now, for long-time Anita Blake aficionados and newfound fans, Guilty Pleasures makes its hardcover debut. Readers will learn how Anita Blake started raising the dead-and killing the undead.

And how she met Jean Claude, the master vampire destined to become not only her biggest nemesis, but her greatest lover.

The Historian

Elizabeth Kostova

Amazon Price: $9.99 List Price: $9.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Little, Brown and Company Amazon Marketplace: 81 new & used starting at $0.65

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> Genre Fiction -> Historical
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> Genre Fiction -> Horror -> Dark Fantasy
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> Genre Fiction -> Horror -> United States

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1424 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Breathtakingly suspenseful and beautifully written, The Historian is the story of a young woman plunged into a labyrinth where the secrets of her family's past connect to an inconceivable evil: the dark fifteenth-century reign of Vlad the Impaler and a time-defying pact that may have kept his awful work alive through the ages. The search for the truth becomes an adventure of monumental proportions, taking us from monasteries and dusty libraries to the capitals of Eastern Europe - in a feat of storytelling so rich, so hypnotic, so exciting that it has enthralled readers around the world.

"Never was a ghost story so casually erudite, nor a historical travelogue such gripping entertainment." ---New York Magazine

"Impossible to resist. . . . Kostova blends fact and fantasy to remind us that the original Dracula legend is rooted in monstrous acts of unblinking evil." ---Miami Herald

"A richly told story about family and the dark side of human nature. . . . This cry of the heart will appeal to readers beyond those who are drawn by a fascaination with the legend of Dracula." ---Chicago Tribune

"Genuinely terrifying." ---Boston Globe

"Nearly impossible to put down once you crack the spine. . . . It won't take you long to get to the end." ---Houston Chronicle

Single White Vampire (Argeneau Vampires, Book 3)

Lynsay Sands

Amazon Price: $7.99 List Price: $7.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Leisure Books Amazon Marketplace: 22 new & used starting at $3.78

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> Genre Fiction -> Horror -> Dark Fantasy
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> Genre Fiction -> Horror -> United States
Subjects -> Romance -> Fantasy, Futuristic & Ghost

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 70 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

BETTER THAN PROZAC.... 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

This is the most side spliting humor and good vamp series I have ever read. Do not Miss The Argeneau Vampires @ friends. I sometimes wonder If I am disturbing my neighbors with my late at night Laughter that seems to come from Nowhere... A Must Read as are all of Lindsay Sands books.

great book, so worth the wait 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

of course, love lynsay sands, this book was very good. love the humor and romance.

Editorial Review:

SWM -- Successful biographer of family; books recently categorized as "paranormal romances." Doesn't like sunbathing, garlicky dinners or religious symbols. Likes old-fashioned values; spicy Mexican dishes; warm, nice-smelling necks and plump red lips. Currently unaware he's seeking a woman to share eternity.

SWF -- Newest editor of Romance at Roundhouse Publishing. Has recently discovered a legacy author dying to be broken out. (The tall, dark, handsome writer just needs go to romance conventions and be introduced to his fans.) Dislikes "difficult, rude, obnoxious pig-headed writers." Currently unaware she's met the man of her wildest dreams.

Personal Demon (Women of the Otherworld, Book 8)

Kelley Armstrong

Amazon Price: $30.39 List Price: $39.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Tantor Media Amazon Marketplace: 33 new & used starting at $22.32

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> Genre Fiction -> Action & Adventure
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> Genre Fiction -> Horror -> Dark Fantasy
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> Genre Fiction -> Horror -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 47 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Too much.... 2 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Hope Adams, Lucifer's daughter, tabloid report and half demon with a taste for chaos, ventures to Miami Florida to become a petty thief in an attempt to repay a favor owed to Cortez Cabal by going undercover in a gang that has been giving Cortez some grief. She has no idea that her ex-werewolf boyfriend, Karl is in town and there to save the day. While she's trying to succeed in her undercover objective, she starts to fall for Jaz, a gang-banger...and when things start to go pear shaped, Hope is forced to enlist the help of Lucas and Paige when she is clearly in too deep.

This book is a weak installment of this urban fantasy series...it has too many people too many shifts in narrative (even though the reader is informed who is going to do the narrative at the beginning of each chapter) and the this at times is jarring...to the reader and makes it difficult to connect. Hope is not a compelling character and rather weak to be carrying this 500+ page book. Ms. Armstrong is a strong and talented writer and I look forward to her next effort. This one though does not measure up to what she is capable of producing.

Editorial Review:

Half-demon Hope Adams has inherited not only a gift for seeing the past but a hunger for chaos---along with a talent for finding it wherever she can. Naturally, when she's chosen by a very dangerous group for a very dangerous mission, she jumps at the chance. As it turns out, Hope is a little too good at this job, and she soon finds it necessary to unleash her most potent primal instincts---and open herself, mind and body, to everything she most fears...and desires.

White Witch, Black Curse (The Hollows, Book 7)

Kim Harrison

Amazon Price: $17.15 List Price: $25.99 Not yet published By: Eos

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> Genre Fiction -> Horror -> Dark Fantasy
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> Genre Fiction -> Horror -> United States
Subjects -> Science Fiction & Fantasy -> Fantasy -> Contemporary

Touch the Dark (Cassandra Palmer, Book 1)

Karen Chance

Amazon Price: $7.99 List Price: $7.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Roc Amazon Marketplace: 72 new & used starting at $3.36

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> Genre Fiction -> Horror -> Dark Fantasy
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> Genre Fiction -> Horror -> United States
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> Genre Fiction -> Horror -> Vampires

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 134 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Over enthusiastic author bogs down w/ too much plot 2 out of 5 stars.
2 of 3 people found this review helpful.

I wish that the author has shown a bit--okay a lot--more restraint in
the plotting of this book. As it is, there is so much going on in
this book that is hard to take in. In this first book alone, there is
more than enough plot for an entire series.

Not that the story or the supernatural world that Cassandra lives in
isn't interesting, quite the opposite. But as a reader, I din't get
to enjoy it very much because I was constantly being crammed with
plot, plot, and more plot (except for the abrupt and extremely
graphic--and long-- sex scene that seemed very out of place given the
tone of the rest of the book).

I would have liked to become more slowly immersed into the world
rather then getting thrown in and never being allowed to come up for
air. I would have read the rest of the series if the former had been
true rather then the latter, assuming that the graphic sex scene
hadn't been included. Oh well.

Editorial Review:

Like any sensible girl, Cassie tries to avoid vampires. But when the bloodsucking Mafioso she escaped three years ago finds Cassie again with revenge in mind, she's forced to turn to the vampire Senate for protection.The undead senators won't help her for nothing, and Cassie finds herself working with one of their most powerful members, a dangerously seductive master vampire- and the price he demands may be more than Cassie is willing to pay.

A Kiss of Shadows (Meredith Gentry, Book 1)

Laurell K. Hamilton

Amazon Price: $7.99 List Price: $7.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Ballantine Books Amazon Marketplace: 87 new & used starting at $2.60

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> Authors, A-Z -> ( H ) -> Hamilton, Laurell K.
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> Genre Fiction -> Horror -> Dark Fantasy
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> Contemporary

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 306 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Wow....this is bad 1 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

Wow. I was really looking forward to reading something by Anita Blake as I heard so many great things about her books, but I could not even finish this book. (that is not common for me). I read over half of the book hoping that it would improve and it did not.

This started off sounding pretty promising....a case that involved a dead man's wife and mistress (who are now friends). Quickly though, the case seems to be left behind. I found Meredith was having (mostly meaningless) sex with pretty much every male creature she encounterd. I like the supernatural type books, but some of the creatured were a bit over the top.

Very disappointing. I did purchase the audio version of this book (I was pretty sure I would like it) and the reader was okay, but did not like the way she portrayed the male characters.

I would not recommend this book.

Editorial Review:

“My name is Meredith Gentry, but of course it’s not my real name. I dare not even whisper my true name after dark for fear that one hushed word will travel over the night winds to the soft ear of my aunt, the Queen of the Air and Darkness. She wants me dead. I don’t even know why.”

Meredith Gentry, Princess of the high court of Faerie, is posing as a human in Los Angeles, living as a P.I. specializing in supernatural crime. But now the Queen’s assassin has been dispatched to fetch her back–whether she likes it or not. Suddenly Meredith finds herself a pawn in her dreaded aunt’s plans. The job that awaits her: enjoy the constant company of the most beautiful immortal men in the world. The reward: the crown–and the opportunity to continue to live. The penalty for failure: death.

Blue Moon (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter)

Laurell K. Hamilton

Amazon Price: $17.13 List Price: $25.95 Not yet published By: Berkley Hardcover

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> Authors, A-Z -> ( H ) -> Hamilton, Laurell K.
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> Genre Fiction -> Horror -> Dark Fantasy
Subjects -> Science Fiction & Fantasy -> Authors, A-Z -> ( H ) -> Hamilton, Laurell K.

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 262 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

You wouldn't be such a great writer without your talent 4 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

Having spent the last book almost exclusively on vampires, after the visit from the council, this book moves more to the lycanthrope side, which was nice. I enjoy the three main influences on Anita, her human life, the vampires, and the wereanimals; it's good to see the interplay between them. I'll bet the next book focuses on the human aspects more than either of the supernaturals.

I liked that this one left St. Louis, though honestly, I thought the reason Anita was drawn to Tennessee was a little bit lame. I mean, Richard's in trouble, she has to go help; I had no problem with that, especially since the reason Richard needs her help made perfect sense with his character -- the truth will set you free, yeah right; he already knew the cops were corrupt, the big dumb knight-in-shining-armor -- and I liked that the Master of the City told Anita no, and wouldn't back down from that, and tried to fight her off when she came and came pretty close to succeeding before she kicked his butt. I liked the vampire politics and such here; it seemed real, that Colin would be so afraid of people who managed to cow the Council, and who would, logically, be looking to expand into a territory they thought they could take over -- and why not his, since Richard has been spending so much time there getting in good with the local werewolves who resent Colin's control, anyway. I liked Richard's family, especially their relationship with their mother -- she was a great character -- and I liked the way Anita handled it all.

My problem was with the conservationist aspect. As much as I love nature and believe that it should be preserved and kept safe from human depredations, I am not willing to take up arms and fight people who are more careless and cold-hearted than necessarily evil, in my eyes. I mean, poachers are one thing, but the bad guys here were not after the trolls that Richard wanted to protect, and while I thought Niley should definitely be kept away from the land and richly deserved what he got in the end, I just don't agree with fighting quite that hard for it. So I thought Richard shouldn't have gone to the lengths he did, nor forced Anita and company to the lengths they had to go to, just to protect trolls from someone who, while evil, wasn't really a threat to them. Basically I thought Niley should have shown up as evil earlier than he did, because there wasn't enough motivation for everyone to stay in town and fight Colin until we discover who nasty Niley was -- and then, when we found out the truth about Niley's treasure hunt, it all got pointless again. So I didn't like that.

But thank God, Richard and Anita had sex. I prefer Jean-Claude as a character and as a boyfriend for Anita, because Richard is way too goddamned petty and arrogant, but I'm so very glad we got past that sexual tension crap. I know, I know, it won't ever go away, especially not since Richard insists on banging other women who then feel the need to come after Anita to fight her for Richard's love -- and if one more goddamned supercreature tells Anita she wouldn't be so tough without her guns, I'm gonna start screaming -- but at least Anita and Richard should be able to cool their ardor, I hope. Maybe they can move towards some kind of resolution now.

I hate the munin, which means it is a very good subplot because I'm supposed to hate them and what they do to Anita, and I liked all of the interplay with the lycanthropes, especially between Anita and the wereleopards. It made them more fully-fleshed characters, and I like that. I liked that Jason got to kick a little redneck butt, and I hope to see more of Shang-Da and Jamil; both strong characters, I think. An excellent book.

Editorial Review:

New hardcover edition with a new afterword in the “wildly popular paranormal series” (Entertainment Weekly).

When she chose master vampire Jean- Claude over her ex-fiancé, alpha werewolf Richard Zeeman, Anita learned that sometimes love is not enough. But though she and Richard won’t be walking down any aisles, she can’t turn her back on him when he’s arrested on a rape charge in Tennessee. Anita knows firsthand that Richard has the morals of a saint—or at least a boy scout. But his guilt or innocence is not the issue. He’s behind bars, and in five days a full moon will rise…

The Twilight Before Christmas (Drake Sisters, Book 2)

Christine Feehan

Amazon Price: $7.99 List Price: $7.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Pocket Star Amazon Marketplace: 50 new & used starting at $3.50

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> Genre Fiction -> Horror -> Dark Fantasy
Subjects -> Romance -> Contemporary -> General
Subjects -> Romance -> Contemporary -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 40 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Seven sisters...and a legacy of magical secrets.

Bestselling novelist Kate Drake is one of seven sisters gifted with amazing powers of witchcraft. Returning home in time for her northern California town's annual Christmas pageant, Kate catches the spirit of the season and decides to open a bookstore in a charming but run-down historic mill. Decorated former U.S. Army Ranger Matt Granite, now a local contractor, doesn't mind working in the undeniably eerie house -- not if it means getting closer to Kate. There's something about the quiet, sensual woman that powerfully attracts him.

When an earthquake cracks the mill's foundation and reveals a burial crypt, Kate senses that a centuries-old evil has been unleashed?and that it's coming after her. Though Matt vows to guard her from dusk till dawn, Kate knows she will have to summon all of her and her sisters' powers to battle the darkness threatening to destroy both Christmas and the gift of soul-searing passion her hometown hero wants her to keep forever....

The Laughing Corpse (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter)

Laurell K. Hamilton

Amazon Price: $11.20 List Price: $14.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Berkley Trade Amazon Marketplace: 48 new & used starting at $4.54

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> Authors, A-Z -> ( H ) -> Hamilton, Laurell K.
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> Genre Fiction -> Horror -> Dark Fantasy
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> Genre Fiction -> Horror -> Occult

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 150 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

So not for me... 1 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

This is my second Anita Blake book that I have read (after "Guilty pleasures") and I am not impressed with it.
Anita Blake is a self-righteous, supposedly cool, totally unlikeable person. Her attitude is aggravating to say the least. She doesn't know when to shut her mouth, pisses the wrong people off at the wrong time and still comes out of every confrontation unharmed.

The descriptions of the murder scenes in the book are gross. To describe the scene once is necessary, but to describe the same stuff again and again is redundant. I'm getting the picture after the first time.

The books are called "vampire hunter novels", yet so far Anita hasn't hunted any vampires. Not that I think that vampires need to be hunted per se, but a bit of vampire interaction would be nice. In the first book the "vampire hunter" actually worked FOR the vampires and in the second one there were hardly any vampires.
Jean-Claude was only put in as a minor supporting actor. The whole book deals with zombies of all kinds - a topic that doesn't do it for me at all.

*SPOILERS*
What annoyed me most was:

- that Anita found out that raising a dead animator has very bad consequences and that that zombie can't be controlled by the one who raised it. Nevertheless she doesn't hesitate to - or even think about
it - raise a whole graveyard, meaning loads and loads of zombies she doesn't know anything about. What if there are former animators among them?

- that at first Anita wants to bring down Dominga Salvador with legal means and only in case those would fail she would let John Burke deal with her. That resolution didn't last for long, because as soon as she realizes that Dominga got out on bail (something which is pretty much inside the legal system, even though she obviously reached that by bribery) she decided it's time to have her killed by the numeours zombies she just raised. Nice double standard.

Guess this book wasn't for me.

Editorial Review:

First time in trade paperback: the second Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter novel.

Nearly two million Anita Blake novels in print.

The early Anita Blake novels find new life in trade paperback-as perfect collectibles for long-time fans or as great ways for new readers to sink their teeth into the series.

In The Laughing Corpse, a creature from beyond the grave is tearing a swath of murder through St. Louis. And Anita will learn that there are some secrets better left buried-and some people better off dead...