booksiloved.com - Book reviews of books the reviewer really liked

A review of Circus of the Damned

by Laurell K. Hamilton

The third novel in the nightmarish life of Anita Blake, vampire hunter.

Reviewed by: April Dawn Duncan
About April Dawn Duncan

Circus of the Damned Anita Blake is her own person. She bows to no one, or at least she never intended to. Thing is, when you have attracted the amorous intentions of the Master of the City, you've already got your hands full. But now, another Master has come to town, and he's gunning for Anita. Nothing like having two Master vampires fighting for control over you to make a girl feel special. Only problem is Anita doesn't like pushy men. They've both pushed her over the edge and are about to suffer the dire consequences.

Who would think that vampires would be pining for the Executioner? Poor sots, they must be crazed. Anita's personal problems aside, the new Master vampire and his brood are wreaking major havoc on the city's citizens. And damn it all, it's her job to stop them. Don't you love it when you can kill two birds with one stone? Too bad she's got a whole flock to deal with.

"Circus of the Damned", by Laurell K. Hamilton, is packed with spine-tingling encounters and chilling conflicts. But despite all of that deliciousness, one of the best things I love about this series is the character development of Anita Blake. She begins as a tough-as-nails supernatural expert sure of her convictions, but slowly she's coming unraveled around the edges. The once crisp line between humans and monsters has started to blur for her. Life has a funny way of making you rethink your beliefs from time to time. I know how Anita feels, and I can connect with her. That's the most powerful element of this series. Anita's not some super hero who never makes mistakes. She's human; well, at least mostly. And she has a war going on between her head and her heart. Haven't we all experienced that at some point in our lives? I know I have. One of the major issues this series deals with is the struggle of power. You haven't really faced fear until you've faced someone who holds power over you and is trying to use you. The question is how do you keep others from using you without using them? That's the tricky part.

"Circus of the Damned" is like entering the heart of darkness. There is no room here for the squeamish or faint of heart and no room for moral fluff. What there is plenty of room for are moral quandaries.

Click here to buy this book, or read more about it at Amazon.com: Circus of the Damned

Copyright © by April Dawn Duncan, 2003

Reviewed by April Dawn Duncan:
--Threshold: A Novel of Deep Time - by Caitlin R. Kiernan
--Yarrow: An Autumn Tale - by Charles de Lint
--The Morgaine Saga - by C. J. Cherryh
--Tigana - by Guy Gavriel Kay
--Ender's Game - by Orson Scott Card
--Foreigner: A Novel of First Contact - by C.J. Cherryh
--Guilty Pleasures - by Laurell K. Hamilton
--The Laughing Corpse - by Laurell K. Hamilton
--Circus of the Damned - by Laurell K. Hamilton
--The Lunatic Cafe - by Laurell K. Hamilton
--Bloody Bones - by Laurell K. Hamilton
--The Killing Dance - by Laurell K. Hamilton
--Burnt Offerings - by Laurell K. Hamilton
--Blue Moon - by Laurell K. Hamilton
--Obsidian Butterfly - by Laurell K. Hamilton
--Narcissus in Chains - by Laurell K. Hamilton









Home ------- All the Reviews